‘Wings and Roots’ Print

In this limited edition fine art print is a tender balance between flight and grounding, a dance of strength and trust.

Medium: Museum Archival Inks on Hahnemühle Rag Fine Art Paper

Dimensions: Each print is a museum-quality archival ink replica, presented on fine art paper with an elegant white border that includes the title, signature, and print number. Available in 8×10, 11×14, and 17×22 sizes.

Artist’s Note:

“In Wings and Roots, I wanted to explore the harmony between soaring and grounding—the beautiful interplay of freedom and trust. So often, we think of hope as something that lifts us high, a pursuit of the skies. But sometimes, hope is also the strength found in solid ground, in arms that lift and hold us without restraining us. In this painting, the figure’s wings are both a part of her freedom and her connection to the one who holds her, reminding her that hope is found in both soaring and resting.

This piece is a reminder that real strength is not just in our ability to rise, but also in our willingness to be held, to trust in the strength that supports us from below. Just as roots anchor and nurture, grounding us in the earth, so too does love lift us to heights we might never reach alone. May this artwork inspire you to embrace both your wings and your roots, to find hope in the balance of flight and foundation.”

‘Wings and Roots’

She has flown for so long, chasing the sky,
Wings aching, stretched, soaring high.
She was wary to perch, to let go and rest,
Afraid that landing meant less than her best.

But below her, the earth stands strong,
A strength that has been there all along.
Rising to meet her, arms open wide,
Not just to catch her, but to lift and to guide.

She once thought hope was only the flight,
Upward and onward, chasing the light.
But in safe arms, she finds her rest,
Lifted higher, and fears suppressed.

The ground holds her, and carries her higher,
With strength that burns like a steady fire.
In the dance of trust, they both ascend,
To places her wings alone could not send.

She can still fly, her heart still free,
But now she knows the power to be—
Not just to soar, but to stand strong,
In the earth that lifts her, where she belongs.

And as she lands between flowers and sea,
She learns that hope is in all that can be.
In the arms that lift, in the roots that hold,
She finds new strength, her story told.

— Emily Shay

Let Wings and Roots remind you of the strength in both flight and foundation, in the freedom to soar and the courage to be held. Hope, after all, is not just in reaching for the skies, but in trusting the hands that lift us when we land.

Check out the other print, ‘The Dance of Ground and Sky’ in this mini series!