Mother's Day - So Blessed!

I am so amazingly blessed to have been cared for, taught, nurtured, encouraged, and loved by this amazing lady for my whole life. I don't really have the words to describe how much her unconditional love has meant to me. I grieve for those who have not had that kind of a mother's love in their life. I am thankful to the Lord every day that He chose to give me a mother like her. And now we are much more than mother and daughter; we are best friends and sisters in the Lord. I love you, Mama!

Granmama and Mama

Aunt Janet, Granmama, and Mama

Mama and Me

Mama, Mary Kat, and Me

Encouragement Post - Coronavirus Distancing Day 26 (Friday)

Encouragement Post – Day #26 (Good Friday) I could sit and listen to Phil Keaggy play his guitar for hours.He is such a gifted musician. But as you listen, meditate on these lyrics if you will; this is a simple hymn with rich and meaningful lyrics.

"What language shall I borrow to thank Thee dearest Friend for this Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end. O make me Thine forever! And should I fainting be, Lord let me never, never outlive my love for Thee."

O Sacred Head
attributed to Bernard of Clairveaux

O sacred Head, now wounded,
with grief and shame weighed down;
now scornfully surrounded
with thorns, thine only crown;
O sacred Head, what glory,
what bliss 'til now was thine!
Yet, though despised and gory,
I joy to call thee mine.

What thou, my Lord, hast suffered
was all for sinners' gain:
mine, mine was the transgression,
but thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior!
'Tis I deserve thy place;
look on me with thy favor,
vouchsafe to me thy grace.

What language shall I borrow
to thank thee, dearest Friend,
for this, thy dying sorrow,
thy pity without end?
O make me thine forever;
and should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never
outlive my love to thee.

Encouragement Post – Coronavirus Distancing Day 18 (Thursday)

Encouragement Post – Day #18 (Thursday) Really, really familiar words... but no less powerful because of their familiarity.

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd, (He takes responsibility for me)
I shall not want. (I have everything I need)
He makes me lie down in green pastures; (this allows me to rest in a wide open and beautiful space)
He leads me beside quiet waters. (among some of the most soothing sounds of His creation)
He restores my soul; (He makes the broken places in my heart and soul whole again)
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake. (Because He desires honor for His name, He leads His children faithfully toward right paths)

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me; (wherever I am, in whatever situation no matter how perilous or difficult, there is no need to fear because You are WITH me ...and not just *with* me but as Immanuel You are *IN* me)
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. (You are perfectly equipped with the ability to prod... a gentle nudge with the rod, to lead... with a hook around my neck if necessary, and to protect me by using the rod or staff as a weapon)
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; (because I am Yours, you feed me from the abundance of Your own table, the King's table, even when my enemies would seek to do me harm)

You have anointed my head with oil; (You cover me with gladness, with a pleasing fragrance before the Father, with salve for protection from disease and pestilence)
My cup overflows. (You freely give me abundant life beyond anything I could imagine)
Surely goodness and lovingkindness
will follow me all the days of my life, (Your goodness and lovingkindness will always, always, always be with me)
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (I will live in Your safe and magnificent abode forever.)

Ireland: Carrickfergus Castle and All the Schools!

So it’s been a while, but I wanted to continue sharing this wonderful trip that I took with my daughter… so many happy experiences to look back on for us. 

If you want to see all Ireland posts or start at the beginning, click the image:

One interesting part of our trip was that while the moms stayed together in one house, the girls stayed in several groups in different homes, and most days two or three of them performed at one venue, while at the same time two or three performed at others.  This meant, we (moms) were not able to see all of the performances (yes, I wanted to split myself in two, so I could be everywhere at once!). 

All the Schools

We did, however, get a good taste for what the school system in Northern Ireland is like, as we visited 10 different schools during our two and a half week trip.  The schools are small and so lovely with what seemed like such loving staff at each one. We were able to take tea and visit a bit with staff at each school we went to.

w

I loved the bits of artwork on the grounds of the little day school above for playing games.  Such fun and creativity!

We loved getting to see our girls interact with the students and staff in each school, and of course the artist in me was taken with all the children’s artwork we saw at each place! Since ballet is not a “thing” there, the children were always fascinated by the dancing.  In every place we went the children were very well-behaved and attentive.

The photo above shows the girls relaxing before a performance at a Catholic school, which (since we were a group of Protestants) we were thrilled to be asked into.  It was an amazing thing to witness, in this Northern Ireland town very close to the border and in which “The Troubles” (if you are not familiar with what that is you can read more by clicking here) had caused such turmoil for so long. 

What a blessing that in nearly every school our girls were allowed to work with the children to teach them some of the ballet basics. It was a wonderful experience for them because they were allowed to communicate their testimonies and to take different leadership roles in the various ministry opportunities they had.

They were in different schools each weekday morning of our trip, and immediately afterward we were all whisked away in our minibus to view different historical and cultural locations throughout Northern Ireland.  I must say, there were some incredible sights to see!!

Carrickfergus Castle

On our second day in Northern Ireland, after the girls had performed in the schools, we were taken to an amazingly intact ancient medieval castle, Carrickfergus. You can see the beautiful exterior in the photo below.

Carrickfergus Castle is a Norman Irish castle which sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough in County Antrim.  It is an ancient, enduring fortress, giving credence to its name Fergus, which means “strong man.”

