“Our purpose in life is to find our gift, perfect it, and give it back to others.”—Unknown
Exuberant thanks to everyone who came out to spend time getting waxy with me in Saluda, NC then in Asheville, NC through Random Arts and River's Edge Studio. Most amazing time had....I believe, by all :) Gratefully, passionately, holding onto the goodness!!! in love. trish
just one of several amazing gallery/studio spaces in the even more amazing building in the River Art District in Asheville, NC
call me weird, I think these stairs are beautiful :)
delicious green door...
Fleta Monahan :)
one of many gallery spaces exhibiting diverse and delicious art by resident and guest artists to 310 Art Gallery
and the work, no mess, no, fun! begins!...
just stuff :)
and the doing of the stuff...(hi Kim!)
more doing; no wait, more stuff...
more doing!
and more work (in progress ;)
A portion of the building front; what a delicious place to have a studio, workshop room, gallery!!!
Can't let this photo-op pass me by!
Only the start of the glorious mess!
Sandy, Louise and
backsides of Liz and Linda...I'm just a classy photographers that way :)
drying under the coffee and cookie table; of course! :)
I have been traveling for three weeks now and have not done a single load of laundry.
Ew.
I am a bit disgusted myself as I write that~
I've done the traveling thing; washing in the shower a few necessities and hanging to dry over the hotel shower curtain rod...
But not doing laundry isn't my point exactly;
it's the looking forward to doing laundry.
Now that is not something you hear very often....
Especially from a mom of four boys!
To be honest I am craving after a lot of mundane tasks and common place stuff right now:
Eating with a metal utensil...
from a non-disposable container...
Using a curling iron...
Wearing my slippers...
Curling up on a couch...
Cooking-even if just to scramble eggs for Patrick!
All things I take for granted regularly when home.
All things missed deeply when traveling.
I can't help but draw a parallel in this craving and looking forward to~
I imagine God feeling that way about me. About every human.
Introduced to Him at birth through Catholic baptism, Sunday school and regular church attendance-
I was among those aware of Him;
taking for granted He was part of this world,
part of my life.
I traveled through my growing up simply aware that He was a something, a someone, who was always there.
Like my silverware, dishes, slippers and cozy couch~
He was just there.
I never thought what it could possibly be like to not have Him just there....
like the washing machine...or silverware drawer.
Always there.
yet life always had a craving; a longing; a 'something missing'...
a 'looking forward to' in which I had no idea what I was forward looking to~
Then I went through a period of life-travel;
traveling onto
a new way of doing normal,
a new way of doing me.
And in it I recognized and began to appreciate once again the 'everyday' and 'common place' that I'd been taking for granted.
And I began to look forward to getting home and finding it
embracing it
appreciating it.
Doing a load of holy laundry!
Drawing me so far in that now,
in this new way, this new 'common place'
I never take for granted,
I'll never be able to take for granted~
I'll never be allowed to take for granted~
But only savor and relish the feel
~metal fork instead of plastic
~china bowl instead of cardboard
~cozy couch instead of pilled-up pillows on desk chair...
God relationship rather than God awareness.
He's keeping me close by keeping me craving.
He's not risking my becoming complacent to His presence now that I've fully flung open and shouted through the walls of my heart,
'I'm home!'
The delicious smell of Tide with bleach will not go unappreciated.
The tactile beauty of my Calphalon soup pot will be embraced anew.
My tender traveling toes will slide into cushioned slippers with delicious bliss.
As the love and companionship of my God is each day is delighted in
and looked forward to~
My God is in each and every every day
~Reminding me of His pervading and ever-present position.
Never letting me fall into routine or take His presence for granted~
delighting in the work-dare I call it such-
He keeps me always craving after,
looking forward to
the little, under appreciated, often overlooked creature comforts of modern life.
And in the by and by of this not only better understanding His love and care for me,
but also His determination
-with a small smirk of delight on His face I believe!-
to never let me get comfortable without appreciating the Comforter~
From June to August 2012, ArtfulGathering.com will be presenting TWO exciting
semesters of premiere online video workshops offered by fabulous
artists who are known nationally and internationally. We are all very
excited to share out knowledge, skill, and creativity with you, and we
hope that you will join us for this AMAZING annual online event.
Blog Hop with us for a chance to win a prizes from Jerry's Artarama!
Each week the faculty of Artful Gathering will be announcing a featured blog to visit.
You can hop along with us until the final destination blog is
reached, and where ONE Grand Prize winner will be chosen at Random for a
chance to win a $200.00 e-gift card from Jerry's Artarama!!!
