Order includes:

• high-res image file formatted for print

• high-res image file formatted for web/projection

• A PDF of the Artist's statements & scripture reference for the visual

• A visio divina Bible Study Guide for you to use this image in a group study session that incorporates the ancient Benedictine spiritual practice of "divine seeing."

Credit Info:

When printing and sharing online, please always include the following credits:
Artist's name | A Sanctified Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org

FROM THE ARTIST:

This illustration explores the idea that perhaps the oppressor is not so far away. The lion and the calf, the cheetah and the goat, the wolf and the lamb, the ox and the bear—each predator shares a face with its prey. Each pair of animal faces is connected to the root line of the stump of Jesse. Each generation has been challenged to forward the radical call for peace in this Isaiah text.

As I read this text, I was drawn most closely to the idea of the roots, the past history, the ancient texts from the ancient times expressing the human condition and its possibilities. The practices of culturally responsive teaching and critical race theory come to mind for me, a public school teacher in Virginia. Our governor recently won the election by using the acronym “CRT” as a wedge in our electorate. He stoked fears. Immediately upon his inauguration, he began to defund public education through executive order. This is racist and oppressive policy that plays on white fear—make no mistake.

By contrast, what is really happening in Virginia public schools is quite the opposite. Honoring the wisdom and the ways of multicultural ancestry is the basis of how my classroom operates. In practice, culturally responsive teaching is an incredibly powerful way to address systemic oppression in education. My white skin represents the oppression of centuries. With a culturally responsive approach, I can lead with love. I can honor each studentʼs ancestry, lived experience, and daily presence in my classroom.

As a result of these conflicting forces, this year has been both the crown jewel and most difficult of my career. It is the first year I have taught as a fully-trained culturally responsive teacher. There are so many things I did not get to apply, so many ways that my practice can evolve, yet it is incredible to see how my students are thriving. Critical race theory is not the same concept as culturally responsive teaching, though they have the same acronym. Systemic oppression and racism are very real and critical race theory explores that fact. Culturally responsive teaching is a humanizing approach that allows for the boundaries of culture to melt, firmly giving way to incredible curricular access for all students, regardless of their backgrounds. As I walk in each day as the face of oppression, the world arrives, too. My school has 48 languages spoken. We have many recent immigrants. I have a new student added to one of my classes once every couple of weeks. The only way to connect across barriers is to remove barriers with honor and reverence for the collective wisdom of humanity. Culturally responsive teaching creates that space.

Perhaps the asp and the adder not injuring the child and the infant are a metaphor for this. In this image, the child and the infant are represented by the roots. The viper represents the asp and the adder. The threat looms, yet the roots thrive and the sprout emerges from the stump. The prey and the predator are on equal terms; no longer is one superior to another. We must humanize one another. We must honor each otherʼs ancestry.

In this young moment of my 17th year as a teacher, I have seen the magic, the power, the incredible way that this practice, culturally responsive teaching, transforms my ancestral presentation as the face of oppression. I led with love this year. The fear has washed away.
—Hannah Garrity