mother's day

Eye problems again, went to an ENT

2011-03-21T11:32:00.000-05:00

And have set up a neuro-opthalmologist appointment for Wednesday which I may not need.

The ENT Specialist noted that my nasal cavity is very inflamed and eye problems as I'm describing can be caused by a deep sinus infection or absess in one of the sinuses so I'm going for a CAT scan to determine if one of those is the cause. Until then, though, I'll impart his recommendation to any nasal sinus sufferers that he recommended sinus flushes such as the Netti Pot. I use a steroid spray and his recommendation is to separate the two treatments out and do one of those treatments in the morning and one at night (either or). Makes sense to me and I told him that's what I've been doing.

OK, so gotta get off the computer as eyes are going. Oddly, making art isn't usually a problem for me. I think it's to do with the angle of the eyes (i'm more likely to be looking downward while painting, etc., and looking ahead in computer work and driving -- yes, they occasionally go wonky when I'm at the steering wheel too.)

I'll be damn glad to get this friggin thing resolved, that's all I know.

Later, gators.

Anniversary of the Iraq War

2011-03-20T17:29:00.000-05:00

Wow, hard to believe such a defining moment in my life passed by and I almost forgot about it! I say defining because as my bio hints, I was a Blue Star mother six times over as my sons - Marine and Soldier - were deployed to Iraq or other war zones in the Middle East. And my oldest, Kris-the-Marine infantryman, was there for the invasion. And I made the mistake of becoming way too invested in knowing what was going on.

I was still in college, majoring in Journalism, and had access to all sorts of investigative tools and made it my business to learn all I could about what the U.S. would be up against, what the Marines would be in for. And I learned the embedded reporters names and when they would file reports, I'd download the transcripts and parse them, sharing them with a few other parents of fellow Marines in Kris' unit. After that first deployment, I learned. I learned to detach and accept that no matter what I knew, it would never change things, so for the most part, during Kris' following deployments, I took on the ignorance is bliss mindset. Notso with Pete, my baby. He'd cringe to hear me say that but I don't think he reads this, so, it's OK. It was different with him, an armored infantryman. I wasn't as obsessive about the news as I'd been during that first deployment, but I did set up a google alert "Anbar Province" where he was deployed.

The thing is, I'm just one of many military families radically effected by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And I'm going on record to say we should never have invaded Iraq, but kept our resources and focus on Afghanistan, providing breathing room to the new government instead of allowing the weeds of radical Taliban renew and retake most of the country as they did. For a while I was loud, vocal and critical but, like worry, realized it wouldn't get me anywhere.

So I learned to paint to take my mind off it and to focus on something more life-affirming and positive instead. And today was a splendid day of painting and creating. Still, I can't help but be disheartened when I think about the trillions of dollars our country has wasted - yes, wasted (in economics, one learns there are good expenditures and bad - war is one of the most wasteful of all) - on these wars. Fortunately, my sons came home from war and after some tough times, they're doing pretty well and I'm very proud of both. Other families, though, are not so fortunate.

Grief Bubbles and Psalms for Sendai

2011-03-14T20:37:00.000-05:00

From my post of earlier today, you may have read how moved I've been by the earthquake and devastation in Japan over the past few days. When I first heard the news, something my brother said stuck with me. He was posted in Japan twice over the past several decades as a career diplomat and knows the culture very well. He said the Japanese as a nation celebrate the Cherry blossoms when they arrive not only for the breathtaking beauty of the display, but because of what they symbolize: the transience of life.

As an artist, I sometimes HAVE NO CHOICE but to process emotional events and occasions. Often I write. Today, I had to paint. I bring you "Psalms for Sendai." And yes, this is not just a sweet little picture. It's loaded with hit-you-over-the-head intentional symbolism which is not subtle at all, sorry about that!

As for the term "grief bubbles" in the title, I borrowed that from a new twitter friend / lovely artist who occasionally tweets about grief bubbles floating up into the great beyond in remembrance while releasing the pain. I thought it was such a lovely way to express it, I had to borrow it for this post's title.

In closing, even though I've processed some of the sadness that's enveloped me since Friday, I still feel a well of tears inside for the lost and suffering there on the other side of the planet. My heart aches for those people and for that lovely country I've yet to visit. Still, I draw some consolation, remembering the cherry blossoms that are just about to bloom.

