Peace

Through the juxtaposition of a dry autumn leaf and the cheery blue of the symbols for love and peace, photographer Carmen Phillipe-Welton suggests an encounter of hope with the reality of war. While this might be considered graffiti or even vandalism, the light-blue paint seems lighthearted, optimistic, even innocent. It’s brilliant that the painter didn’t finish the word PEACE. We aren’t there yet. “My most treasured values are peace and justice through radical faith,” writes the photographer. This image “speaks to me of hope for a peaceable kingdom.”

—Lois Huey-Heck