Drive Through Art Show Virtual Tour
"Sunflower" by Abby Kilanowski
Cross Stitch 8" by 10"
Artist Statement
My name is Abby Kilanowski. I am a homeschooled sophomore from Clearwater, Minnesota. This was my second session of Portable Vision and my mentors were Shane and Kumiko. My piece, “Sunflower”, is a cross stitch of a sunflower, tangled in vines, surrounded by stars. When the session started, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. But, because of the Covid-19 breakout, my plans were ruined. So, honestly, I didn’t know what I was going to do until two weeks before the due date. I had many different ideas but none of them seemed right. I knew that I wanted to do a project about something I love with a medium I love, so I finally came to the final decision of a sunflower cross stitch.
It is well known that sunflowers face the sun throughout the day, which is also where they get their name. It is lesser known the reason for this amazing feat. A young sunflower’s sun-tracking ability (also called heliotropism) can be explained by circadian rhythms – the behavioral changes tied to an internal clock that humans also have, which roughly follows a 24 hour cycle. A sunflower faces east at dawn, which is toward the sun, then slowly turns west throughout the day, following the sun. It takes the time during the night to slowly turn back east to begin the cycle at dawn once again. How is it able to turn? It was found that the plants turning is actually a result of different sides of the stem elongating at different times of day. And the reason they turn to face the sun is because the face of the flowers become warm from the heat of the sun which attracts bees. So, if there are plants that can accomplish amazing feats like this in order to survive, how can we not see there is a crazy smart Creator behind all this? For me, this seems to prove the existence of a sovereign God. During this time of unknown, it is easy to be scared. But the Bible says, “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever. (Isaiah 40:8)”. And the Word of God says, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? (Matthew 6:26)”. We are much more valuable to the Lord, we must just trust Him. I believe we should all take a hint from sunflowers and turn to the Son as we grow.
This semester has been a wild roller coaster, to say the least. We were not able to meet in person for much of our session, which was very disappointing. I was sad that I wasn’t able to see my peers in person, but meeting online had its benefits. When each person finished sharing their stories over Zoom, everyone was able to offer kind words to each of them. This helped me not only learn about the impact each person had on others, but it also gave me a deeper appreciation for each one. That was definitely the best benefit of meeting online. I am thankful that we live in a time where that is possible. To the people of Portable Vision: I am so thankful for each one of you. I appreciate your love and kindness towards not only me, but each other as well. I want to thank my mentors for giving me guidance throughout the chaos. Shane, thank you for taking the time to help me develop my original idea, which I hope to use in the future, and for offering your help for my final project. Kumiko, thank you for helping me decide on my final project and for encouraging me throughout. And thank you God for protecting me and my loved ones from this virus, and for the peace I have felt in my soul.
