SHAPE JOURNEY #2 +3

These are tough to photograph because they have so much texture and sheen. They are the same composition rendered in different colors and orientations. They mirror each other.

MEDITATION #7

This piece is a continuation of the Meditation series I started in 2008.

STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

Another recently finished mixed media piece.

SANCTUARY in Art in the Park

This piece, though not accepted into the Muskegon Regional at the Muskegon Museum of Art, made it through 'soft jurying' by MMA curators after the show was selected and this was among 40 pieces chosen to be part of the Art in the Park over the Fourth of July weekend.

SHAPE JOURNEY 1

Finally, a new collage! There are many in the pipeline, but this is the first recent finished piece. I like the simplicity. I did a workshop with Kathleen Conover last week at the Franciscan Center. She is an amazing artist and a wonderful teacher. I need some time to process all the information and start working in my own studio again.

Tosebo work weekend

This is an image from another year, but the same cast of characters were in the water yesterday putting in the Tosebo docks for summer! What a ritual! We were thankful for moderate temperatures. What you don't see are the two lovely assistants, wet and dirty from doing the onshore and on the water's edge component of the work. We accomplished a lot of tasks this weekend that will make the summer pleasant.

Generation to generation

BEING THANKFUL………until you become thankful, you will never find joy.

"Being thankful is not telling God you appreciate the fact that your life is not in a shambles. If that is the basis of your gratitude, you are on slippery ground. Every day of your life you face the possibility that a blessing in your life can be taken away. But blessings are only signs of God's love. The real blessing, of course, is the love itself. Whenever we get too attached to the sign, we lose our grasp on the God who gave it to us. Churches are filled with widows who can explain this to you. We are not ultimately grateful that we are still holding our blessings. We are grateful that we are held by God even when the blessings are slipping through our fingers.

Only when we see this are we able to be truly joyful, because then we have made God our joy. We still cherish the blessings, but not because we have to have them. We cherish them because they are our windows into heaven.

Gratitude is our ability to see the grace of God, morning by morning, no matter what else greets us in the course of the day."

-M. Craig Barnes,

HUSTLING GOD: WHY WE WORK SO HARD FOR WHAT GOD WANTS TO GIVE.
Zondervan, 1999

A HERITAGE ~ FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION, he is god.

“Great is Jehovah! Greatly praise Him! His greatness is beyond discovery! Let each generation tell its children what glorious things He does.”

Psalm 145: 3&4

“… let us remember that He has given us the sun and the moon and the stars and the earth with its forests and mountains and oceans- and all that lives and moves upon them. He has given us all green things and everything that blossoms and bears fruit- and all that we quarrel about and all that we have misused- and to save us from our own foolishness, from all our sins, He came down to earth and gave us Himself.”

-Sigrid Undset

Festival acceptance 2008

This piece was accepted into the Festival of the Arts for 2008.

It's titled PRAYER.

Max and Mary Conover

More cleaned up photos of my in-laws. November 4, 1944 was their wedding day- he was back on a short leave from New Guinea where he was stationed and saw action during WW2.

Max Conover

I just cleaned up a few photos on Photoshop of Fred's dad who died in March. Those old photos didn't age well, there was a lot of damage, but these look pretty good now.

GOLDEN

Though these post as the same size, the first picture
GOLDEN 2 is larger (30"x24")
GOLDEN 1 which I started first, is 24"x20". I've been painting sunflowers for at least a year and these are the ones that are the most satisfying to me. They are based on a gaggle of sunflowers I photographed in Golden, Colorado last year in the Clear Creek History Park.

Yes, they are the same, but different!

As yet not named

This is a painting related to the Meditating on the Light piece I posted recently. They actually are related compositions. This one hasn't revealed its name as yet! Back in 2006 I named them Perek Shirah which is the name of a Hebrew book of songs celebrating the natural world as God's creation. I still love that title and will use it again sometime.

MEDITATING ON THE LIGHT

A new piece- actually an old piece from 2006 that just got a makeover. I always liked the start but I was mystified as to how to finish it. It's in a frame from the past, always nice to give new life to an old frame and glass. This piece will go to the Uptown Gallery in Grand Haven, where I'm going to be part of a watercolor show called Splash 10.

I had a wonderful time today with a group of kind people from Hope Reformed Church in GR who listened to my PowerPoint presentation Enigmas and Mysteries and asked very thoughtful questions.

31 South

I will be entering this acrylic landscape in the 2008 Festival competition in Grand Rapids. This is based on some of the photos I posted a few days ago.

Easter banner dedication

This is from the dedication of the Anastasis banner for Easter at Park Church in Grand Rapids. To see other posts about this banner, enter 'Anastasis' in the search area at the top of the blog.

When I was invited to design a new Easter banner for Park Church, I knew it had to be something that would complement the ‘poems in stone and glass’ that are the church building of Park. There is a rich history of art and faith that needed to be considered.

Through conversations with Bets Casey and Rev. Todd Perry and research into Easter imagery, I developed some sketches and a vision for this banner which I hope will visually sing the Easter Hallelujahs.

In the early Christian church, icons were considered sacred doorways into the divine. Icons titled ANASTASIS- literally ‘to stand again’ tell the resurrection story. I incorporated elements from ancient icons into the Park Church Easter banner.

