Salmon Spawning: The Journey Home

Salmon Spawning: The Journey Home 1520 1280 Sarah Ross

48″ x 41″; Oil Pastel

I drew this in January 2016, after seeing male and female Salmon spawning near Point Reyes, California. Salmon are born in a stream, then migrate down river to the ocean. After years of living in the ocean, an internal mechanism drives them to swim upstream, against obstacles, relying only on the nourishment they’ve gathered in the ocean, to return to the EXACT stream where they were born, lay their eggs, and then die. That is a fierce commitment to go Home.

I was inspired by the force, determination, and beauty of the salmon creating their nest in the river. In my own experience, that deep instinctual impulse to go Home has been a driving force guiding me towards mature belonging with myself and the wider web of life. What does going Home mean to you?