Essays on Baltic history, heritage, and a salute to the Heifer International project. Pastels by Marcia Wegman, award winning artist. About the Artist Marcia Wegman is a professional artist living in Iowa City, Iowa, where she received an MFA in printmaking from the University of Iowa. She paints, exhibits, and sells pastel landscapes, pastel portraits, and abstract acrylic paintings. Marcia has won competitions with the pastel landscapes in Iowa and in several art magazines, and is a signature member of the Pastel Society of America. International Artist magazine just announced she is one of ten finalists in their annual competition for the third time. About the Writer D. W. Wright is an editor, writer, and consultant to non-profit organizations and private collectors, and spent many years in museum work in New York City. He now lives with his spouse, Jeanne, in Decorah, Iowa, his hometown. Artist’s Note The pastel paintings I chose to do of the Heifer trip are not totally representative of the whole experience. I took many photos, but chose which I would use as references to paint from solely on their artistic possibilities, rather than a record of my travels in Latvia and Lithuania. There are several paintings from one farm visit with many others unrecorded. There are no paintings of the many beautiful national parks, castles, and historic places that we saw. — Marcia Wegman