The Fairfield Art Association will open a new exhibit titled “The Earth Speaks” by Iowa City artist Monica Basile in the Main Gallery at the Fairfield Arts and Convention Center on Friday, October 2nd, according to a press release from the FAA.
A reception for the artist will be held from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m., with a special presentation by Basile at 7:00 p.m. in which she will offer brief readings to bring her artwork to life.
The collection features ink engravings on clayboard created as part of a year-long meditation on the artist’s spiritual connections with nature, which culminated in a deck of oracle cards called The Earth Speaks. Each illustration represents a natural phenomenon or seasonal milestone and serves as an invitation to reflect on the messages of those moments, with the goal of helping viewers approach their lived experiences with greater understanding, compassion, and reverence.
Basile studied printmaking and book arts at the University of Nebraska-Omaha before completing her PhD in gender, women’s, and sexuality studies at the University of Iowa. Her work weaves together visual and healing arts practices grounded in reverence for nature’s rhythms and the body’s wisdom, inviting people to experience beauty, enchantment, and connection to the earth as pathways to peace.
The reception on October 2nd coincides with Fairfield’s monthly art walk. More information about the Fairfield Art Association is available by contacting FAA Volunteer Director Suzan Bates Kessel.
