Elsie Beiler is a very talented artist we found last year on our trip to Lancaster. She lives in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania and started painting after the Nickel Mines school tragedy in 2006. She was deeply affected by the shootings that took place at the Nickel Mines Amish School and wanted to paint the school as she remembered it in happier times. The first painting, titled 'Happier Days,' hangs in The Barefoot Princess' room and ironically the tragedy occured on her first birthday, October 2, 2006. The second painting, called 'Friends Forever,' is a painting of the five girls who lost their lives that day. Elsie Beiler says it was prayers and tears that mixed with her paints to create these two peices of art. I love both of these paintings, not just because they are beautiful, but also because they show such bonds of friendship and remind me of forgiveness. The Amish people were so forgiving after they had been hurt so deeply.
To find out more about Elsie Beiler or to purchase prints you can go to http://www.wengergallery.com/
2 comments:
These painting are so symbolic. You've really connected with the artist...I think that's a great thing for your girls to see.
The history you gave is so interesting! I remember that awful shooting.. I'm glad you found the artist and brought some of her work home. I especially love the friendship painting.
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