When German artist Jessika Cardinahl sat down amid a herd of sheep in a pasture on Mallorca one vacation morning years ago, she was surprised to find herself welcomed by the local beasts. “There was no distraction, it was so peaceful,” she recalls. Cardinahl, a painter, sculptor, and fiber artist, became deeply inspired by the sheep’s gentle nature and graceful shape. This inspiration is revealed in her work in various mediums, including bronze sculpture; silk and mohair tapestries handwoven in Nepal; large-scale oil canvases; and graphic, candy-colored digital prints. “[Sheep are] all about community, giving, love, compassion,” she muses. “And to us, as humans, a vital part of our history. They mean only good things.”