Hurting so for Japan, but painting too

2011-03-14T12:31:00.000-05:00

Paris, Je T'aime

I have been watching way too much coverage of the triple disaster in Japan, moved so deeply by the suffering these wonderful people are experiencing right now. Yesterday I'd had enough and turned my attention to some works that were incomplete, including these two that I just love. Homage to romance, by way of the City of Lights.


"French Postcard Love"

Harpeth Hall's Green Show Reception: Great event, great turnout, great Art!

2011-03-07T09:23:00.001-06:00

From 3 to 5 p.m. yesterday Harpeth Hall, the elite all-girls prepatory school in Nashville that's turned out famous alum Amy Grant, Reese Witherspoon and others, hosted an artist reception for its annual fundraising art show, this year designed around all things "Green."

In previous posts, you can read about my experimentation in coming up with all-natural home-brewed paints which I used like watercolors in my submission "A Walk in the Park." Artist Kelly Roe took the green theme completely to heart with her Best in Show works "React, Reuse, Renew" which were made from lint!

I was thrilled that several of my fellow painting friends came out and through my mentor and longtime Nashville artist / lifetime Tennessee Art League member Barbara Rembert, I met several other TAL members too, many who had works in the show.

Speaking of works in the show, here're my fellow artists that exhibited. Congrats all and know I'm honored to be among your ranks!

Denise Hawkins, Pam Haile, Janet Kozachek, Judy Klich, Lilo Regen, Cynthia Crook, Susan Simons, Samuel Fee, Thalia Kahl, Noriko Register, John Nordell, Shirley Fachilla, Pat Snyder, Vicki Kessler and Donna Kjonnas, Beth Seiters, Gary Young, Beverly Ford Evans, Mike Martino, Anne Labovitz, Arunima Orr, Christine Eagon, Elizabeth Brandon, Nancy Bradford, Kathleen Sparkman, Brenda Morley and Rita Maggart.

Finally, I'm adding one whimsical image below with a brief explanation. Hubby's from England and included with a Christmas parcel his kids sent us this year were these wind up "Racing Royals." The pair have developed a loyal following on David's facebook, so of course, they had to join us for the show. And since we got there early enough, noone was the wiser when we snapped this shot of them enjoying the Moesse work of art!

The all-important studio to coffeepot measurement!

2011-03-06T09:05:00.000-06:00

As I was putting on a pot of java to brew, I realized how lucky I am to have a studio where I can create and - more importantly - not have to move things, pick up and put away because it's a dual space. Most of my fellow CANN members are not so lucky and I feel for them and all out there who don't have a studio of one's own.

My eyes remain wonky at times although I went back to the eye doctor for a checkup. He told me I've been doing the eye exercises wrong, so I'm working on doing them better. We'll see. If no improvement, it's onto a neuro or ENT specialist, I think. So this blogpost is more links than direct info, mea culpa...

Anyway, back to the home studio theme of today's blog. I decided to put in some research and found a few interesting links, below, that might offer advice for those considering one of their own or that, like me already have one but want to improve it.

Cherylscott's e-how contribution describes blurring the borders so one can create anywhere in the home.

This Esortment article lists and explains the whys behind some of the necessities to consider in setting up a home studio, but I prefer

Urbanpaintbrush's explanations, images and details better. In fact, I just happened on that site for this blog post and methinks I'll be paying many more visits there in the future! (LOVE IT!)

But the Award for best detail of stuff needed, definitely goes to Jennifer Young who hails from Richmond, Virginia. Great explanations and information, Jennifer and all.

Now, back to the title of this post. My studio is in an addition we built in July, 2003. I remember it well because we needed a room to bed my oldest son Kris and four other Marine infantrymen he was returning home with for a visit after his first tour in Iraq. From wartime recollections to making art. I'm glad we've been able to make that transition. And the measurement, by the way, is seven steps and if you'll excuse me, I'm heading for a mug right now!

They eyes have it...

2011-02-28T17:53:00.000-06:00

If you've been reading my blog at all, you'll know that last year I developed an eye problem - Convergence insufficiency - that basically means the eye muscles are weak and the eyeball (in my case, the left one) doesn't want to cooperate and move to focus where it's supposed to it times. For me, it is distracting, frustrating, and disorienting at times. I have eye muscle exercises to do and I do them, most of the time, but still have the eye muscle problem.

I broke down and made an eye doctor appointment again. It's not time for the annual exam but too bad. If the insurance company has a problem, they can talk to me!

