Marie Peters

Spirit Sticks Marie Peters

Self-taught artist Marie Peters from Seattle, Washington, paints found driftwood with images inspired by traditional Australian Aboriginal art, landscape, myth, and design. While living in Australia where she cultivated an olive grove, she painted her first "spirit sticks" out of old fence posts with the hope of summoning rain to help her neighbors' animals during a drought. Though everyone around her thought she was "losing it," she persisted with her colorful and whimsical creations, which, though they did not bring rain, brought delight.

Peters' imaginative stories accompany the artwork, and honor the Aboriginal Australians with an emphasis on their belief in seeing nature as part of the self.

The spirit sticks in this collection span twenty years in the making, and range in size from 16" discs to nine-foot spires.

"At age 83, I have lived long enough, and done so many 'serious things, ' I now let my imagination run wild and do superfluous activities that bring me joy."
- Marie Peters
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