Aynslee Moon Smithee is an artist, a mother, a teacher, and in the process of becoming a licensed local pastor at Valley UMC. For her, creating art is a means of contemplation and an avenue for reaching out and inviting others into an exploration of scripture and the liturgical life of the church. She is inspired by many things: nature, the human form, songs, dreams, stories, and her children, to name a few. No matter the subject, she uses the language of design, focusing on composition, color interaction, mark-making, and the dance of light and shadow. She works in multiple media, including oil paints, charcoal, watercolor, and micron pen. She has a B.F.A. in painting from the University of Mississippi in Oxford and an M.F.A. in painting from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.