HOOSIER LIVIN' - A "MAYBERRY" MOMENT

Every now and then some small thing suddenly makes me realize how fortunate I am. The other day comes to mind.

Mike and I were out in the afternoon and he went to the bank while I sat in the car. Jake and Jeff came out and chatted with each other and as they began to walk away I called out to Jeff (my son’s friend since high school) so he came over and talked to me while I waited for Mike. Then Jake drove out of his parking spot to park next to us and talk to Mike when he came out of the bank. Very neighborly.

Main Source Bank, St. Leon, IN

Then that same Friday evening – so pleasant, warm and NOT raining! - my husband and I went to the local steakhouse for dinner (mrjimssteakhouse.com) and, as usual, the food was delicious. When was the last time you had a steak you could cut with your fork and when you were done there wasn’t a scrap on your plate, not one tiny bit of fat? The salad was comprised of fresh local produce and the rolls were so yeasty and sweet. Terry does a great job! Yum!
Mike got to know them soon after they bought the restaurant and has plowed their parking lot in the winter, given them a wood stove to use in the winter and plowed their garden in the spring. If we get dessert we ask for it “to go” – and we get to take it on the china plate – they know we will return it!

Mr. Jim's Steakhouse

Before we left, our neighbors up the road walked in with their family and we chatted with them a few minutes. Mike had recently turned over their garden and we get our eggs from them.

Following dinner we drove up to the interstate exit and while Mike fueled the car I ran into the gas station and bought a gallon of milk. Paul was at the cash register helping out. He always has a smile and kind word and of course he asked “what are you up to?” and really cared about the answer!

Alig's Shell Station - and car wash!

Paul used to own the local tavern - not your typical tavern, but a local landmark dating back to the mid 1800’s - where on any given night you can find the locals playing Texas Hold ‘em or Euchre, talking, laughing, eating and having a beer or two. Nothing fancy here, mind you, none ah them high falutin’ prissy drinks; just beer or a shot. (Think “Cheers” in the country(!) because everyone does know your name!) And the burgers are thick and juicy and done to perfection.

St. Leon Tavern (Formerly Paul's Tavern)

Two of the other gas stations in St. Leon are owned by David. We have known him since he was in high school!

Exxon Station, St. Leon, IN

And we used to run a “tab” at the other gas station – still a “mom and pop” operation where I still buy my dog food and have it carried out and put into my trunk!! (Note to Murr: they will even pump the gas for you!)

E-Z Stop, St. Leon, IN

We drove home admiring the fields, newly mown lawns and slowly setting sun.

We passed our daughter and Joe – apparently they had been to our house to pick something up. Soon they will live about 2 miles and 5 minutes away, not the far away 9 miles and 15 minutes where they live now!

Lining our driveway (over one mile long!) the grasses swayed with the gentle breeze; soon a local farmer will be baling them into hay. The neighbor’s cows stopped to watch us drive past.

Fields and driveway

I thought about how I’d just seen several people I know, and how I truly KNOW people within about a 20 mile radius of my home. We wave as we go by; sometimes we pull over and stop our cars just to chat a bit and catch up (after all, we don’t see much of each other during the winter!) “What are the kids up to?”, “did so-and-so have her baby yet?”, “your garden’s looking good!”, “been fishing lately”, “come back soon and see us!”

Nothing special, nothing noteworthy – just a pristine moment in time when I take stock and realize how truly lucky I am to live in this beautiful country.

(For another post about St. Leon - go to October 29, 2008 and read about the Pole Raising!)

KILLDEER CHICKS

Killdeer are interesting birds – they make their “nest” by laying eggs on rocks and gravel, so we have a lot of them because we have lots (and lots!) of rocks and gravel! We had been watching a momma sitting on her nest – and she never moved whether the trucks went by, or the bulldozer, or the gator! Finally my husband informed me that Momma Killdeer had her chicks and I needed to come take some photos.

These are the photos – and yes, there is a chick in each one! And boy, are they quick! I took several shots of grass just trying to catch one of those little guys! Like baby chicks, killdeer are born “on the run” – and apparently with full plumage so they blend in for protection.

Enjoy – if you can see them!!!