This Easter banner I created includes the entire story of salvation, not just the reanimation of Christ but the complete package of the salvation story. The cross is there, but instead of a symbol of torture, humiliation and death, it has become a symbol of triumph. The critical element is the open, empty tomb and the stone rolled away . Through it Christ conquered death and so shall we! Also, here, as in the ancient icons of the story, there are witnesses. They could be disciples, or saints who have gone before or they could be a choir of angels. Whoever they are, they are a cloud of witnesses to the story.

The sun on the left rises and sheds light on the scene, but the light also emanates from Christ- the Light of the world- who is our source of light. The Greek letters in his halo say, “I AM WHO I AM.” There is a shine and glimmer in many of the fabrics which catch and reflect the light.

Christ is robed in white and gold. This speaks to his purity and holiness. His hands and feet bear the scars of the crucifixion. His face is aglow. His arms are lifted in proclamation and welcome. He stands firmly and also steps forward toward us. The backdrop of white and beige fields of flowers celebrates the cycle of life, the three lilies could be allusions to the Trinity. From early times, lilies were symbols of purity used in depictions of the annunciation. They suggest the plan of God from the beginning and the start of the salvation story in Jesus birth from the Virgin Mary. Also in groups of three on either side of the banner are striped pillars vertically suggesting strength and the Trinity and also echoing the architecture of the sanctuary of Park Church.

I am honored to have been chosen to create this banner and making it has enriched my faith journey and my art skills. I hope that it will add a visual hallelujah to the Easter worship and bless the celebrants of this great salvation.

inspirations

These are photos I took Sunday while driving home from Tosebo on 31 which are driving my work this week. I think this is near Pentwater. It inspires me every time I drive by. I'm inspired by Melanie Parke, Richard Kooyman, and Mary E. Andersen to approach landscape painting in a looser way. I've started some today and will post some when they are presentable.

Melanie Parke and Richard Kooyman

Today we had the privilege of visiting Melanie Parke and Richard Kooyman in their studios in Chief, Michigan. (Actually, Kaleva) Inspirational!! Check out their work:
http://www.parkekooyman.com/

Show at the Postma Center

We hung the show yesterday and it's terrific!

This is a small postcard which has one of mine and one of Mary's. If you're interested in the process I use to create the mixed media pieces, go to: http://vwieringa.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2006-09-25T19%3A28%3A00-04%3A00&max-results=50
We'll see if this works! You may have to copy and paste the link, and scroll down, but you'll be able to see this piece Waiting in progress.

Alleluia, Christ is Risen!

He is Risen indeed! Alleluia! What a mystery!

Moving Spirit

Goin' to the dogs!

I was asked if I wanted to try painting a dog portrait and I thought I'd give it a try. Actually I had a lot of fun painting this sweet Australian shepherd face and the person who commissioned it is satisfied. This will go to the owner for her birthday. This dog is recently deceased so it should be a poignant present. Her eyes remind me of my old black lab who was a joy in my life. Notice the reflections in the eyes are actually little hearts. Cutsie? Maybe but also fun.

Women's History Celebration

At Fire and Water in Lowell (219 West Main) we're having a women's history reception on Sunday, March 16 from 2-4to show our self-portraits and to read about women who have inspired us on our artistic journey. Come join us if you can! For a preview, visit our blog: http://fireandwaterart.blogspot.com/

Maybe we'll see you there!

Here's one of mine. This one is done in pastel. It is exhibited along with Vee Gates, a new autobiographical self-portrait that I blogged a few weeks ago.

Another passing

These are my in-laws, Mary and Max Conover. They were both very dear people. Mom left this earth for heaven in June of 2007 and last week Dad got his wish and was able to join her there. They both were able to be at home until the end thanks to caring family members and Spectrum Hospice. We will miss them but we rejoice in their faith and salvation.

AERIAL series

These are a few of the aerial series I've been working on for a while. They just got finished. There are a few more underway on my work table. The first 3 are 6 in square wrapped canvases, the next 3 are 12'' squares and the last is 18"x24". All of them are installed at Fire and Water on my newly painted wall- I spent yesterday changing my wall color from a light yellow to a warm 'pecan'. It really sets off the work. I'll have to photograph it next time I go. I worked from 12:30 until 7 and was too tired to tend to many nuances! But the labels are up.

VEE GATES (Wie geht's)

This work is 25x35 inches. It's titled VEE GATES (Wie geht's). It's a play on German for How are you doing? and also VEE (my first initial) and the concept of GATES which has been the subject of a couple sermons I've heard recently. Gates mark out the way, welcoming all, excluding none. Inviting, not guarding. And the idea of being OPEN! Lots of wonderful Biblical references and metaphors to gates. "Lift up your heads, oh, ye Gates and be ye lifted up ye everlasting doors and the King of Glory shall come in."

I worked on top of another painting called Light of the World. Some of that painting is still there, but it's layered with photocopies, tissue paper and words collaged onto the surface, stamps, stencil, brush strokes, permanent marker... pictures of family, gates, keys, and puzzle pieces. I think it's finished. It's a self-portrait. Fire and Water is having a display of self portraits by women artists during the month of March. I'll hang it there and then I can decide if it's finished.