VISUAL PRAYERS

I’D BEEN DRIVING for hours. From busy freeways near my home in Seattle suburbia, the thickly wooded landscape of mountain passes had given way to the vast fertile fields of the southeastern part of the state. With no tree in sight, there was a simple beauty to the open vista. Soon I would arrive in Pullman, a place I had never been. The city is home to farms, ranches and Washington State University. I hoped whoever attended my presentation would gain an appreciation of the religious icons I’d painted and carefully packed into tapestry suitcases for a symposium at the local Protestant church.

I was