There is a lovely view of the town (note steeple and rooftops above) and an amazing view of Belfast Lough (below) from over the sides of the top of the castle, and it’s clear why this would have been a prime location for a fortress where they could see and disarm any enemy ships coming into the harbor.

And lest you think shamrocks are not really all over Ireland, you can see below that they even grow in the cracks of ancient castle walls!!

From the immages below, you can see how the castle developed through the years,, with the inner “Keep” built first and then the battlements and fortress built around it later.

This (below) was the lowest level of the castle where foods were kept cold and things necessary for the running of the castle were stored. 

The second level of the Keep (below) was where the kitchen servants worked and dined.

On the next level you would find the banquet hall, with beautiful tapestries and plenty of room for the castle’s inhabitants to take meals together.

Apparently, salt was a prized possession in medieval times, as this golden bowl, called the Nef, was set on the center of the table and filled with salt as a demonstration of wealth.

The top level of the Keep was my very favorite… exactly what you would imagine a medieval castle to be like.

The room, as shown in the photo below, was massive.  The windows let in some light, but it was still very dark even in the middle of the day. Thank goodness for flash cameras and Photoshop!

Life-size Snakes & Ladders game… a beautifully woven rug!

And life-size CHESS BOARD… the king came up about mid-thigh on me.

And below is the chainmail worn under a suit of armor, both the head and the garment.  There were also chainmail gloves to be worn under the gauntlets.

Here is the view from the top…

I learned so much on our visit and had to pinch myself that I was standing amidst history nearly a thousand years old.  It was just amazing! I hope you have enjoyed the tour and my trip down memory lane.

Happy 4th!

I hope, for those of you who are a US citizens, that you are having a happy 4th surrounded by family and friends! I am very thankful for the freedoms we have in this nation, including the ability to live, work, and worship as we choose.  Our nation is so far from perfect, but at least for now we are able to still do these without fear of retribution.  Our family celebrated yesterday with my husband grilling out (accompanied by potato salad, stuffed eggs, and homemade Butterfinger ice cream) and ending the day with fireworks in our neighborhood.

 

Today (the actual 4th) we are just watching historical movies and eating leftovers!  What a great blessing it is to have been born here in the land of the free and the home of the brave.  May I never take it for granted. And I do pray for God to continue to bless America because, ultimately, freedom can only come from knowing Him.

Just sent off the latest commissioned piece...

I just shipped out my latest commissioned piece -- the one I mentioned that the groom is giving to his bride for a wedding present.  I can't wait to share it with you, as it was such fun!  But since it is a super secret surprise, it will have to wait until after the lovely bride has laid eyes on it...

I wanted to give you a little peek into my drawing room and table. I have a few commissioned pieces that I could share since I last posted about them on this blog, but here is one that was a pleasure to do.  It is on our local historical register and the current owners purchased the home in the 1970s.  This house turned 100 years old in 2015.

I thought I would share the process for this one.  It is pretty much how I work on all my commissioned pieces.  Here is the original photo that I was sent by the person who commissioned the drawing.

Original photo:

This is the first step (below) in how I work, lightly laying in the beginning sketch.  This is really the crucial point of the drawing and sometimes the longest step, as I must get the perspective right, the house straight, all the angles relating to the horizon correctly, etc.  There is a lot of sketching and erasing happening in this step! ;)

Once I am satisfied that the house looks correct from all angles (and doesn't look like it's falling over to one side or the other) and is proportionally correct (the porch isn't too large for the house, the steps are proportional to the door, the windows aren't too large or small, etc.) I can begin to fill in details.  This is where the fun takes over. 

 

Filling in details is about texture, shading, and all the architectural nuances that make a house a house... the boards on the wall next to the windows, the stonework on the porch, the little architectural details under the eaves, etc. When filling in, I work as much as possible from left to right and top to bottom, as the graphite will smear while I am working (right-handed) and rubbing back and forth over the areas.  I also use a piece of parchment to cover areas that I have already filled in, so that they are protected from my (very active) hand and arm.

 

Some of the most challenging details about some houses are the windows, especially if the surrounding trim and wood is white, as the ones on either side of the front door here.  It is difficult to get the panes all uniform and straight lines without distorting the white trim around them because the white part is the negative space.  It's much easier if the trim is darker than the panes.

I loved doing this house because there were so many different textures and features. It is really amazing to me how much this makes me appreciate what architects do.  To think this beautiful thing was designed and built in 1915 and is still so beautifully standing and giving shelter to this family today just amazes me.

With all of the house finished except the roof, I get to thinking about the landscape.  I have to be sure that the house is covered with parchment during this step because this when my fingers fly.  Shrubs and grasses and trees and flowers are a lot of fun.  As you have probably gathered by now, I really enjoy doing these.  I am thankful that people continue to ask me to do them, and each one is unique and special.  And so we've made our way back to where this post started, the finished product...


 

One thing that I do while I draw is pray for the families who are represented by the homes... those who live there, those who have lived there and have moved on, those who are giving the gift to the ones who live or lived there.  It is a privilege to be able to touch a family in this way. This is just a little taste of my commissioned work, but I also still love to paint and take the opportunity to "play with color" in between my commissioned drawings.

Wednesday blessings,