Saturday, February 4, 2012
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Key Two...Lexington, Kentucky
Another key, another dear friend. I started with two of my oldest friends...in part because nothing seems to have much longevity these days...so to have two long standing freindships with very dear women seems a rare treasure. And that is where key two went...to a rare treasure of a friend.
Sheila Horn came into my life at a time when God knew I needed her...we went through residency, the births of our oldest girls (complete with picture in crib together in matching outfits!), moving, children growing, life changes, graduations, birthdays, missions, vacations, and so many ordinary things that you just need to have a good friend there to walk through with you.
Sheila is a woman of incredible spiritual stature...She is who I look to for guidance and encouragement in the Word...she is so grounded on the earth, yet with a heavenly perspective that sometimes takes my breath away. One thing that I cannot mention without tears is her envcouragement she gave to me on the one year anniversary of my Father's hospitalization and death. Throughout that week, she sent me a prayer and scripture for each day that held memories experienced one year earlier during hot July weather...from the day we had rushed him from collapse through surgery, through ICU, through the day of exactly one year after his final breath was taken..
She had walked in my shoes...she knew the pain of loss first hand...and the changes that were to come...she held my hand and prayed for God to hold my heart as I struggled to live and accept the new path God had laid before me.
My children know her as Miss Sheila, baker of fine poundcakes & giver of fabulous gifts. I know her as Sheila, a woman with a gift as a hostess, a fabulous cook, a runner, a mother, an encourager, a learner, and woman with her heart, mind & soul in the Word...and most importantly, my friend. Thank you.
Sheila Horn came into my life at a time when God knew I needed her...we went through residency, the births of our oldest girls (complete with picture in crib together in matching outfits!), moving, children growing, life changes, graduations, birthdays, missions, vacations, and so many ordinary things that you just need to have a good friend there to walk through with you.
Sheila is a woman of incredible spiritual stature...She is who I look to for guidance and encouragement in the Word...she is so grounded on the earth, yet with a heavenly perspective that sometimes takes my breath away. One thing that I cannot mention without tears is her envcouragement she gave to me on the one year anniversary of my Father's hospitalization and death. Throughout that week, she sent me a prayer and scripture for each day that held memories experienced one year earlier during hot July weather...from the day we had rushed him from collapse through surgery, through ICU, through the day of exactly one year after his final breath was taken..
She had walked in my shoes...she knew the pain of loss first hand...and the changes that were to come...she held my hand and prayed for God to hold my heart as I struggled to live and accept the new path God had laid before me.
My children know her as Miss Sheila, baker of fine poundcakes & giver of fabulous gifts. I know her as Sheila, a woman with a gift as a hostess, a fabulous cook, a runner, a mother, an encourager, a learner, and woman with her heart, mind & soul in the Word...and most importantly, my friend. Thank you.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Key One...Winchester, Kentucky
I have a friend...a wonderful dear friend of many years...a soul mate friend. Twenty years ago...I was destined to meet Gina Lang...she hailed from the East Coast and I from Deep In the Heart...but we chanced to meet in the middle of the USA and the rest, as they say, is history.
It is the history of a rich friendship...filled with memories of poppy seed bread left on doorsteps, giant donuts under construction (more on this at another time!), births of our children, vacations together, advertising agencies, baptisms, art projects, Auntie G to my children and Godmother to my oldest, sharing our troubles and joys, hours of conversations that pick up where they left of, even if it is months later...a friendship that is an amazing joy to have, to discover and rediscover, to cherish, to celebrate, and in general Thank God for this amazing woman.
She has arrived at times when I couldn't stand...hung paintings in my studio after my father's death when I struggled to get through a day, much less a painting commission...tears stream down my face onto the keyboard as I contemplate what Gina had brought to...and into my life. Blessings too many to count...memories to rich to sum up in a short paragraph of simple letters and punctuation...her character is exemplary, her energy boundless, her heart large with love for God and others, and her family joined with mine forever. Thank you for the late night calls, for the long drives, for the moments we laugh & cry...So to you I give the first key...a small token, but one nonetheless to celebrate memories made and to come...to celebrate friendship...to celebrate you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
It is the history of a rich friendship...filled with memories of poppy seed bread left on doorsteps, giant donuts under construction (more on this at another time!), births of our children, vacations together, advertising agencies, baptisms, art projects, Auntie G to my children and Godmother to my oldest, sharing our troubles and joys, hours of conversations that pick up where they left of, even if it is months later...a friendship that is an amazing joy to have, to discover and rediscover, to cherish, to celebrate, and in general Thank God for this amazing woman.
She has arrived at times when I couldn't stand...hung paintings in my studio after my father's death when I struggled to get through a day, much less a painting commission...tears stream down my face onto the keyboard as I contemplate what Gina had brought to...and into my life. Blessings too many to count...memories to rich to sum up in a short paragraph of simple letters and punctuation...her character is exemplary, her energy boundless, her heart large with love for God and others, and her family joined with mine forever. Thank you for the late night calls, for the long drives, for the moments we laugh & cry...So to you I give the first key...a small token, but one nonetheless to celebrate memories made and to come...to celebrate friendship...to celebrate you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Getting Ready
I have been preparing the keys...contemplating the best way to record their image before they take their journey...
I have tried rubbings to pick up their details and relief...
I have prepared my palette and tried rolling them with ink...
I have sprayed them, dipped them, recorded their images in photography...in short...
I have taken some time with them...thinking and preparing for the giving...for my year of giving thanks, giving of myself, giving to others...where will it take these tiny bits of once-so-useful etched metal?...
better yet...where will it take me?
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Day One
Today starts a journey for the year 2012...one to be taken as a road of gratitude, a recognition of hidden joys, a turn onto the path less taken...
I have 300 keys...all to be distributed in the year 2012...each laying in my studio...awaiting their new journey. Before they leave to other hands, I will make a rubbing of the key to line my gallery walls, one by one. They will then be dipped red, for recognition, for celebration, for identity... each one is unique, just like their journey that they, and I, will take this year...
...this is a diary of each red key and their stories...one by one...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)