On another subject, the Harpeth Hall Green Art Show reception is coming up this Sunday and I'm pretty psyched about it. And the group I paint with, Collaborative Artists Network, will be showing in April in Donelson at Fifty Forward, a community art center for Seniors.

Harpeth Hall Green Art show coming up!

2011-02-24T14:04:00.000-06:00

Not too visible but here's the invite card for the upcoming show. Reception is Sunday, March 6. Harpeth Hall School is a very well-regarded prepatory schools for girls more than 150 years old. Famous alum include Tracy Caulkins (the Olympic swimmer), Amy Grant, Reese Witherspoon, and others.

I'm psyched. To remind you, the painting I did that was accepted into the show was done in pigments I created myself. Here it is all framed and ready to go:

In the midst of turmoil ... art

2011-02-23T10:38:00.000-06:00

In the previous post, I mentioned finding inspiration via the National Archives. Here's the end result. I call her "Regal Rose," but the Archives file name was "Irish Spinning Woman." I couldn't NOT paint her. And truth be told she's only the second figurative painting I've done. It was very hard, but I'm pleased with the results. Hope you enjoy her.

The next paintings, below, are other ones I've done this month, trying like hell to shut out the news of conflagration around the world from Egypt to Madison, Wisconsin, to Tennessee. My brain, aware of the growing income disparity in the U.S. as indicated by the Gini Coefficient begs me jump in. But my heart and soul remind me I started painting to accept that there are things beyond my control. So, I hide out in my studio, switch my IPhone from National Public Radio to Pandora's steady stream of tunes, and paint away. My mind bears the burden of guilt my heart and soul erase with yellow ochre and burnt umber.

Hit for a loop with allergies lately!

2011-02-16T12:03:00.000-06:00

I'm afraid I've done little painting lately, except for a lovely old Irish woman at a spinning wheel based on an image from the U.S. National Archives. To clarify, the photo is NOT my painting but the original photo, one of thousands of wonderful images uploaded by the LOC to an account they set up on Flickr which is searchable and, more importantly, lists whether the item has any copyright issues. Fortunately for me and my love affair with this lovely image, there are no copyright issues.

As for the allergies, I've been battling them first alone, then with the help of the steroid shot (see most recent post) and a nasal steroid spray but I'm not much better, so broke down and got the doctor to prescribe an antibiotic to help move things along. We'll see. One other thing I've been doing though is brewing this concoction each morning which really opens up my sinuses and gives me a kick in the clarity department. I got the recipe from my dear Italian painter-friend Lucilla. Here's my version:

Lucilla's Health Tea
Green Teabags (2 or 3)
2 -3 cups of water
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3 or so whole cloves or 1/4 teaspoon
1 teaspoon sliced fresh ginger or 1/2 teasp ground
2 anise pods or similar ground
1 or 2 crushed dried red peppers or comparable
a pinch of cumin
2 or 3 cardamom pods or comparable

Like Lucilla, I just boil it up and pour myself a cup now and again during the day. Since I feel worst first thing in the morning BEFORE I have a shot, I figure it does do some serious good.

Note to self: Skip Goodwill After Steroid Injections

2011-02-02T14:52:00.000-06:00

I've been under the weather for a while - actually since December and I kept figuring I was fighting something. Finally gave up and went to the doctor this morning. Turns out it's allergies. Yeah, having the cat inside during winter, practically living in my office is not a good thing.

The doctor gave me a steroid shot and though I intended to stop in for just a very quick look, well, I kinda went overboard at the local Goodwill today. The kind of manic splurge I haven't had in years! It was .99 yellow tag clothing days and the Ralph Lauren white cotton sweater and NY & Co tweed jacket will go quickly on e-bay I'm sure, along with the Aussie made boiled wool cardi. I'm thinking the $2.99 vintage bowling ball hardcase is too cool to sell, and look at all the glisteny shiny .99 or less items I got for making art.

I'm gonna be busy for a while so if I don't answer the phone, you'll understand. It's the steroid shot. =)

Shout out to a neat organization

2011-01-27T11:01:00.001-06:00

Wish I were younger, unfettered, and Canadian. The place I'm talking about is Spark Box Studio, located in Picton, PEI, Ontario.

From their website, Spark Box Studio is a:

Space for artists to live, research, investigate and experiment. We aim to encourage discovery and the cultivation of new ideas, provide career-building opportunities for artists at all stages, and to engage with the community through the arts.