Two Runner Up winners will also be chosen at random for a chance to win a $25.00 e-gift card from Jerrys.
Each
week I will announce the next featured blog for you to visit, and there
you will find a new secret word or words that you will need to collect
along your way from blog to blog. Once you have collected all the words
from each blog you visit, they will work out to say a very artsy phrase.
Here are the rules:
For your chance to win, you must collect all the secret code
words and submit them upon the final destination blog in May. A random
drawing will be conducted from those contestants who have submitted the
complete collection of secret words!
Three winners will be randomly drawn. One for the $200.00 e-card to Jerry's, and two runner's up for the 25.00 e-card to Jerrys.
Week by week we'll go from one blog to the next!
Remember to collect all the secret words. These words will work out
to say a very artful phrase, and you'll need all the pieces to be
eligible for the final prize drawings!
Please HOP over and visit the Amazing Mixed Media Jewelry Artist... Kecia Deveney http://lemoncholys.blogspot.com/ (Pick Up the Next Secret Word)
Did you know your greatest adversary, your giant of confusion, difficulty, testing, is also a giant of blessing, grace and miracle?
It's true.
I have proof once again~
Just as in my post Orlando Magic!, God has come in with a small, precious miracle once again.
Blowing me away mind you! Is His grace to always be in the small for me?
If this is so, let it flow!
(Once again forgive me all you sports fans for purposefully titling this post with the Superbowl favorite; Go Giants! Yes, I am a fan....but it was too perfect to pass up!)
I recently heard that the word for giants in the bible, is in some cases translated 'great'.
As is the case of Goliath whom David conquers~
Great.
Not something we usually think of when imagining giants.
Let your mind loose for a moment and humor me for a moment....
Imagine if you will traveling across the country, checked bags stuffed full to the 50 pound max, carry-on bursting with last minute 'must have's' and personal suitcase not full of clothing and toiletries as much as more supplies with which to capture the workshop participants full conversion to the amazing medium of encaustic...
here in you have me!
Loaded down with all the goods to inspire~
Now imagine this same loaded down traveler, coming directly from the aforementioned Orlando Magic! debacle-turned-blessing,
arriving at the next destination,
only to realize the much needed, can't pull this off without it, main material for teaching had inadvertently been substituted with a worthless counterfeit!
How dare the universe continue to challenge and mess with my determined goal to inspire!
How dare.....
My giant?
A mis-shipped box of supplies.
In Orlando, an untraveled supply case.
Way back in time-my first encaustic workshop ever-an ill wired electrical circuit and many blown fuses...(note I teach with 'stations' now!? At the time a giant I thought had me beat, but by determinately fighting against, look at me now!?)
Why, or rather, How? you ask...
Standing against each one, each giant, just at my right hand, always going before me~
My God.
No longer deniable.
Incapable of being written off as coincidence.
Beyond accepting as my own certain efforts.
My God.
Small miracles.
In my travel-weary haze my mind raced over the options available; tucked away in the small mountain community of Saluda, NC at the delightful Random Arts just hours away from the starting gun for a six day immersion between here and Asheville, how was I to find this much needed supply?!
All panic aside,
all past performance squelched (yes, I've been known to perform a good panic...),
I did the obvious and made a few phone calls.
Then I did the necessary;
prayed.
trusted.
determinately believed my God was WAY greater than this little ol' giant~!
and went to bed :)
Guess what? (Need I say it?!)
It worked. It works. He works!
Saving you the nail-biting details of the hours between determined decision and miracle performed, let it be known that 11 wonderful women got full-on waxy on Thursday February 2nd in Saluda!
And 11 more will do the same today.
And 15 more will do so, twice over, in Asheville for the next four days....
God did more than perform a miracle to swell my heart with gratitude,
or once again firmly establish me in the blessings of determination of trust,
and obviously save my hiney!
He also extended this blessing to each and every participant for this six day tour~
as well as, I hope, everyone finding their way to this post.
It was with bold confidence I told my God I would tell all who would hear me of His great grace in my life through this small miracle.
So I tell.
And swell.
With blessed trust~
And a quick nod to the UPS driver :)
So I say bring on the giants. They may look like unconquerable beasts, but I will forever think of them as 'great'-
great blessings~
I don't care how boystrous and immovable you make yourself out to be; my God will always stand taller, bolder and more determinately at my right hand than any puny giant any day~
in love. trish
(thank you Marianne for singing this song while painting :)
