John de Graaf

Our feature story this month, by Barbara Lloyd McMichael, is about John de Graaf's latest film that depicts Katharine Lee Bates, who wrote the lyrics for America the Beautiful. Yes, indeed, women are a force for good, and if you believe that, then please pass along this platform. #WomenBelieve. On an entirely different note, Art Gets a Free Ridedemonstrates how the rich use art to get richer. While we’re on the subject of wealth, please see Annie Searle’s Sanitizing Bad News that examines the elements of risk inherent in the structure of large corporations.

This month we take a look at true beauty from a myriad of unusual perspectives: Catholic Outreach Group Sacred Encounters Serves the Homeless in Downtown Seattle, Barbara McMichael writes about the beauty of quilting, Robin Lindley interviews documentary filmmaker John de Graaf, a man who has long been an advocate of environmental beauty, and Patricia Vaccarino reviews Willa Cather's "The Song of the Lark," which might be the most beautiful book of all time.