The site has a section offering information about "The Business of Art" and is now taking applications for a summertime one-week residency for artists aged 19-29. There's more, though, so check out the site

UPD: And check out the organization, too, if you happen to be up that way!

Winter's Bone and Sinew - New Painting

2011-01-20T10:27:00.000-06:00

A week ago, we had two lovely snowfalls back to back. It shut the schools down for, well, the entire week. It also meant closure of Sharp Spring's Natural Area, an exquisite many acres of nearly virgin land. I parked outside the gates, and with my Iphone and dog, went exploring and picture-taking.

My plan was to walk a half hour or so, but, entranced by the exquisite beauty of it all, found myself returning to the car nearly two hours later. Smokey didn't seem to mind and sprang about in the snow more lively than I'd seen the 10-year-old dalmatian in ages. I think she felt as uplifted as I did in "owning" the place, unspoiled by human footsteps, tire tracks and more.

I painted the above from one of the photos I'd taken, waivering about whether to add the foreground fence that bracketed the photo on the lower right side. In the end, I thought the stark expanse more like the breathtaking experience I felt when there.

The title - Winter's Bone and Sinew - comes from a John Burroughs quote: Winter has given the bone and sinew to literature, summer the tissues and the blood.

Upcoming Harpeth Hall Green Art show includes one of my paintings

2011-01-19T12:41:00.000-06:00

Yay! It selected this one, which is done on Arches 140 # cold pressed paper. Inks/paints used are my homemade ones, including stains of blueberry, saffron, blackberry, chamomile and walnut. It's made archival by a coat of mat medium on front and back. Now to mat, frame, present it and at the opening, enjoy it among the field of work by other artists from 11 states who submitted to this show.

What the witches brew concocted...

2011-01-15T14:08:00.000-06:00

The top painting is on Arches 140 lb. watercolor paper and the paints really did beautifully - especially the walnut one I made which was smooth like butter and very, very rich which is why I used it alone in the very zen-like second painting. Done in the Sumi-e style, it is simply walnut paint on the handcrafted pampas grass paper I made.

Hope you enjoyed todays lesson. = )

Time to validate

2011-01-13T19:16:00.000-06:00

I avoided the news about the Arizona massacre, just did not want to go there, let the news in. After 9/11 (like the rest of America) and later with my sons serving and losing "brothers" in Iraq and later, at home, I became shell-shocked and found the best coping mechanism was to avoid, deny, and refuse to go to that dark, mournful place.

But ... I touched my toe into the water today, listening to Obama's speech replayed on YouTube since I conveniently missed it last night. (There's a very stark contrast between the woman I am today and who I was just two years ago)... I did not watch the funeral for young Christina, and avoided the news stories for the most part too.

But now, after listening to his speech last night ... well, lets just say the floodgates are open, let the mourning begin. I don't have words now, only tears. For the little innocent Christina Green who never got to experience that first kiss, have a teenage fight with her mom and dad, walk down the aisle, suffer through childbirth, feel the tickle of her own child's breath on her neck.

I told my youngest son after a brother-in-arms' suicide some time ago: "You need to live a life that validates him." Well, this incident, Obama's words, that little girl's death makes me want to validate her life, all their lives, too.

My husband thinks I'm a witch! LOL

2011-01-12T09:36:00.000-06:00

OK, to be fair, he's not entirely off base.

I mean, on the front door, we have this smartass window sticker we bought when in Glastonbury (UK) this past fall that's a spin on the Neighborhood Watch signs that every good whitebread neighborhood posts. Ours reads "Neighborhood Witch."

Then, there's the pot of pampas grass boiling in the big corn pot on the stove. You can't smell it, but there's a definite scent of Fels Naptha Brown Soap wafting in the air.

And finally, there's these glass jars of liquid on the dining room table, shown above. To the uninitiated, they COULD resemble witches tinctures and such. If you look closer, though, and are familiar with the color chart below, you'll figure out that they are artists paints. Mine though are non-toxic, environmentally pure as the driven snow, and all natural. Really.

You see, I'm entering a juried art show this coming weekend where the emphasis is on "green" - the movement not the color. So... I figured what better way to "represent" than to create works using all-green materials, right? And as you can see from the chart, I do have an array of colors to work with, though, ironically, there's a dearth of green in these...

Oh, and the pampas grass boiling on the stove? It's for the paper to paint on, silly!

