I did not fully appreciate the plains and their vast skies until I'd left the midwest. On every visit home, I noted how many of the traditional artifacts were disappearing from the landscape. I began to document those aspects of the region that had mattered to me as a child. I was concerned with evoking the changing moods of the land and with presenting that which is truly lovely, yet often overlooked by others.                                                                                   Raymond Bial

Many of these books were published in associations with exhibits and public programs funded in part by the following organizations:

Illinois Arts Council
National Endowment for the Arts
Illinois Humanities
National Endowment for the Humanities