ODE TO A WAITING ROOM

When left alone in a doctor’s waiting room, the quiet must settle my mind – the gurgle of the (seawater) fish tank pump (with some cute little clown fish, some pretty colorful ones and one really, really big ugly fish); low volume Muzak featuring what sounds like Yanni (or is that Yawni!); drops of rain on the skylight; the nurse shuffling papers; the whir of the copier – all a gentle white noise.

The ideas start to flow and everything seems a good idea! Well, why not – I’m a captive – only my mind is free to roam.
A list of necessary jobs for ViewPoint consumes several minutes – I’m chomping at the bit to get them completed.
Then a short list of pictures to paint – some begun, some not.
Another list of the order in which it all should be done.

I’m full of energy and hope! I know it won’t last – as soon as I get home I’ll get right on the ViewPoint because I have to, then the excitement will fade and it will be so easy to forget and let it all slide again. That’s my usual modus operandi – guess I’m just a dreamer at heart.

More waiting time . . .
ideas for fixing up my painting area at home
ideas for a commission
“Why is lighting so bad in an eye doctor’s office – perhaps he’s creating his own future patients?”
“Why didn’t I bring that granola bar?” (that’s sitting on the dining room table at home)
“Will I feel “icky” looking at that eye patch?”
read a little – but - bad lighting, remember!
“Yaw-w-w-w-n”
walk around the room and stretch
“Nurse is playing solitaire on the computer – wonder what she gets paid?”
“My hair needs a trim”
count waiting room chairs – 25 – seriously???? - think that many people are ever here waiting? How large a patient backlog would that represent? Maybe some folks bring the whole tribe!
look out the window at the rain – which has been coming down in fits and spurts all week
stretch
watch the fish again
find some information about ophthalmic (ocular) migraines
“I could use a laptop right now – think of the timesaving that would be”
read a little more . . .
think about lunch – “Will I be on an eye patch diet?” (It didn’t bother me, nor did seeing the actual eye post surgery!)

Finally I hear my husband’s voice – I can find him in any crowd if I just listen a moment! He’s been regaling the operating room staff with tales of cows, no doubt!

Finally ready to head out on this dreary day and get my “work” day started after lunch – at 3 p.m.!!!

I’ll have to wait for the next waiting room experience to fuel my creative energy again!

THE STORY OF SUNLIGHT

And it came to pass that the land was in grayness for many days.
Morning was as evening, day was as night.
And the rain fell from the sky both night and day for many days.
People hid under umbrellas, cars splashed in puddles.
And the citizens were sad and depressed.
Children could not play outside.
And the mothers were sad and depressed.

But then a great lightness came into the sky.
Puddles disappeared and the lakes sparkled.
Babies cried and toddlers held close to their mothers as they looked up at the sky.
And the citizens were frightened.
“What is this strange light that comes down from the sky?” they asked their elders.

“Ahhhh” exclaimed the elders. “Fear not this strange light, for it has been seen here before. This light is good and is called – SUNLIGHT.”
And the people saw that the light was good, for it let the children play outside and the mothers were happy.
And it allowed the citizens to come out from under the umbrellas, and the cars were dry and clean.
And at last the citizens of Cincinnati and surrounding areas, including southeastern Indiana . . . .
. . . . were happy!

SAYONARA UMBRELLA!

Well, the cow umbrella is no longer needed.

My husband went to a yet another cattle seminar (who knew – they are kind of like watercolor workshops for us!!!!!!!) and learned that the water for the cows must be kept cool. So, that involved the creation of an aluminum roof that will not only protect the water from the heat but is larger for the cows to go under during the heat of the day.

They seem content! But I kind of miss seeing that perky umbrella!

SUNDAY DRIVE

It’s always an adventure to take a Sunday afternoon drive with my husband. (I did check to make sure the gas gauge was above half!)

I keep a small tote bag full of maps for the region in MY car – 3 states, Cincinnati and N. KY, and all local counties. Of course, he decided all we would need was the Indiana map and the Yahoo map he had printed off and then he tossed the bag back on my car and we were off (in HIS car)! And, of course, once we got going, he decided that he would ignore the Yahoo map and just use the Indiana map and not even remotely go the way the Yahoo map said to go.