Paris the Luminous Years,

2011-01-06T21:15:00.000-06:00

Just finished watching the 2010 PBS Documentary and so glad I TIVO'd it. What a glorious, wonderful doc it was.

Unfortunately, the NY Times panned the special as in:

"This film, which has its premiere on PBS on Wednesday, looks at the city that seduced the likes of Picasso, Chagall, Apollinaire, Diaghilev and of course, Hemingway and Gertrude Stein. It pays homage, though, not in the seditious, inventive spirit of the avant-garde that Paris once nurtured, but in the time-tested, didactic and dutiful tone of a typical PBS documentary.
Paris is still a wonderful city, but it no longer draws the world’s most innovative artists and thinkers. PBS is still a serious, responsible institution that shows good work, but creativity and élan have migrated to other networks and cable channels."

I'll leave it for you to decide, but know that while sorting my receipts from 2010, it made for great time-passing and entralling watching.

2010 in 100 words, more or less

2011-01-04T17:21:00.004-06:00

I gotta say, this was an excellent year for me personally and professionally!

I dove headfirst into art this year, reorganized and formalized my studio, and by chance scored my first solo show at an upscale restaurant in Nashville for six weeks from late June to Father's Day. Great timing except Nashville's millenial flood took place the weekend of my scheduled reception. Most I knew were fortunate and suffered no or minimal losses but many areas were devastated. My reception ended up closing the show, more or less, but still a nice crowd and healthy sales meant I could claim professional artist status! At year end, my art is
hanging in several venues in Middle Tennessee and a few more people are puzzled by the name "Moesse."

A mid-year turning point meant transitioning from Hazel King's tutelage to more independent study, and the formation of Collaborative Artists Network (Nashville) - www.thecann.org - with fellow painters and dear, dear friends. A more personal turning point came when I took a stand against a loved one, ending a pattern of enabling. By year end, I'm glad to say, it was proven to be a good decision for all involved and things are looking up on that front.

A wedding in October was special partly because I got to talk to Canadian superstar Bryan Adams and tell him David and I were married to one of his songs (which I'm sure he hears ALL the time). What made it stellarly special (my phrase in case ya couldn't tell), was that my dear, great and wonderful brother Barry married the love of his lifetime(s), Gretchen. I used the plural because, yeah, their spirits have been dancing this love tune for centuries.

Another wedding in November, this time in England, meant a stellar trip across the pond, celebrating the union of two young people, spending great time with David's family, touring the southwest region, and freezing our butts off. All before jetting back home just in time to beat the U.K. version of Snowpocalypse! While there, I discovered snoods, Primark's cheap but cozy for a season offerings, and an Indian import store offering huge zippered bags on the cheap to lug home our dirty laundry.

December was a blur with unpacking, preparing and mailing out more than a dozen Christmas parcels to friends and family from afar, a few parties, and yes, prepping for and pulling off a New Year's Day open house. I did little painting, but put at the top of the blog two abstracts that I did that I'm very pleased with.

In closing, know that I'm eagerly anticipating great things for 2011, for two reasons. First, I have this weird thing for prime numbers (I think because I was born on the 13th in 1959) and 2011 is about as prime as you can get, baby! Second, my dark-haired brother was the first newcomer to step foot through the door that day, followed by his male black lab, Nigel. I'm told Scottish tradition says that if a dark-haired male is the first to cross the threshold New Year's Day, it bodes well for the year. I'll take all this as a good, hopeful sign for more good things to come.

Here's hoping you experience all good things for 2011.
MWS

Computer crashes and wonky eyes

2010-12-27T12:45:00.001-06:00

So, it's been a lovely holiday season so far and we've got an open house planned for New Year's Day. One nearly major problem last night turned out to be less traumatic than it could have been, thanks to my beloved GeekHusband, David. We had a network crash, lost internet connection and then, when we got that up and running, it appears our primary network external hard drive lost everything. I store all my artwork files - photos, communications, administrative records, etc. etc., as well as our family photo archive (thousands of photos going back a couple of generations at least).

Fortunately, I'd made a backup of the "Moesse" files last month when we went to England and we found another external archival hard drive (yeah, geekspouse has a few), had most of the family photos too. And my Whitehall stuff is on another hard drive that didn't die at all. So, with the exception of a few things, I think we are ok. Still, it was scary enough in the time it took us to locate lost files that we decided to set up a Carbonite account for mirroring ALL of our stuff off site. The $59 a year is well worth the peace of mind. In addition, you can be damn sure we'll be burning old school DVD's of all the pics and other data files to store offline too -- just in case a cyber attack crushes the internet someday...

