Tenet
- Year
- 2026
- Materials
- Painted magnolia leaf over a nautical chart; final mounting and catalog record forthcoming
- Status
- For the 2026 SGIIA charity auction
- Word note
- A palindrome. The word returns to where it began.
The island, held
A magnolia leaf becomes an island within an island. St. George Island is painted across its surface, then placed over a nautical chart of the surrounding waters.
Gold follows portions of the shoreline touched by the rising sun, while the surrounding blues and greens echo the waters that give the island its shape.
The title comes from the Latin tenet: it holds. It is also a palindrome, a word that returns to where it began.
The island holds its place on the chart.
The leaf holds the island.
And the water holds them both.
From the Sketchbook
The first record of Tenet was a drawing: the shape of a leaf holding the shape of St. George Island, with water surrounding both. The original concept imagined a watercolor ground; as the work developed, a nautical chart took its place.
Lyrics
Home Between Two Rivers
The road runs out across the water,
One bridge, and then you're here.
The Potomac wide on the sunset side,
St. George Creek breathing near.
Morning rises on the creek side,
Evening burns across the west.
You can watch the whole day travel
From one shoreline to the next.
Home between two rivers,
Green between two blues,
Sunrise on the creek side,
Sunset burns the river gold.
Home between two rivers,
Whatever maps may say,
The water gives this island shape
And shapes us every day.
River side can turn to whitecaps,
Wind can push the tide in hard.
Creek side keeps the workboats rocking,
With the osprey standing guard.
Some days all the water glitters,
Some days all the windows moan.
Each has built a nest inside us —
Wild and gentle, both are home.
Every tide will trace the shoreline,
Some will take and leave a sign.
Storms remind us nothing living
Gets to stay unchanged by time.
We're not asking to be spared here —
This island changed us long ago:
Our hearts beat island blood now,
Like the tide flows, sure and slow.
From above, the island's reaching,
One arm curled around a cove,
Like it's holding something precious.
It's been holding us —
It's home...
Home between two rivers,
Green between two blues,
Sunrise on the creek side,
Sunset burns the river gold.
Home between two rivers,
Whatever maps may say,
The shoreline keeps on changing,
And we change right along the way.