All was well until we got to a town we’d never been in and the map said go straight only that would have taken us into a parking lot! So we went left a ways and then turned around and went the other way a while and then came back to a gas station and my husband (MY HUSBAND!!!) got out and asked directions! (No, I’m not hallucinating, this actually happened!)

We followed the directions well until the “Y” in the road with the sign pointing right to Milhausen and my husband unerringly went left toward Brownsville!!!! A sudden brake check and reverse and we were back on track. We got to Westport where there was a Dairy Queen with only ice cream products – no burgers! and no bathroom! – so he got a malt and me a delicious Mocha Moolatte! – and we were finally back on the Yahoo map route (yippee).

But don’t get too excited yet! We were looking for 850 S or some such of a number – out here in the rural areas you get numbers like CR S 800 W. I’ll translate for you – County Road South 800 West. Yep, no wonder we get lost! (In a local town Eastern and Western Avenues intersect!) Well, these numbers went from 800 to 1200 – oops – so we turned around and found a little church with a shady spot and pulled in and my husband got one bar on his cell phone and called. We were told to look for “either 1100 or 1400” about a mile down the road! Hmmmmm . . . . imagine my delight at actually locating 1400 “about a mile down the road.” Then we went to a church at the “T” in the road and “then turn left to the second farm on the right.” (And people think we live in the boonies!)

Once our business was taken care of it was back to civilization and a late lunch (and bathroom!). After that we continued on our drive but on roads we were familiar with – until we missed another turn, but we realized it pretty quick and turned around.

It was a nice day and kind of fun.

Next time, though, I’ll pack us a lunch!

CRISIS!

I couldn’t breathe, my heart was pounding, my eyes welling up with tears – I was in full blown panic mode.

“Why?” you ask.

I thought I was out of Daniel Smith Indanthrone Blue*.

I had:
Antwerp blue
Blue ochre
Cobalt blue
Cobalt teal blue
French ultramarine
Genuine azurite
Genuine lapis lazuli
Lunar blue
Manganese blue hue
Phthalo blue
Prussian blue
Smalt genuine – Daniel Smith and Winsor/Newton
Soldalite genuine
Ultramarine blue – Maimeri
Ultramarine turquoise

Even Payne’s gray!

“Check again, check again” my brain cried. So I did – and, lo and behold, there it was. How did I miss it the first time?

Oh well – once again my heart rate is slow and steady, I’m taking full breaths and able to see clearly again.

All’s right in my painting world!

* Those of you who know me know that I pretty much cannot paint unless I have Daniel Smith Indanthrone Blue and Quinacridone Gold on my palette! So you would understand how upset I truly was!

CATCHING UP!

After a week of illness and a week to recuperate and get back into the swing of things, I’m still catching up – which is why I’ve been slow to blog.

Sunny Update
As you can see – Sunny is getting big (above). And that’s him with his mom and his other moms around the water trough! (below). They do like their umbrella, too!Computer Woes
I’m in the process of buying a new computer – and I’M AFRAID! But my computer is old – in dog and computer years it is ancient – and has been running v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y. I’ve decided it’s better to update it on my time and terms rather than wait for it to die suddenly and then I’m really in a jam.
I always hear the horror stories, and I know I’ll have to go with that Vista thing and then all my Word documents will be different. And I must have access to all of my pictures, so I’m a little afraid of that process. And then, will all my “favorites” still be there? How does that stuff work?
Why do they have to change things that work just fine? “New and improved” – I did NOT ask for that!