On another subject, my eyes are going wonky again and I don't think I've had time to breathe let along be on the IPhone or use my eyes for fine detail work lately and yet, the eyes are losing focus again. Agh! In addition, I feel a huge amount of pressure because of sinus problems and wonder if that could be the cause of some of the eye problems?

Well, if that's the worst of my problems, I should / do consider myself lucky...

Farewell Elizabeth!

2010-12-09T08:22:00.002-06:00

Long before it was a catchphrase in politics, Elizabeth Edwards gave meaning to the term "Military Families." The daughter of a Naval Admiral, she moved with her family to U.S. naval bases around the globe. And so it was, during the height of my political awakening that our paths crossed in the fall of 2004 when I was named part of a small group of women called "Military Moms with a Mission." My eldest had already been through one tour in Iraq, my baby was graduating from Army basic training as the group was forming, and I had the attitude of a Mother bear (a full four years before "Mamma Grizzlies" became the fashion) watching out for her son's best interests.

I'd just received my B.S. in Journalism and had all those college resources at my disposal when the war started. I arm myself with the facts of the Iraq War, Bush Administration Military and Foreign Policy, and from Senate and House testimony transcripts, the discussions in those bodies that explored the pros and cons of various actions by the administration. After my "education," I lent my considerably informed and confident voice to the Kerry/Edwards campaign, knowing that the way forward for our country was by employing all of the tools of foreign policy -- military being only the last resort after such things as economic, diplomatic, educational and cultural tools are employed.

So, the DNC and the Kerry/Edwards campaign called upon Nita Martin, Pat Heineman, Lisa Leitz, Lara Bertsch and myself to tour the country on behalf of military mothers and spouses, publicly calling for a new commander in chief during wartime. We were coached and spoiled by some great young folks, including Tara McGuinness, Mike Lake, Marshall Hevron, Melissa Wideman, and others who I know will save our world in years to come, each of them! At times we were joined by fellow wives, especially the stellar Gwen Walz, wife of the great young Minnesota Congressman Tim Walz. Our original group of five first met Elizabeth at a Senior Citizens Center in Ohio. Before the public event, she whirred into a private anteroom where we were waiting and posed for a few photos, spoke with us about our loved ones, and then went off to host the planned town hall meeting, setting a positive tone but putting forth facts and information that countered what the Bush Administration was proposing. She was a brilliant advocate for the Kerry Edwards campaign and a voice that was respected. Her words carried the gravitas of one who would never choose political expediency over the truth.

After our brief encounter, we exchanged hugs with the savvy woman and hopped into our minivans in order to make Columbus by nightfall. Or some such. And our one week tour rolled on to its inevitable conclusion.

Or so we thought. Over the weekend, we each got calls to see if we could fly up to West Virginia for a CSpan televised Town Hall with ... Elizabeth Edwards! Doh! It was scheduled for Tuesday and we were flown up Monday afternoon and those of us who needed it (me!) had our hair cut, colored and styled (on our own dime). That evening we shared a private dinner with Elizabeth who showed us that her private self was identical to that which she portrayed in public. Warm, genuine, without any veneer or bullshit. Knowing we'd have this opportunity, I printed up enough copies of the digital photo we'd taken during our first meeting and like in high school yearbooks, all signed one another's photos. Mine is dear to me, framed and on my desk. Elizabeth included a copy of that image in her first book Saving Graces.

The town hall was preceeded by a few live televised interviews for cable shows, the first of which was CNN. I was to sit next to the great lady and speak live via satellite to the anchors back in Atlanta. We'd been up since 5 a.m. for hair and makeup and I was confident that I looked as attractive as I ever would for this nationally televised feed. But I was still nervous and Elizabeth squeezed my hand and whispered I'd do fine. The interview was so quick and thankfully, most of the Anchor's interest was focused on Elizabeth. The interviewer asked me about our group's call for a change in leadership during wartime and I felt it important to establish our credentials as very intelligent, well-informed women. That's as far as I got before getting cut off. I never got to explain what we'd learned and discovered and felt important to share with the voting public and I was very disappointed. Still, I think the message got across that we weren't ill-informed women just whining about our sons and husbands having to serve. I was also called upon to represent our group during a live Fox and Friends Morning feed too and I'd been so nervous about this interview, expecting the worst, but it went very well. My dad, recuperating from a stroke in a nursing home had seen it and that's all I cared about. The other girls had been standing behind us during the interview and other national news crews interviewed Elizabeth and one of them as representative of our group as each network saw fit, based on our bios.

