A collection of images that consider this issue’s theme, “Hidden Arrows.” Layers of pigmented wax in an encaustic painting deliver depth and luminosity to suggest the synchronous, shape-shifting spectacle of a large flock of birds witnessed moving across a coastal Camino horizon. A stick-figure embellishment to a road sign cleverly cautions drivers to foot traffic ahead. A whimsical waymark orients pilgrims to points local and global. A message scrawled in mud encourages fellow pilgrims to keep going.

Photo of a 20” x 16” encaustic painting of a memory image that recalls an experience the artist witnessed in the quiet village of Vila Prada de Âncora, Portugal, on the Camino Portugués coastal route. “I had contracted pneumonia, and so my husband and I rested there for a time. We’d walk to the shore where I’d watch birds arc across the sky. The ocean drew my gaze towards the horizon where sea and sky form a luminous line—a thin place—where the physical and spiritual meet. In that moment nature comforted me. Artwork and photo by Joan Effertz. | Cincinatti, OH.

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