Terra Mater | Hall Groat II | 12"x36" | each panel 12"x12" | Oil on canvas on exhibit a Lockhart Gallery, SUNY Geneseo

Terra Mater, or “mother earth”, was the goddess of fertility and growth in Roman mythology. The leaf, bird nest and shell, historically have symbolized such universal ideals as shelter, protection, growth, rebirth, and spiritual awareness. Within today’s context, the leaf, bird nest and shell together serve as a shrine to Mother Nature. The earth is under siege, however is omniscient and will evolve over the next four billion years. Energy can neither be created, nor destroyed. What we know as electrons, protons, and neutrons (or quarks), as well as other particles such as photons and neutrinos, will build something anew.