Vonda Drees is originally from Wisconsin and now lives in a blue-roofed log cabin she calls Sombrero Azul near La Grange, Texas, the original homeland of the Tonkawa people.

Vonda and her husband Jim served as the directors of the Grünewald Guild, an art and faith retreat center in Washington State, from 2016-2021. Vonda was the artist-in-residence for the 2017 Women of the ELCA Triennial Gathering and created the art for Augsburg Fortress’s 2023 Calendar of Word and Season. She hosts online creative journaling communities and facilitates in-person workshops.

Self taught as an artist, Vonda draws inspiration from the natural world and sacred geometry. She loves the art of Georgia O’Keeffe, Hilma af Klint, and Emily Carr. Theologians Barbara Holmes and Teilhard de Chardin, Mystics Howard Thurman and Robin Wall Kimmerer, Poets Cole Arthur Riley and Mary Oliver are among the creatives whose work inspires her.