About the art


​The beach stone color wheel was created and photographed by Heather Smith Blaha, an artist, illustrator, art teacher and friend. You can find more of her work on Instagram at "lastnightImade" and at tinyurl.com/figtreebook.

The fabric banner was created by Martha Yoder of Iowa City, Iowa. Martha is an artist, friend and retired pastor who embodies the words and images on this banner. Here is her artist’s statement describing it:

“The fabric for this piece is taken from women’s garments to signify the portrayal of Wisdom as woman in Proverbs 8. The piece is woven. On the weft are wisdom texts from Proverbs, Luke, Romans and James. Additional symbolic images included in the piece are the pomegranate and rubbings taken from the campus of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. The pomegranate is an ancient symbol of wisdom and a Christian symbol of the church. When broken open, the fruit represents the people within the church body.”
Photo credits: Additional photos of spirals in nature by iStock Photos; portraits of Shana by Stan Harder and Kayla Holdread; Shells in sand and wisdom banner photos by Shana Boshart. 
We believe that the people we are coaching already possess the deep inner wisdom needed to create options, make decisions, and devise outstanding plans, so our job becomes helping them excavate that gold by listening deeply, staying curious, exploring alternatives, and asking good questions. 
​--Rev. Chris Holmes, The Art of Coaching Clergy, p. 49