Artists Statement:  All creation, all life is a gift of the Creator.  Art, to me, is life giving.  I hope to convey in the work that I do the wonder, the joy, the beauty of life, of all creation.  Flowers with their graceful interplay of flower and leaf, the infinite variety of kinds and colors, deeply rich or subtly gentle, tall and splended or small and stunning in their simplicity; all entice me to attempt to capture their glory, a tiny reflection of the magnificent and bountiful beauty of the word in which we live and for which we are responsible.

I want to include, too, in what I compose, the tension between thought ad feeling, between the spiritual and the material, between dark and light that is an integral part of life.  I am inrigued by the constant pull between the real and the ideal in life, and hope to catch that tension in the conrast between the real and abstract elements in my paitings, no matter how "real" they appear to be.  To seek that which is real in the midst of life's illusions is a challenge to each of us daily.

It is essential to me to share in some way the vision I have, the joy that I feel and find in the wonder-full gift of life.

About the Artist:  A native of Omaha, Sister Barbara Loomis is a member of the Servants of Mary (Servite) Community.  She earned her M.A. in Art Education from the University of Colorado in Boulder. Beginning her teaching in Michigan, moving to Iowa, and finally to Nebraska, she has taught all grades, first through twelfth, as well as adult education art classes through Metropolitan Community College.

Sister Barbara has exhibited her work at a variety of  locations, primarily in the Omaha area, taking part in juried, invitational, and art club shows where her work has won awards, including Best of Show at the 2003 ANAC Exhibit.  Her work has also been included in local galleries.

Illustrator of Joyce  Rupp's nature-based poems in the Book, Rest Your Dreams on a Little Twig, Sister Barbara is now a full time free-lance artist.  She continues to work in watercolor, oil, and watercolor crayon.