This and that . . . .
Yesterday, a beautiful sunny, although unbelievably hot day, I spent a few hours driving with 10,000 or so of my closest friends on what we refer to as the “Cin-Day Corridor” – the miles of I-75 between Cincinnati and Dayton, OH.
And that’s when I felt YOUR pain. (Yes, YOUR pain!) Because I realize that even if your roads need fixing they will not be fixed, not this summer anyway. “Why?” you are asking? Very simple - there will be no orange barrels or concrete dividers in your area of the country with which to close down your roads. Because every single orange barrel and concrete divider in the country is located in the above mentioned “Cin-Day Corridor”.
Yep – they are rebuilding the road, and the ramps. And, did I mention they also built a new outlet mall. Which opened yesterday. And which was apparently only open for that one day, judging by the cars attempting to exit both Northbound and Southbound to reach it before it suddenly disappeared – managing to block all of the right lanes and part of the middle lanes to do so. Once again, great planning by the “powers that be”. Always open the new mall before completing the exit ramps to said mall, and, of course, wait until the entire roadway for miles in both directions is completely torn up. That’s a great day to open the new mall, don’t you think!
And this gets me to thinking of some other odd things we here in the Cincinnati area take for granted. We have a “Big Mac” bridge!!! (It’s actual name is the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge, but since it’s got huge yellow arches it’s got a nickname!)
We also have “sun delays” during the morning rush hour. That refers to our western citizens heading east on sunny mornings. Apparently we are the only city in the universe that has these, and because of a “sun delay” you can be late for work and everyone will understand! “Sun delays” can also account for a large percentage of accidents, since you can claim you did not see that car approaching because of the sun blinding you. (Most of those accidents are not fatal, although maybe some of them should be???!!!!)
We say “please” when we mean “what” or “huh?” We say “excuse me” when we really want YOU to get out of the way!
And apparently we are one of the top cities in the nation for road rage (something I’ve had for years and which now has a name!) Maybe it has something to do with sun delays and the Cin-Day Corridor!

Don’t forget the Giveaway!
RULES FOR THE GIVEAWAY:
1 - You must leave a comment on my blog – don’t worry – I have the comment moderation active so if you don’t want the world to see it, just me, that’s fine; just mention that in the comment and I won’t post it.

2 - Each comment you leave will equal 1 chance to win – (so vote early and vote often – ha, ha). I will pick a winner on September 1 by putting slips with your name in a “hat” and drawing the winner (i.e. if you leave 5 comments on my blog between now and then, there will be 5 slips with your name that could be potential winners!)

Good luck!

BLOG-I-VERSITY!!!

I spent part of Wednesday with Rhonda Carpenter who so graciously agreed to give me some pointers on blogging. Joyce from the GCWS joined us for part of the day, but when she had to leave early the session became my own private class at a "blog-i-versity"!!!
Not only did I get to learn something new, and hope to put those things into practice soon (Rhonda, note how I highlighted you!!!!) but I also got to see in person the original paintings she has received from Mryna Wacknov, Carol Carter and Chris Beck. I cannot believe how small Chris' is, and how skillfully it was completed - just beautiful!
Thanks to Jerry, too! (I think I kept him from his lunch, but he was too kind to say it!)

Today my husband, son and myself spent the day cleaning up this place inside and out in preparation for my batik workshop this weekend. Hope the sun is shining all weekend! I'm excited!

IT'S A BOY . . . .

. . . . we think!

Here are photos of our new arrival – our first “grandcalf”. (I now have a “granddog” and a “grandcalf” – apparently the closest I will ever get to a “grandchild”).

Just a few minutes old and mama is cleaning him up. We were concerned about her mothering skills since this is her first calf – seems she knew just what to do.



A few minutes later – a bit more awake!


Trying to stand up, front legs first – not working for him! Trying again, back legs first – not quite there yet. I stood in the field several more minutes to try to get a photo of his first steps - until my husband decided he had better things to do, so I left with him in the gator rather than hike all the way back up the hill – we have A LOT OF HILLS to hike up and down. . . . .
. . . . which is why, several hours later, after he got his legs under him, the calf managed to fall/roll down a hill and wedge himself under the barbed wire fence. My son pushed him up the hill and he went to mama.
Then, yesterday, my husband informed me he couldn’t find the calf – then found him outside the perimeter fence (again, barbed wire, and my husband has the cut to prove it!) and carried him up and pushed him back under. This morning he said he can’t find him at all – one hopes he did not get carried off and eaten last night (we have coyotes, plus large neighbor dogs plus who knows what in them woods!) – I’ll keep you posted.
And, yes, I have now decided this must be a boy – a girl would have figured out the first time not to roll down the hill and under the fence – best to stay by mom for snack time!!!
If it truly is a boy – his name is “Sonny”. If it turns out to be a girl it will be “Sunny” – since mom is “Sunshine”!
p.s. Day 3 – Sonny lives! He was outside the electric fence laying in the tall pasture grasses – we were specifically searching for him and didn’t see him until we were about 10 feet away - the dog was with us and saw him too, but didn’t bother him and came immediately away from him when we called.

