Remembering Evan

We lost a very special young man and are mourning his death.  It's
been 14 days now, and as of yesterday I was finally able to write about
it.  Here's a poem I wrote for beautiful Evan Dante Gallegos.
We miss you, Evan.

Evan.

Full of life, fun, plans for the future,

tender care, laughter, exuberance,  love.

Always ready to help, generous,

Determined – tirelessly working with that difficult thing       

          coaxing the beauty from it.

Living life to the fullest,

Yet slowing down to be charmed by a grandma.

Full of love,

Evan.

Gone.

You left us.

You lived in the Light,

You walked in beauty,

But the dark plagued you

          and you were overcome.

Now you are gone.

And here we are.

Miserable, hollow, empty, tear stained, burdened.

Wait.  Quiet!

Your voice echoes –

I see your smile –

but when I turn, you are gone.

Oh, Evan, why did you do it?

Why?

You are gone, and we are full of ‘what ifs.’

          What if I had called,

          What if we had gotten together,

          What if I texted you,

          What if I answered your message,

          What if I looked into your eyes and asked you how you were,

                   and helped you fight your demons?

Too busy!

Too busy for what?

To care for God’s likeness?

Guilty!

Guilty.

No! We are not guilty!

That comes from another place!

‘What ifs’ matter not!

What we ARE is privileged to have known you.

We have danced in your beauty

          and are changed.

You changed us… forever.

Here I sit, silent tears streaming, watching eagles far above

          nurturing new life.

The sun warms me and life goes on.

People working, chatting, going on about their lives,

Pollen yellowing my car,

          all creation bursting forth.

Doesn’t this world know that you are gone

          and everything has changed?

How can they continue?

How can I continue?

I must.

You have changed me.

I have learned.

Yesterday I rose from my bed of tears

          to give love.

Each life I meet is precious,

          the artwork of God.

And in some way, great or small,

I will share with each one,

          as you did with me,

The riches of love, and beauty, and hope.

I conceived this on my bike ride on the morning of 3/20, and wrote
it down when I got home.  Later that day I edited it.  This morning 
around 4:00 a.m., I edited it twice and typed it out in an hour 
and a half.  This picture is Evan and my daughter, Melody.
We will never forget you, my young friend.

George Clooney's Monuments Men Comments

I have long awaited George Clooney's movie, Monuments Men, and we went last night.  It far exceeded my expectations.

It's the story of Hitler's ruthless pursuit of European art during World War II.  I have read extensively on this subject and the movie is very true, in fact, it's been said that if Hitler concentrated on the war effort as much as the deliberate theft of art, the world would be a very different place today.  I agree with that statement.

For you to thoroughly round out both your WWII history and your art history, I ask that you go see this movie.  It stars Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, Hugh Bonneville, and Cate Blanchett.  These veteran actors generate a most enjoyable rapport with each other and make this movie poignant, believable and even funny.

 

You will see Hitler bending over a model of a city - this is his hometown, Linz, Austria, that he wanted to completely update in honor of himself with a museum in his name.  He spent an exorbitant amount of time industrializing Linz and making plans for it to be his throne of power.

My dad was in WWII, D-Day plus 15.  He had been in many of the places you will see in the movie, and went down in one of the mines where they found stolen art.  Much of what my dad told me unfolded in this movie.

Seriously consider this movie.  It will be well worth your time. 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CreneTs7sGs‎

The registration has opened now for the Artist Expo which will be held this summer at the Marriott Hotel and Convention Center in The Woodlands.  I went last year and LOVED it - this year will be even better!

I will be teaching two of my favorite classes - metal embossing.  One will be for advanced artists, and the other will be for beginning artists.  There will be many classes running, and the big hall will be filled to the brim with art products of every kind, for sale and being demoed.

You can find all kinds of information at this website: http://www.artistexpohouston.com/

Here's a piece I did of one of my lilies.  With metals, it's easy to get dynamic results, and I think that happened with this one.  Can ya smell it?

Choosing Paintings for Solo Show

At the end of March, I'll be having a solo show at The Woodlands Chamber of Commerce.  Right now I'm in the process of selecting paintings for the show, and matting and framing any that aren't finished.

This one was inspired by the Rangoon Creeper in my back yard.  Having purchased three years ago, it's clambered up our arbor and has become a beauty with fifteen foot tendrils that are holding their own and having some territorial battles with my wisteria.  These stunning pinks are also heavily fragrant - I can almost smell them when I look at this painting.  Because I love my garden and the great outdoors, this is a very happy painting for me.

I will be selling it at the Chamber for $350.00.

'Safe' Painting Chosen for Art League Poster

Bright and bold, even though this nest seems to be floating, I named it 'Safe.'  I particularly like the fascinating way the warm and cool colors flow together, and if you viewed it in person, you would feel the depth and layering that's hard to see on the internet.

The Woodlands Art League is putting out a poster, and I chose this one of mine to be featured, along with other WAL members' paintings. We have a wonderful organization of multi-talented artists, and have a lot of fun together.  If you are interested in purchasing beautiful artwork, setting up commissions or taking a class, check us out!

Here's a link to our website: http://www.woodlandsartleague.org/  Have a look - you'll be glad you did!

Woodlands Sculpture Tour

I booked a couple tours of The Woodlands' sculptures and we had a great time.  Although it was the day of the MARATHON, we thoroughly enjoyed our tour!  Now as I drive around my town, I'll never think of these sculptures again in the same way.  We learned a lot and my life has once again been enriched.  Thanks, Tony Motto, for the great tour!

If anyone else is interested in touring The Woodlands and checking out all of our wonderful sculptures, gather some friends and look up Sculptours at www.woodlandsart.com.  You'll be glad you did!