fire and water showroom postcards

These are postcards I just designed for the showroom. We use Vistaprint.com for our printing and we are delighted with their work! What a user friendly site!

Fire and Water Showroom! The BLOG!

The Fire and Water Art! Showroom is the brain child of Kathleen Mooney who invited other artists to rent with her space at 219 W. Main in Lowell, Michigan. We've been together and selling art and giving art classes and generally having a good time together since November of 2006. Looking forward to a great summer! Check out www.fireandwaterart.blogspot.com.
I'm honored to be in this Showrrom with such talented people!

LILACS

A quick 12" square acrylic sketch in response to the glories of lilacs!

FORGET-ME-NOT

These sweet little blue flowers were all over Camp Tosebo last weekend. The pale blue carpet in the woods is amazing. There are lots up by the craft house like in this plein air painting from last year. I transplanted some in to a little rock garden by the Trunk House and they jumped right up like they hadn't been uprooted. I also found a patch of pink ones. I transplanted some down to my garden in the city and you can see they look pretty happy amongst the other eclectic mix of survival-of-the-fittest in the back garden. I hope they spread a lot of seeds!

PANSIES

It's hard not to respond to flowers this time of year. I was playing with some paint at the Fire and Water Showroom while I was gallery sitting and David had brought pansies for his class and that's what my painting turned out to be. Then I went on a photographic tour of a local greenehouse just to feed my eyes with all the color! What a great time of year!

be joyful

"Be joyful, though you've considered all the facts."

Wendell Berry

One of my favorite authors of all time. He wrote the novels Hannah Coulter and Jayber Crow and many others. I've loved them all. He also wrote this poem:

The Wish to Be Generous

All that I serve will die, all my delights,
the flesh kindled from my flesh, garden and field,
the silent lilies standing in the woods,
the woods, the hill, the whole earth, all
will burn in man’s evil, or dwindle
in its own age. Let the world bring on me
the sleep of darkness without stars, so I may know
my little light taken from me into the seed
of the beginning and the end, so I may bow
to mystery, and take my stand on the earth
like a tree in a field, passing without haste
or regret toward what will be, my life
a patient willing descent into the grass.

~ Wendell Berry ~

(The Collected Poems, 1957-1982)

RAINBOW JOY

Someone said these dancers looked like marionettes.
Showers of blessings is an idea I like better!

icons in progress

This is a portion of my daughter's room which I've claimed for my own (since she's lived away from home now for many years). Obviously, I've got a few icons 'in the fire'. I should spend some time on them, but there are lots of creative projects calling my name- when there aren't other things that have to be done.

Festival acceptance

These two paintings will be in the Festival show at the Grand Rapids Art Museum in the next month. The Poppy Field and Vineyard of recent posts were 'declined' and will be going out to Fire and Water Art! in Lowell. Maybe they'll find a home.

My friend Mary Andersen had all 4 pieces accepted!! Shout out to Mary! Go, Girl! Check her website at www.maryeandersen.com