After the excitement of these live national interviews, the town hall forum was a breeze. We all sat in captains chairs onstage in front of an audience of probably 300 or so folks from the Westover, West Virginia area. The one hour program went off beautifully, and of course, Elizabeth made brilliant points I'd never even given thought to before. Including this strong one as to why we needed to extricate ourselves from Iraq as soon as possible and allow the country to self-govern.

"Nobody washes a rental car," she said simply and then related an incident where the U.S. government had contracted to construct some vital public works facility and it had taken more than 18 months and millions and it was still not completed. They turned over management of this and an identical project to the Iraqis who completed the project in a few short months and on the second effort, well under budget.

My strongest memory of the forum though, occurred near the end, when an aging veteran -- in uniform -- came and stood directly in front of us onstage. He began talking, and kept talking. And talking. And talking to the point I started to worry we were losing the audience. At that point, Elizabeth graciously got up from her chair, walked over to the man, gave him a gentle hug, and managed to escort him to his seat all while keeping the conversation going and flowing.

We were all sickened at the election results and then downright crushed when we learned of her cancer and sent her flowers as a group. When she was publishing Saving Graces, she asked me to send her the original jpg file. I didn't think anything more of it until getting a signed copy in the mail months later. Our photo is included, along with a cutline, and her impression of each of us in the copy of the book itself.

Pat, Nita and I met up with Elizabeth at the February 2007 DNC Winter Meeting. Our first ever, we didn't no what to make of what seemed to me a trade show for the presidential candidates. Each had a hospitality room and after the day's general sessions, would host specially designated attendees in their rooms. We were not such specially designated attendees although one gentleman I serve with on a couple of vet/milfam advocacy boards is, so he went into the Edwards (he was still a candidate at that time) hospitality suite while we waited by the security area. A moment later, who comes energetically bounding out but Elizabeth, all smiles and hugs. None of us gave a hoot about status and were just so excited and happy to catch up with one another. She escorted us through the security gate and seemed as genuinely happy to see us as we were to see her. We expressed our concern about her health, but she brushed it aside and glowed, as we did, rekindling our connection after three long years.

I can't believe she is gone, but I choose not to grieve her passing. I do mourn for her lovely children, that they will be deprived of her in their lives as they grow up. But I hope they can always keep her memory close, incorporate her influence, her values and her wisdom. I just discovered this lovely Native American poem that I will now share which may help them and others missing this great, great woman.

"Don't stand by my grave and weep, for I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow. I'm the diamond's glint on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn's rain.
Don't stand by my grave and cry. I am not there. I did not die."

I prayed today that I would have a productive day. I didn't realize

2010-12-03T13:11:00.018-06:00

what it meant.

It was 4 a.m. and a call came in from "Private Caller" so of course I didn't answer, but I never went back to sleep. So after glancing through Stephen Quiller's Water Media Painting book, I sunk back into the pillows and tried my hand at meditating after finally finishing and being extraordinarily moved by Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat Pray Love. After a battle with "Monkey Mind," I gave up in exasperation, but sent up one request to the vast universe before I did.

"Let me have a productive day" I urged, thinking of the laundry list of things I had on my plate on this seemingly regular Friday morning such as finish Whitehall consulting work for one client, meet my fellow painters at Jerry's to purchase some needed supplies and drop off materials for the swag bags going to the first 20 customers at next week's PAW Fundraiser. Oh, and complete the commission painting for my eye doctor. His staff got me to do an eight canvas eye to present him as a gift and it's due next Friday. It's nearly done and only needs finishing touches. And looks fab, if I may say so myself. So, when I sent up that request, I had this kinda stuff in mind.

Not having to call my ex-husband, a jail, a college Dean and others: A loved one has gotten into a serious jam and I'm not sure what it will mean down the road, but it could be a long, hard journey for this person. He's been doing beautifully since I made a stance earlier this year, and comments from those who work with him say he's a really wonderful person. I hope this slip up was a minor blip on the radar, but am fearful it could be more.

