The original artwork called "There is a Balm in Gilead" is a drawing I did on a wood cradle, which measures 12" by 9" by 2". This design came from a sketch of a posing model. I crushed blueberries to use the juice to stain the wood. I pushed a sewing pattern tracer into the wood along many of the lines of the design causing the stain to seep into the tiny holes from the tracer. 

This small piece was inspired by an old spiritual song. My favorite line in the lyrics is, "There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole..." I play this on the piano slowly and with feeling. I no longer have the original painting; a collector purchased it for a gift for someone who helped his own healing from a rare disease. 

I decided to create a print from the photo I'd kept and added this quote: "We should be willing to act as a balm for all wounds" found when reading the journals of Etty Hillesum in "An Interrupted Life, the Diaries 1941-1943 and Letters from Westerbork".

A digital image download is available for $5 from the Digital Image section of my shop.