Creatively Thinking

  Featured image: Birthday Cake My half birthday was on July 21. I am hoping that the next six months, and the years that will follow, will bring no fear, no worries, no hatred, no hesitation—just love, just wonder, and the sheer joy of exploration and discovery. Of course, I have always had that dream, but as I move closer to having fewer days on earth, I want to think of those days as treasures, as days of always finding …………………. God's grace, beauty, and love, and walking away from everything that isn't that. I just read something that says what I am trying to say so beautifully. Calling myself an "artist" is not something I am comfortable with lately. It feels like a judgment call that I prefer those who view my work to make. For convenience, I call myself an artist, but, you know, for me it is either a "huge" word that carries a lot of mystery and wonderful meaning, or a very small word that has lost all its meaning. Lately, I don't know which one fo...

  Featured image: Mom's Jitterbug Mom’s Jitterbugs are blooming this year, and they were glistening and sparkling with diamonds from the morning dew. The Jitterbugs don’t seem to bloom every year. I don’t know why. They are yellow-brown irises. I really don’t know why they have the name Jitterbug, but it certainly is a fun name. I understand that when I first looked them up, I learned there is an orchid that looks quite a bit like Mom’s iris called the Mendenhall. Now that I have seen it, perhaps it would be fun to try and raise this orchid just to have this memory of my mom around all year. I used to raise orchids, but they kind of got out of hand. I had about 20 of them growing, and just watering them was a full-time job. But then I digress from the original story of the Jitterbug. Anyway, as I was having coffee this morning and looking over the gardens and wondering which flower would be the first to bloom and show color this spring, there was Mom’s Jitterbug. I was so delighted...

  Featured image: Little Bit of Sunshine There is a single patch of sun in the middle of the lawn. The lawn has dewdrops that sparkle. The grass is quite long. It should have been mowed yesterday, but it wasn’t. Oh well. I went to the farmers market yesterday, the first time in a long time. It was fun. I got some maple syrup, nice-smelling soap, and some exotic mushrooms. And I talked to some very nice folks. I think that was my favorite part. The mushrooms had fun names, like Lion’s Mane, which I bought to go with a dinner of eggs and bagels. I also bought the bagels from the vendor next to the mushroom vendor. It was a great morning, and I didn’t get home until four that afternoon because I also went antiquing! Of course.

  Featured image: Black Feather "I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way." — Georgia O'Keeffe

  Featured image: It's A Beautiful Morning Brilliant lime-green oak leaves Drooping So young, yet So new Brilliant This morning They weren’t there Yesterday The woods Are a nursery Of different Baby greens

  I’m grateful and honored to share that my painting Roots II has been accepted into TREE II: Breath of Humanity , an online exhibition presented by Verum Ultimum Art Gallery. Trees have always held a special place in my imagination. Nature has been my greatest teacher, and I’m continually inspired by the quiet strength of trees—their deep roots, their resilience, and their constant reaching toward the light. They remind us that growth begins beneath the surface and that what sustains us is often unseen. In Roots II , I wanted to reflect on those hidden connections that nourish and anchor us, while reminding us that growth is both an inward and outward journey. I’m honored to have this work included in an exhibition celebrating the many ways trees symbolize life, spirit, connection, and renewal. Thank you to Verum Ultimum Art Gallery for this meaningful opportunity and for bringing together artists from around the world to explore such a timeless theme. The online exhibition is no...