All of you real ranchers out there are no doubt laughing at us. All of the books on cattle that my husband has read and seminars he has attended – and he had to call two of the local farmers for pointers on baby calves! He had 9 cows years ago before we lived out here and we have seen the young calves laying in the fields – but neither of us realized that when they are first born the mother hides them. And since the area our cows are in gets eaten and trampled down there is no place for him to hide, thus he has to go outside that area in order to hide.

Guess we will be going day to day with him and hoping for the best until he gets bigger and more mobile.

I'M IN TROUBLE . . . . .

Well, I’m in big trouble with my husband. He’s upset with me that I have not updated my blog for a few days.
I’ve been busy.
There was the GCWS meeting.
There were two classes to teach.
There was homework for classes.
I attended a class over the weekend.
I’m getting ready to teach my first weekend workshop.
I’ve been elected to the Board of the Cincinnati Art Club and they put me in charge of the ViewPoint 2009 show (what were they thinking!) so there were some things to work on for that project.
And I’ve got 5 paintings in the works right now (I know, what was I thinking!) including 2 full sheets??!!!
So – I’ll try to take photos to show you soon on some of these paintings.
Hopefully this quick post will get me out of the “dog house” with my husband!
Meanwhile we are still awaiting the birth of our first “grand calf”. I’ll keep you posted!
In the meantime - Fred and I wish you and yours a happy and safe Fourth of July!

GONE PAINTIN" . . . .

I'm out the door early tomorrow morning for my annual Painting Retreat in Tennessee. (No cell phones, no computers - just painting, eating, laughing for a WHOLE WEEK!!!!)

I've enabled the "Comment Moderation" feature while I'm gone (and maybe forever, due to Karin Juricks' dilemma).

That means you can still leave comments, they just won't be posted for a bit.

And, for those of you who are too shy to comment "for the world to see" this is a great feature (!) - go ahead and leave me a comment and just tell me if you prefer that I not post it. That way we can still communicate but only I will see your comment.

Anway - hope you enjoy your week as much as I will be enjoying mine!

Back around June 16 or so!

HORROR SHOW

“It was a dark and stormy night . . . . .

That’s what my Tuesday evening was – and I was living in my own personal horror show.

It all started at 4:45 p.m. – my car was loaded and I was off to my class. Or, was I???
At 4:46 the car still had not started, then it turned over, ran very rough, and died. Tried it again, nothing.
By 4:48 I was back in the house, in a panic, getting my husband off the phone.
In the meantime I had (unknowingly) awakened my son from a nap to ask if he could drive me into the city in his truck (a Dodge Ram that I have never driven – it’s HUGE). After a short LOUD discussion through the closed bedroom door, I went back into the garage, in a total panic mode, to find that my husband had gotten the car started (and where he told me that earlier he had a problem with it – hmmmmmmmm).
By 5:00 I was on the road, admonished by my husband to call him when I got there so he knew I’d made it, and to call him before I came home. And, oh yeah, don’t stall the car! (I drive a stick shift and haven’t stalled the car in recent memory, but now, of course, all I can think of is stalling the car!!!!)
That’s when I saw that my cell phone battery was dying. After a frantic dig through my purse I came up with the plug in cord, so that crisis was averted.
After 2 phone calls from my husband and trying to locate any and all downhill routes to my destination - (try that in a city situated on hills!) – I made it to class – about 5:50.
After class, by 8:45 I had loaded my car to leave and one of the gentlemen said he would stay to make sure my car started.
After a minute or so it started – just long enough for me to give a “thumb’s up” and shut the door, at which point it died.
Try after try – it would not re-start. Ron volunteered to stay with me until help arrived.
By 8:55 or so I had called my husband and he said he would come to either start the car and follow me to the car repair or tow me.
By 9:30 or so he arrived, Ron left, and between the 2 of us (after reading the car manual in the glow of the mirror light) we managed to remove the front grill, locate the tow hook in the trunk, install same by the glow of a dying flashlight and insert a tow chain.
I said we should call AAA or leave the car until morning, but . . . .
By 9:45 the tow chain was hooked to my car and around the hitch of his truck and electrical-taped so it (hopefully) would not come loose.
I got my towing instructions – “keep tension on the chain, don’t ride the brakes, be careful not to gain on me” . . . and then, we were off. . .

