Dear Friends and Art Patrons,
Are you somewhere cold and snowy? Are you warm with your toes in the sand? Are you somewhere that brings you comfort? Wherever you may be, stop, close your eyes and take a breath; inhale hope and joy, exhale stress and worry. My photographer friend said, “Open your eyes and a new scene is in front of you.” One of love.
“Making The Ordinary Extraordinary” was how my workshops used to be advertised. Now I realize I was telling myself, all those years ago, that every day or moment IS already extraordinary. It was right in front of my eyes the whole time. (As Joni Mitchell said, “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.”)
I find my comfort and joy in my studio, working on paintings for pleasure and for projects, commissions and shows, playing with value drawings and just sketching in my sketchbooks that lie all over the floor upstairs. A wise woman once asked me who I would be without my labels...wife, mother, daughter. At the core of me is my art, a creative, God-given soul that has saved me since Kindergarten from whatever scary monsters the world threw my way. I am forever grateful to those that have taught me and shaped my art so far on this journey. I hope I am doing the same for others. While reflection is good, don’t spend so much time looking back that you don’t see what’s ahead of you. (Sinatra said “the best is yet to come and don’t it look fine”.)
With 2021 in the rear view mirror, bring it on 2022…
-Jeri
