This 28X40 “Soddie Painting” was purchased directly from the artist’s (Leah Johnson) home in Montezuma. It is signed on the back. One of the unique features of her artwork is that media she uses to create the artwork incorporates actual sod from pioneer homes in the 1800s.
A little history of the artist…
One Mennonite memory painter is Leah Johnson, a Holdeman Mennonite (Church of God in Christ, Mennonite) from Montezuma, KS, who since 1967 has painted sod houses set in various Kansas regional landscapes. She uses a self-developed, three-dimensional sand-painting technique that was revealed to her following the death of her husband when she was suddenly faced with earning her own living. She has also illustrated books with drawings of her favorite subjects, notably True Sod, written by Barbara Oringdeff(sp).