I hope and pray that my loved one clings to something positive and moves past this to find and fulfill his potential. Keep us in your prayers. I gotta go. There's work to be done...

"Nearly a month since my last confession"

2010-12-02T08:22:00.000-06:00

Or, if you are not Catholic, my last blog posting. Mea Culpa but you'll understand when I tell you it's been crazy busy. Here's what's been going on:

Hung the Paige Simmons Salon and Gallery show November 2. Here's what it looks like in the gorgeous renovated former Tennessee Art League building. Can you say beautiful light?

Hung the Smyrna show with assistance from my brother on November 18 but was really rushed and too busy to take pictures of the paintings hanging so in today's blog post are a few photos of the paintings hanging there.

The very next day, we boarded a 6 a.m. flight to the UK and made it safely to London at 10:45 p.m. local time. For the next 11 days, we drove, and shot photos, and visited family and friends, and ate, drank, danced and really enjoyed ourselves.

We returned home safely two nights ago and now, bags unpacked, laundry washed, bills paid, I can put down a few words.

I can't wait to paint that which I photographed. I did paint one day in the hotel room when David was spending quality time alone with his dad, but the lighting was poor, the room was cold, and it was just a study of something I'll do in acrylics later on, I think.

We had a wonderful, if freezing time, and have mixed feelings about being back. I'm glad, for my studio, friends and family here, but am already profoundly missing all those friends and family we love across the pond.

A sweet remake and more eye problems

2010-11-05T08:35:00.000-05:00

I don't know if it's reading and surfing the IPhone when I can't sleep (which is unfortunately often these days), or because of the increased painting and focusing on detail work I've been doing, but I need to get back to doing my eye exercises more as I can tell they are starting to become "wonky" once again. It's a really subtle thing, kind of like when your eyes want to stare off in one direction without your control.

On another note, I had a bit of a smackdown the other day when I brought my remaining paintings to the second hair salon in my hometown here. I found some of my best unframed watercolors and matted and framed them, left them off for the owner's consideration, but she returned them all, asking where the fun bright other paintings (acrylic on canvas) I'd done that were displayed on my notecards, etc. I explained about having another show in Nashville, and, tail between my legs, left her salon with my bin of framed watercolors and a pleasant but firm request not to return unless I had some of those fab, fun, bright paintings to hang. I can understand her rejection and in an odd way, took it as a complement that my other stuff IS desired there and that she was paying attention!

As Rumi said: "Burdens are the foundations of ease and bitter things the forerunners of pleasure."

So I went home and reworked a canvas that I'm ashamed to say I rushed through and hung at the Mad Platter show in May. It's shown above, after most tweakage was completed. I did a few things after, but not much.

Hanging art and poll watching

2010-11-03T17:45:00.000-05:00

Make for an exhausting day!

Happily, I breezed into Nashville with no traffic and got started hanging my art at Paige Simmon's Salon in Nashville promptly at 9:30. With great optimism, I brought nearly all of my inventory, including the 48 x 72 triptych that I wasn't sure we'd find a space for. Thankfully, seasoned artist and hanging veteran Lynne Pilkerton met me there and immediately restored order and sanity to my day by grouping paintings and finding just the right spot for nearly all of them. And I mean all!

In the end, we found a perfect spot for the triptych and hung it -- which can be a real bitch -- with very little difficulty, again, thanks to Lynne's quick thinking. We also found room for my other largest paintings, and the smaller ones too. In the end, I left with fewer than five of the 46 paintings I'd started with! I've posted a few photos of the site and apologize for the poor quality images. My flash battery was dead and these are with the great local light only. It really is an exquisite space and hopefully, in some small way, my paintings are making it even more appealing.

We didn't finish until 2 p.m. and though I'd not eaten anything all day, I had to report to a polling place at three to serve as a poll watcher. Grabbed a quick bite and reported to the election site just in time and made it through the next four hours, at first bored to tears, then grabbing a pen and paper and sketching all sorts of people that were in line, then handbags, shoes and what-have-you, and finally, after mind-numbingly watching the poll captain try to call the election headquarters and wait on hold for so many minutes, grabbed my Iphone, got the voter verification lookup website, and must've looked up 100 voters registration info by poll closing time. I felt good that I could help and the poll captain was amazed at the great new technology. It was probably against the rules and I suggested to him that we need to start a campaign now to get the Major Cell Phone companies to donate smartphones to all polling places across america for free for that day. Anyone with me?