Size: 16" x 20"

Medium: Oil on canvas

Description: When I spoke with Kristen about her journey as a parent of a child with special needs, I was struck by how well the members of her family complement one other. Kristen has a background as a social worker and has unique gifting that is required for her daughter with Autism to learn the skills that can be challenging- like reading social cues. As she told stories of their life together, it became apparent that her husband and other daughter also have unique ways of being in the world that are complementary to the family as a whole.

My paintings are most often landscapes or cityscapes with the garden as a recurring theme. I wanted to represent the Sanken family by portraying a garden of companion plantings. Companion plants are plants that complement one another in terms of growth and production. One of these plants might attract an insect that is beneficial to the other plant, or one plant might need very little of a nutrient that the other needs a lot of, so they are not in competition with one another. Another way companion plants benefit each other is by literally supporting one another. For example, a sunflower can grow tall and strong and provide a support for climbing plants like peas to climb. This particular companion group is made up of peas- which symbolize gratitude and loyalty, oregano- which represents joy and happiness, nasturtiums-which stand for love and strength, and marigolds- which mark the power and strength of the sun and the drive to be a light to others.