THE IRRESISTIBLE STORY





2014 - Artist - Nicole Feemster

Artist's description:  "I wanted my design to center around the idea of stories. Depicted here is a small family sharing a story. The smoke from their fire is supposed to be a visualization of what they are talking about. I drew fishing stories here because they relate to Seward and are always notoriously over-the-top, wild tales (great fun to draw!). They could be talking about anything though, the story of Seward, a popular book, an old native legend. The family doesn't know that they have a lot of eavesdroppers-- all the wild life in the forest around them. I wanted this story to be irresistible even to the animals, a tale that everyone stops to listen to. 

I like the idea of stories because there is a communal and very social aspect to them. People gather together to hear and to tell. It includes oral story telling traditions, which are very important to the Native peoples living here. Although most stories are written down in books, I often think of reading as a solitary and individual activity. Once the words are spoken aloud they seem to change. Before my siblings and I could read, my mother would read aloud to us, and I remember those times as infused with a little bit of magic."


Size - 32' x 71'

Location - South facing wall overlooking the Seward Community Library's garden on the 
                 corner of Adams St. and 5th Ave