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.

Symbols

 

Featured image: Tumbling Stones

Symbols are powerful because they are the visible signs of invisible realities. ~St. Augustine

My research on the earth, its colors, stones, and rocks, and what they represent to people throughout history is very interesting.  But I have broadened the search and have wandered into symbols. There are so many paths to travel here – it’s hard to narrow them down.  As It turns out, symbols of the earth were just a small small piece of the pie.  So, I am going to travel along that path for a while.  Symbols travel through history like everything else.   Symbols are layered and have become, I think, a key part of communication.  

Memories

 

Featured image: Sunrise in the Morning at the Lake

Her wagon was behind her.  Maggie walked by her side, smelling the smells along the way. Maggie followed her on the path to the back of the woods.  It was so glorious to greet the new day this way. Sitting in her chair, coffee in her hand and the woods filled with bird songs, she watched the sun rise above the horizon.  Maggie is gone now, and she no longer lives by those woods, but she still takes her coffee, sits in the back, and watches the sun rise over the horizon, and the woods behind her house are suddenly filled with glory.

Where is Art?

 

Featured image: Our Connections

Where is art in music?

Is it between the notes and the pauses in between?

Where is art in a painting?

Is it the pause between?????

The pause between the brush and the mark?

Art is the idea and it is between the idea and the creator. 

Seeking Harmony

 

Featured image: Be Different

when seeking 

harmony

be careful

Not to remove

Difference

difference is

uniqueness

uniqueness is you

The Swirl

 

Featured image: Yellow Birds at the Feeder

The swirl

The swirl of startled finches …leaving the feeder

almost touches me … sitting in my Adirondack chair,

enjoying watching the day begin.

Perhaps when they reach me…they will ask me to

fly with them.

Each Particle

 

Featured image: The Present

Each particle
Each instant
A reality

Unforgettable

 

Featured image: Stars in the Sky

Today, well, every day, really stop rushing around and quietly, in your own way, allow your eye to see. 

To see the moon, stars, clouds, the sun, a friend, a favorite color and have an unforgettable experience.

Off Again

 

Featured image: Sparrow

sparrows flocking 

     at the feeder

they are off 

     in a minute

fluttering and eddying

     excited

back again – giddy

where to next, 

     they are off again

     rushing

amazing, such a wonder. 

Nothing More

Featured image: Miracles of All Things Natural

We search for meaning. We label things and meanings. We tell ourselves we are a diamond, a queen, a star. But we are just what we are and appear to be. Nothing more. 

Amulet

 

Featured image: Purple Iris

purple flower – this talisman

holds it all

a moment

a glance

this amulet 

of passion 

and mystery

Sparrow and Me

 

Featured image: Sparrow

sparrow sits on top

of a tree

me 

in my adirondack

basking

in the sun

perspectives

different

Yet the same

we bask in the

Sun

Everything Changes

 

Featured image: Letting Go

blank paper before me

empty

formless

desire-less

i

place a mark

in the middle

everything

changes

Shelter

 

Featured image: Shelter

Shelter

blackness in the void

stranded

ravaged by the 

storm

searching

seeking

shelter 

from the storm

i wonder

He beckons

Shelter

From the storm

She Sang

 

Featured image: Soulful Jazz Singer

She sang

her songs filled the air

She sang

she had nothing to lose

she sang

her glory took her to

the land of ageless

peace

innocence

and kindness

she sang and became a

beacon of dazzling light

she sang to the magic

of yes, yes, yes

Time passes

 

Featured image: Stars in the Sky

Time passes, 

today will be tomorrow

don’t forget

the sweetness 

you saw today.

Today, well, every day, really stop rushing around and quietly, in your own way, allow your eye to see. 

To see the moon, stars, clouds, the sun, a friend, a favorite color and have an unforgettable experience.

Take Time To Look

Georgia O’keefe

That Tree

 

Featured image: Climbing Tree

A small finch lands on a branch of a tree.

That tree, once so scraggly, is now deep in color.

I wanted to cut it down way back when.

Make more room in the garden, I said.

But we didn’t cut it down, and now it thrives. 

That tree reminds me every time when I look

at its beauty,

that like that tree, we need to give

others a chance and space to thrive.

Art and Life

 

Featured image: Two Flowers at the Window

Art and life, the joy in life and art, can only be discovered through confrontation of something unknown, something threatening.  The threatening and unknown draws our attention to the challenge and in the end fills us with wonder with life and art.

Talisman III Featured in Watercolor Artist Magazine

 

Featured image: Talisman III

While glancing through my February 2024 Watercolor Artist Magazine I opened to the first page and was totally taken by surprise when I saw my work "Talisman" staring right black at me.  I had no idea they were publishing this so what a great start to my day and such a beautiful blessing.  They were talking about my best of show awarded to me by judge Stan Kuth in the Northwest Watercolor Societies National Exhibition. Just thought I would share this with all of you.

Pileated Accepted into Exhibition

 
Featured image: Ms Pileated

Exciting news! My artwork "Pileated" has been accepted into the "Nature Homage" juried exhibition at the d'Art Center in Norfolk, Virginia. The exhibition will be running from March 16th to April 13th, 2024. I'm truly honored to have my work chosen among 364 pieces from artists across 34 states. Feeling incredibly blessed to be part of such an amazing gathering of art!