There was a time when people understood that women created the landscapes of the world and infused them with songs, stories and symbols. And Grandmothers were the protectors, wisdom keepers, culture makers and healers. Many of the pre-literate stories are in fragments and have been altered or even forgotten. And the archetype of the old woman or crone has been denigrated and feared. Elizabeth and I create well together, listen to each other’s impulses; feed each other’s imaginations; and also give each other the freedom, respect and trust to move together into new territory. We have tapped into a rich, archetypal well that lends itself to evolving art forms and venues. From fabric robes and poetry, to shamanic objects and narrative with women’s lore: what we are creating keeps challenging us to go further on a quest to give the Grandmothers the chance to voice new stories relevant to the challenges of today. Culture is transferred generation to generation through Mothers’ realm - those traditions and customs that are born in hearth and home. The ways people eat together, celebrate the changing seasons and acknowledge birth and death provide a cultural matrix for individuals, families, tribes, communities and nations. Traditional female arts are passed along too: cooking and serving meals, kitchen remedies, song, dance, stories, celebrations and rites of passage. And crafts made of fabric, clay wood and paper produce artifacts whose symbols, shapes and color choices tell stories, send messages and give insight into the lifestyles and objects that give meaning to our lives. Understanding my role as exhibit word artist came when visiting Wyoming. I was struggling to find context for my words. My childhood was in Casper, Wyoming where the huge migration of Conestoga wagons moving west passed through in the 1800’s. I visited historic sites and saw diaries written by the pioneers and this inspired me to create one for the exhibit. The landscape and seasons are recognizable in my words. I have a photo of my own great grandmother Maude McCoy riding horseback with Buffalo Bill looking for Spirit Cave near Cody. The winds, big skies and weather of High Plains Wyoming live in me even though I have lived in western Canada for half of my life. The diary begins as a hand-written letter to my brother and continues with lore, narrative, images and reflections as if I was traveling through the landscape of Elizabeth’s imagination and artwork. Elizabeth’s grandmother was from Siberia and when we discovered similar lineage and landscapes of our Grandmothers our artwork exchange intensified. I developed the perspective of an explorer visiting a tribal culture. I moved from writing poetry to narrative and recalling women’s lore from many cultures. The characters in the narrative came alive and started telling their own stories. And in the process there were the aha! moments discovering links we share through our own Grandmothers. Her Babi lived in the Siberian Steppes. My Scottish-American Great Grandmother, Maude, traveled through the American West and rode horseback in the great Plains region of Wyoming with Buffalo Bill. We share a lineage of strong, independent women who lived in extreme environments - adventurers- where the changing of the four seasons, vast open spaces and resilient lifestyles shaped character. Reclaiming this lineage and legacy provides a new vitality and a source of raw creativity. Many 21st century women are experiencing the diaspora of being separated from our collective female lineage. There is wisdom to find through our Grandmothers, a powerful source that can be tapped when one is ready for the adventure.