Mother Mary has gone home

My mixed media mosaic,"Mother Knows Best" was hanging in Orleans Street Gallery in St. Charles, IL since March as part of their exhibit "Picturing Mary: Contemporary Images of the Madonna". My piece was chosen for the promotional postcards and newspaper articles for the show. It was quite an unexpected and exciting honor! Last month I was informed that "my Mary" had sold. I made a quiet visit to the gallery earlier this month to say goodbye to her. This week the show ended and she went to her new home. Does anyone else have a hard time saying goodbye to their creations? I always get particularly attached to the ones that incorporate some sort of face and wonder where they're hanging and what they're looking at all day. Best wishes, Mother Mary on your new journey.

Saying goodbye to an old friend

This week I was faced with a tough decision. A 50YO cherry tree dropped a large limb on our garage. We had hoped to get it trimmed and neatened up, but after several estimates it was determined the tree had to come down. The tree had been in our neighborhood since the first home was built. It was on this earth before me. I thought about all the animals I'd seen playing in it. My dogs used to stand up at the base of the trunk looking up at the chattering squirrels that loved to torment them. Thankfully we were assured no animals were nesting in the tree and reluctantly agreed to have it taken down. We planted three new flowering trees to make up for our loss. The tree trimmer left a mountain of chips on our driveway, so I definitely won't be bored this week. The tree can remain with us in it's new form and eventually return to the earth. Goodbye, dear friend. Thank you for your many years of service of providing shade and a safe haven for all our furry and feathered friends. You will be missed.

Welcome to my little corner of the Web!

Wow, talk about pressure. Okay, not really, but it was fun to say. I plan to not only showcase my art and interests in this blog, but also present to you other artists and their creations that I find exciting.

Right now I'm facing a long list of art deadlines. Yep, it's busy season for entering juried shows with specific themes, so I'm spending a lot of time in the studio. While I'm nipping and painting I have a zillion things whirring about in my head, but the biggest presence is Etsy.com! This summer I'll be opening two storefronts on Etsy. One will feature my mosaics, paintings and mixed media pieces and the other store will be for supplies. Stay tuned for details coming soon!

When I'm not spending time with my incredibly supportive husband and three dogs, I'm doing volunteer work for Catahoula United Rescue Society (http://www.catahoulaunited) I'm a foster mom, home visit coordinator and all around volunteer for them. They're a fantastic group of regular people that pull together to pluck Catahoula Leopard Dogs from high kill shelters across the U.S. and place them into foster homes until they are adopted. It's hard, emotional work, but when you get a kiss from a grateful shelter dog it's like the sun shines into your heart.

I look forward to sharing more with you!

Valerie