These paintings were inspired by the book Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall

Kimmerer. The Three Sisters - Maize, Squash, and Bean - provide an example of a symbiotic relationship between nature and agriculture. They convey an ancient practice that's much more effective than today's industrialized monoculture, which exhausts the land and destroys the natural world. Native people planted these three plants near forest edges or inside of forest openings, where soil is rich and sunlight plentiful. The sisters help each other, like sisters do. Sister Bean provides nitrogen to the soil, Sister Squash keeps slugs and snails away with her spikiness, and Sister Corn provides a scaffold for Sister Bean to climb. If you eat them together, your diet is properly balanced with fiber, proteins, vitamins, and tasty flavors. The Sisters are gifted, smart and powerful.