. . . . with thunder rumbling and lightning flickering!!!

The panic/anxiety attack hit immediately as I was yanked and whipped around the curves of the parking lot.
By the time we got to the main road I was frantic.
By the time we started DOWN HILL I thought I was having a heart attack or stroke – my left hand and upper lip were numb, and my ears all tingly.
YANK – “SCREEEEEEEEEEM” – yoga breath, yoga breath
YANK – “SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEM” – pant, pant, pant
I finally got the cell phone open, pushed the button, put it on speaker and screamed to my husband – “stop, I can’t do this” . . . .
. . . . just as the rain started.
His calm and soothing voice assured me that, why yes, I could do this and was in fact doing great!

(Visions of scenes from “The Titanic” floated into my head).

We managed to drive a few more miles, me screaming and panting and trying like #*!! to follow him without hitting anything around me – like a silver van that I missed by an inch or so – before the rain began coming down in earnest.
By the time we got under the Interstate (in a baaaaaaaad part of town) I couldn’t even see the back of his truck, nor his lights, which were a mere few feet in front of me. This time when I began screaming he really did stop – with his truck in the rain, me up against the guardrail and partly under cover and partly in the rain.

N O O O O W my husband says we can call AAA . . . .

By now it’s 10:35 (or so I’m told by the lady from AAA who wanted to know if I was heading north or south – WHAAAAAAAAAT???) and the tow truck will arrive 45 minutes from now.
My husband (now soaking wet) went to sit in his truck and I sat in my car, having pushed back my seat and kept on my seatbelt in case some idiot decided to rear end me, even though my flashers were on.
About now it dawned on me that the reason I couldn’t see anything was because, having no power, my defroster and wipers would not work – DUH.
So I sat and waited.
Somewhat calmer now, I called a friend to ask her to call our GCWS president to tell her I would not be at the meeting the next day. Then, business attended to and my windshield clear again, I watched car after car pull over and stop behind me and next to me and up ahead and couldn’t figure out why. I thought the ones by me were just concerned about me!!! Turns out it was HAILING and they were stopping under the overpass until it quit!

Two more phone calls from the tow company – and me explaining AGAIN that I was UNDER THE EXPRESSWAY – “Oh, you’re not ON THE EXPRESSWAY????” – and, by jove, he got it!

Finally the car is on the tow truck, my husband and I are both wet, but at least I’ve calmed down by now, and we are headed up the long hill to the car dealer. . . .

. . . . in my husband’s work truck – his LOUD work truck – a rattle-y step van. With a wobbly seat. And one headlight out. And one wiper and defroster that doesn’t work. (Fortunately the wobbly seat was mine. However, the missing headlight was on his side, but the wiper and defroster that didn’t work were on my side – he could actually see out his windshield – so we were good to go).
After the car was released into the parking lot and the tow truck driver paid, I shut my eyes, pretended I was on a tropical beach somewhere, listened to the screeching and thumping of the truck and magically, we made it home – about 12:20 A.M.
Now, I’m not a drinker, but when I saw my son’s Captain Morgan on the kitchen counter I went for it – one swig. The warmth hit my throat (sore from all that screaming) and I stumbled up to bed.

By the way - did I forget to mention that my husband’s car was already in for repair, so we were now totally “car-less”??? My only options for mobility were: my son’s aforementioned Dodge Ram, my son’s souped up ’91 Mustang, 2 step vans that I can’t reach the pedals in (I’m S.H.O.R.T), a huge dump truck (which, believe it or not I’ve actually driven!), various tractors and construction equipment, a John Deere Gator or 4 cows.
So, on Wednesday, I was treated to another ride in the other step van – this one 25 years old with a door held shut with a C-clamp (but at least the seat doesn’t wobble) – to the car dealer to pick up a rental car.

We will be getting his car tomorrow – and they still don’t know what’s wrong with mine!
p.s. – THANK YOU RON!

ART SHOWS GALORE!!! - Part 1

My painting at the top - not sure who was the other winner here, but it was a great painting also!

