The Red Dress Accepted into Exhibition

 

Featured image: The Red Dress

I'm excited to announce that my artwork, "Red Dress," has been chosen for the Louisiana Watercolor Society's 54th Annual International Exhibition by the esteemed juror, Kathleen Giles. I'm honored to have my piece selected by Kathleen, a signature member of AWS, NWS, TWSA, PWS, American Woman Artists, the Niagara Frontier Watercolor Society, the Watercolor USA Honor Society, and the International Guild of Realism. Her work is known for its strong values and intense colors across various subjects. Join me in celebrating this incredible opportunity!

Exhibition Dates: May 1 – May 31, 2024

Celebration

 

Featured image: Celebrate, Celebrate Dance with the Music

Celebration
All’s harmony yet…..
      S…e…p…a…r…a…t…e
Celebration of
Wonder at
the intimate relationship
of all that is.

Unending Circle of Life

 

Featured image: Everything Comes Full Circle

I love this time of year for many reasons.  One reason, and not the only one,  I get only unusual birds that don’t hang around land follow the open ice lines.  You have to be on the lookout for them or you might miss them. This morning, I saw a pair of Mergansers playing in the water. And then there was a bird I have not seen on the lake before, totally white sides with black head and other black markings. Turns out that one was a Merganser also. 

I’m glad to have these exciting things happen in the lake this time of year. I am always grateful for the approaching spring and the renewal of all things including myself. My heart sings with this renewal and it is impossible not to enjoy this glorious morning. Earth is regenerating and earthly forces are giving life to all things in the unending circle of life. 

Soaring Travelers

 

Featured image: Journey of a Blackbird

Soaring travelers
above swaying pines
their mystic way
leaving no trail,
traceless, try to find where
the wide spreading black wings
have touched
the wind.

I'm Honored to Receive 2nd Place Award for Ms. Pileated

 

Featured image: Ms Pileated

I am thrilled to announce that my work, Ms. Pileated, has been awarded the 2nd place in the Nature Homage exhibition! Being recognized among such talented artists is truly an honor.

Statement from Juror Tonya Hopson: “This piece blew me away the minute I walked into it; I said to myself, oh my goodness. Pileated means large red-capped woodpecker. When you look at this media piece, you will notice that not all parts of it are exact, especially when you look at it and see all the little things she has done in there. With all her splashes and splatters, she has done a lot in there. But it is just a beautiful media piece. Blew me away.”

The Nature Homage exhibition featured original and unique 2D and 3D artworks that pay tribute to animals and insects. With 396 submissions from 34 states, having 57 works selected for this exhibition makes this achievement even more special.

She Ran to the Hilltop

 

Featured image: From the Sky

She ran to the hilltop,

Ribbons of wind tugged at her hair

And reached for the blue blue sky

She knew her blood was more like

The earth than anything else

And she let moments like this

fill her up and lets moments 

like this love her, fill her.

Easter 2024

 

Featured image: Talisman III

“Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise.” — Luke 23:43

“FREEDOM lies just beyond the fences we build around ourselves.” ~James Nathan Muir

Many of you who read my journal entries know I write a lot about freedom.

James Muir’s quote pretty much says it all for me. But there are other things that make me think about Freedom and how important I think it is. A beautiful example are quotes from the movie Braveheart, which is all about freedom.

 “Your heart is free. Have the courage to follow it.”

“Run, and you'll live... at least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin' to trade ALL the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take... OUR FREEDOM!”

But the most wonderful quote of all that gave us the concept the idea of freedom and what we should look for when we feel fenced in and are struggling:

37 Pilate, therefore, said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone that is of the truth heareth my voice.

The concept of truth is everywhere in the Bible, but for the most part, I read and understand truth as Jesus did; it was all about how one is governed and how much it exists in your life – it is the same message William Wallace was delivering when he spoke of freedom.

What did Jesus reply to Pilate?

"Do you refuse to speak to me?" Pilate said. Don't you realize I have the power either to free you or to crucify you?" Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.”

Jesus set us free. Through Jesus, God is delivering on His promise to make you perfect. He is using everything that happens in your life to make you more dependent on Him, His words, and His Spirit. He is creating a new heart, mind, and soul in you so you can live freely.

Jesus set us free, and every time I pray, I realize that. Every time I am in a pickle, I realize that it is I who created the pickle, and it is Christ who will free me from this pickle.

I am always overwhelmed during Easter because of what Christ and God did for us. He freed us—we are the ones who need to untangle the knots in our lives and make choices, not out of fear but out of the idea of freedom, as was expected in Braveheart, the Bible, and Christ's death on the cross.