As I continue living, I am increasingly aware of the privilege of using one’s voice to speak. This is not a gift to be taken lightly, and is a freedom that I appreciate more by the day. There is a deep sense of liberation that comes from having the permission and empowerment to speak. This swallowtail springs forth from the jawbone of a cow that roamed our hills over 20 years ago. The sculpture emerged from an original macro photograph, was printed on textile, repeatedly layered with encaustic medium, cut to shape, hand-carved over the entire surface, sculpted to shape, and colored with powdered pigment before being wired to through the jaw bone, giving the illusion of flying outward from the wall on which it is mounted.