SOUTHEASTERN INDIANA ART GUILD SHOW
The reception was held on Saturday, April 25 at the SIAG studios – corner of 2nd and Main in Aurora, IN.
The SIAG partners with several florists in the area who come in before the show opening and pick several paintings to create companion pieces for. This was a large show, well attended, and quite beautiful with the lovely floral arrangements scattered throughout.
The show was juried by Sam Hollingsworth, an artist from Northern Kentucky, who is also in our GCWS group. The work was divided into several groups (pastel, oil, watercolor, acrylic, colored pencil, etc.) and a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place award was given for each category as well as some purchase awards. Some of the winners have greatly improved their skills since I’ve known them and it made me happy to see them rewarded for their hard work. I was also happy that one of my pieces won a 3rd place award and one of my watercolors won 1st Place – Best of Show!

GCWS SHOW
Our show opened Sunday, April 26 with a lovely reception provided by Evergreen. The paintings looked great, having been hung by our hardworking hanging committee headed up by Mary Jane who was assisted by Tamara, Jo, Ron, Kathy and Joan.

Tamara and Mary Jane doing their job hanging the paintings.

Jenny (from Evergreen on the left) and Carol and Jane helping with registration - and having WAY too much fun!

Since this was our 7th annual exhibit we had a theme of 7 and most of the artists were able to keep with the theme – some by including a “7” in their prices, some with their titles, and some with their content.

Marilyn Bishop (http://marilynsartblog.blogspot.com) had the idea of playing a game – visitors looked for 7 paintings that incorporated the theme and then wrote down how the artist had incorporated the idea of 7 into their painting. When they dropped off their papers they won a notecard for participating! Some of the folks really got into the search!
For those of you in the Greater Cincinnati area, the show runs through May 31 at Evergreen Retirement Community, 230 W. Galbraith Road. You can see the show any day – enter at the red awning with our banner hanging and just wander through – this place is gorgeous!!! The paintings are all located on the first floor. Hopefully you will see something you would like to purchase!
On the weekends (noon – 4:00 p.m.) we will be having some of our member artists painting, so it might be fun to drop by then to watch and learn. Check out that information under “Shows” on the right side of my blog.

On a personal note, one of the visitors to the show was someone I grew up with, we had not seen each other for probably 42 or 43 years, and we recognized each other! (Not really sure what that says about us – either we look young now or we looked really, really old as kids!!!) Seriously, it was so cool!

The harpist for the day was Nancy Bick Clark - she not only can play the harp but has a lovely voice and serenaded us several times that day!

PAINTING - BUT NOT THE "RIGHT" KIND!

I have been painting – with acrylic, not watercolor or casein. But, not the "right" kind of acrylic – this was satin gloss latex.
I have been painting cornhole boards with my daughter. (If you are not from the Midwest you may think I just typed a bad word!) Cornhole is a game in which you have two boards with large holes in them. You set them up like you would for horseshoes, i.e., one at either end of your yard. (I’m sure there are some specific distance requirements). You then have two teams, one at either end of the yard aiming for the cornhole board the farthest away and you toss little 6 inch square bags filled with, what else - CORN - into the hole in the board. (It’s harder than it looks!).
This game is very popular with the young people since, unlike golf, baseball, softball or tennis, it only requires one hand to play the game. The “other” hand can then be used as the beer caddy.
There should have been a photo here showing our completed handiwork. However, since mom tends to paint everything like watercolor, and since daughter tends to rush in with no plan in place, there were some “issues” as to how to go about accomplishing the goal of a black board with gold lining the outside and around the hole, and “Purdue” spelled out in white and gold, with “glow in the dark” paint around the hole and along the sides. Her boyfriend graduated from Purdue so she wanted that incorporated onto the board, and she purchased cornhole bags with Purdue logo on them.
This turned out to be a family project – brother built the boards and sanded them beautifully, mother and daughter worked together painting (with no major arguments or bloodshed). In the end, daughter decided that they just didn’t look good enough and she had dad sand them down.
The boards are at her house now, not really finished, awaiting decals. But I’m told that they were much appreciated by boyfriend, and the first game of cornhole has been played on them!

ART OPENING

Sunday we had an art opening at a lovely retirement community (Chesterwood Village) in West Chester, Ohio, just north of Cincinnati. Wow, the place is gorgeous. I put in some of my old cars and a couple of Venice paintings and I know they were well received since I overheard some of the comments as people looked at them.

