“Earthly Hands“ by Elsa Murray

Elsa Murray is an artist working primarily in painting, printmaking, and poetry. 

(Check out more of their work online at www.elsamurrayart.com.)

“Earthly Hands” • Acrylic paint on canvas • December 2025 • About the artwork, from the artist: “'Earthly Hands' is one part of a series of paintings exploring identity and grief. The body of work aims to use ecological embodiment in visual art to represent my experiences as a queer, disabled person living in the upper midwest. This is an experience that has been marked by deep internal instability, juxtaposed by love and community support. My work often features plants and animals common to this area, honoring personal resilience through a connection to place and time. My work in other media, like printmaking and poetry, is no different. I use ecological history and continuity as an opportunity to reflect on shifting identity and a fluctuating body and mind in the context of the environment around me.”