Congratulations to Susan! Her beautiful painting of a stately old home is sold! Now, if mine would just sell!

I took a few photos to show some of the “Main Street”. When you walk in there is a chapel, a train station, a theater and a pub,a beauty shop, pet store, café and restaurant! It is amazing! Our paintings were placed all along the street, with some extending into two other rooms – overall they looked great!

CLONES - 2 (My Age, But in Better Shape)

I don’t have a digital photo of this one, so I’ve attempted to scan it. This one was a ’49 Ford that I found parked in downtown Aurora, IN. It’s a bit hard to see, but my photo is at the top and my painting at the bottom.
The funny thing about this one is that some time later I found a virtually identical painting in one of the art magazines! It was painted in oil, but the truck model and color and the angle at which the photo was taken, and even the background were almost identical!
Here are photos of the other truck from the art magazine. As you can see, it looks like that artist (from Pennsylvania) took his photo standing at the exact angle from that truck as I stood when taking my photo in Aurora, IN.
When I showed the magazine article to my husband he said “When did you get your painting into a magazine?”
Then, I was checking out some blogs a while back and came across artist Terry Miura who had painted an old truck - once again it looks so similar - different color but same view as the others. (http://terrymiura.blogspot.com - his posting from January 14, 2009).
There's just something about old trucks!
My Age but in Better Shape! ('49 Ford), watercolor.

VENICE 1 (and more Clones!)

My daughter had the opportunity to go to Croatia and Italy a few years ago.

If there is one place in the world I could go, it would be Venice, so when she left I gave her an ultimatum – “When you go to Venice take lots of good pictures, or don’t come back.” (Ain’t I a great mom!) Terror struck my heart when she emailed me about her day in Venice, saying “If you’ve seen one canal you’ve seen ‘em all”. But, Darling Daughter that she is, she took lots of Venice pictures and quite a few of them are paint worthy. (She also brought me a glass chicken from Venice!)

So . . . . one day I was watching a TV show about Venice when I caught a glimpse of my painting on the TV screen! Just to be certain, I backed up the DVR and paused it and, yep, the picture on the TV screen was the identical view my daughter had taken a photo of and which I had painted!
Above is that painting.

Compare this painting to Sandy Maudlin’s Venice painting posted on 12/18/8-12/20/8 on her blog (http://sandymaudlin.blogspot.com/). Maybe my daughter was right – “seen one canal, seen ‘em all”! I thought these two paintings were very similar.

CLONES - 1

There is an interesting phenomenon of what I call “clones” - paintings that are almost identical.

NOTE: I do not mean this in a bad way, it's just a fact of the art life!

I’m sure you have all seen paintings of the Maine lighthouse which I think is Portland Light (I could be wrong, feel free to correct me) that are all similar. I’ve been told that when you visit that place there is one place to stand below the lighthouse to get a good photo, so many artists get that same picture and then paint from that photo.

In a local town there is an old feed mill that is quite picturesque. Once I discovered it I thought I would paint it. Gee, imagine my surprise to find that it had been painted ad nauseum by tons of other local artists! (So I never did paint it).

Another place that has inspired many CLONES (similar paintings) is the view from the bridge over the Grand Canal in Venice. My daughter took a photo from that bridge which I hope to paint some day. I’ll be in very good company, since it seems that I’ve seen that same painting done in every possible medium!

(Does the photo above look familiar???)

So, I guess that saying “there is nothing new under the sun” is really true!

THE GOLDEN RULE 2 and UNEXPECTED SURPRISE

Here the lace is being painted and the edges of the Bible pages. The lace is a slow, laborious process so I do a little at a time to keep from getting bored! But there is something about it I really like, maybe a Zen thing??

UNEXPECTED SURPRISE
Last week a friend from the Carolinas was in Columbus, OH for a few days and called to see if she could get together with my friend and me over the weekend. We drove up on Sunday and met her at a half way spot for lunch. Then we found a quiet place we could sit and chat and critique the paintings she had brought with her. Since we usually only see one another once a year at our yearly painting retreat, this was an unexpected surprise! But, I forgot to bring my camera so cannot show you her paintings (gotta remember to take that thing with me everywhere!).