The Shire

" I paint home portraits on slate covered with old music sheets"

Is usually my short answer to what I do as a retired nurse

who now finds herself with this new found talent of painting.

Most of my paintings are so much more as something 

beautifully odd or almost miraculous comes about more

often than not. This brings me to the story of THE SHIRE.

I have young friends I call the Barker twins.

These girls, I swear remind me of myself when I was 

their age. They both are little momma's and animated 

and we have great conversation when we speak/text.

Kristen has ordered quite a few portraits from me and

says she loves my work. Each time she picks up a piece,

she puts her name down for more portraits. Kayla,

likes to talk about as much as me but just maybe

one notch lower than I. I call them my Barker twins.

So here is the story:
A few weeks ago, Kristen' name is up once again for a painting.

I text her, "K, your name is up and I have written that it is for

your boss."

She excitedly explains that she wants that spot!
 Her Mom has lost one of her best friends just days
before from a horrible tractor accident while working on his master piece.
THE SHIRE
Yes, he owns a home he calls the Shire. He also was a single

parent for many years to his one child who now lives in London. 

In the middle of a global pandemic, she was able to get a private plane

to get as close as she could to her deceased Daddy who 

was everything to her childhood.

Then the "miracles" or coincidences started happening.

I did not know this man, he was a retired lawyer who

had his Shire moved to his land in three pieces and put his carpentry 

work to use as he was bringing the Shire back to its beautiful beginning.
With the twins history, they say after he finished law school he traveled
the World by back pack and fell in love with Paraquay and Uruguay.

He built a guest house in the image of a cajun home from the 

ground up. He tore down an old barn and gave most of the wood

to Kayla twin so she could build a stand for her baby's birthday.

From the minute I got the text, and then the photos, I was deep into 

this project. I studied all the most beautiful photos of the home  

and felt like this man was with me from the beginning.
I even felt like I could see his shadow in the windows of the photos he sent.

Along with the photos I used to paint the Shire, I also taped up a photo
of himself, and his daughter, Jessica when she was young for inspiration.

Yet, as I began, I felt he was making sure I got it right as it was going

to be a gift for the woman he loved, his baby girl.

This home, this estate was beautiful, the work he

was doing here was phenomenal.
Sometimes I felt his hand led my work.

I love every home I paint and as I have said before, because I pray

for the family I am painting for and asked many questions,

many special things come to pass my work. it is far more than

just a painting. However, this one had me feeling I was not

the one in control of this piece.

As I was finishing up ideas began to come into my head,

"Add a very small photo of he and his daughter when she was young."

"Wood burn a piece of the barn wood to say 'THE SHIRE'"

Paint his dog in the front of the house,

"Paint a carving in the tree that says Papa loves J".

I looked at the songs I picked, two hymns about love

and the middle one I tore out of a Led Zepplin music book

"STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN"

A poem I had called  THIS IS MY FATHERS WORLD

and it was so fitting to this man I never met that I had to add 

it along with a love letter to the back of the slate.

It was then time to show the Barker twins my finished project:

Just like they always do, they praised my work and could not wait to

gift it to this grieving daughter, Jessica.

I was nervous, I was excited, I could not wait for her reaction.

Yes, I cried watching this, yes I want to meet this daughter

whose Daddy loved her to pieces.

Yes, I'm saddened that I never got to personally meet her Father.

But I cannot say I feel like he is a stranger as 

like i have said, he has been with me from the beginning of this project.

It was one piece, maybe the only piece I was actually saddened to finish.

As I sealed it, took down all the photos I had taped all over my work

station, I was sad about it being done.

I cannot thank the Barker twins enough for trusting me with this 

most precious gift to an only child who must be hurting in 

ways she can't even yet begin to comprehend.

I pray that as she travels back home to London, with THE SHIRE

accompanying her, she places it in a place where she can be

comforted on those hard days. I pray that it is comfort it brings

always. I ask that you all remember this story and remember this 

family that did not loose their loved one to Cover-19, but to 

something that he just loved doing, remodeling his beautiful 

Shire. May he rest In Peace.

Thanks again, Barker twins, I love you two to pieces!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Bringing back a 1974 memory....

Almost a year to the date, a friend of mine, Tina Leger

sent me a text:

"Would you consider remodeling my childhood dollhouse?"

Whether she reached out to me because of my house portraits 

or of other crafts I have done, or if she knew I had a love for miniatures

and have a wide collection and a history of mini building,

I am so glad she did.

I almost immediately said, "I would be honored."

Last June I picked up her childhood dollhouse built by her 

GodParents when she was 5 in 1974.

Right away I was excited, loved the build, knowing it was not built 

by any kit I had worked with before.

Tina had made notes for me of things that she would like to have

me add to the home but other than that, she gave me free reign

saying "I trust your judgement, your talent."

I did not work on it for almost a year.

It was protected in my back yard shop.

The shop however, was a small mess. 

Not an area I was crazy about working in at the time.

It was filled with things I had made and was more storage than shop.

Even though I was not working on it, my mind was thinking 

of things I wanted to do with it, looking at miniature magazines again,

looking at on-line sites, storing ideas in my head.

Window boxes, shingled roof... but I still did not start it.

Then the pandemic started, Quarantine began, I still had over

90 home portraits to do but I felt it was time to get my shop in order

as well. I knew my friend, Tina was like me, missing her little grand girl.

She was this sweet girls every day sitter as her Mother taught other

people's children. When schools closed down, this little Momma

was able to be a stay home Mom for a time and she had to be so 

glad for that aspect of quarantine. Not so much for her Lovey.

I am proud of her son and his little family as I am for

my son and his family, taking this quarantine serious,

but has us grandparents lonesome.

So, in that aspect I needed to start the dollhouse for myself as well.

So the shop got put back in order, I primed the whole house and 

began an old craft that I had put on the back burner a time ago.

I split my days partly doing the dollhouse and the other part painting

my  home portraits. Yet, was getting drawn into this house.

As I worked on it, adding shingles, wall papering the inside,

building and filling window boxes, I thought

of the little girl who had loved this little house

and that same little girl, now a grandmother, Lovey, and the

memories she would be making with her sweet Grandgirl.

I remembered my own little dollhouse I had as a child,

nothing home built such as this, just a little plastic house

that I absolutely loved. I remember putting the little house

in sunlight so the light would come through the windows

and my little family had sunlight to live in.

I prayed for Tina and her family as I worked and 

enjoyed this project.

The inside of the home had never been more than white painted walls.

So I began doing all those things I used to do,

wallpaper, make wood floors, moldings,

I was finding another love that I had put on the back burner

for too long.

I put all Lovey's ideas she had sent with the house on sticky notes

and incorporated them into her house.

She wanted me to also do something I had never done before, 

that was to merge my dollhouse reconstruction  with my

painting.

I could not wait to complete the inside, paint the outside,

add roofing shingles so I could start painting trees, shrubs, etc.

A dog house was needed I made one and added it to the side.

window boxes were filled with little flowers I had been saving

for years waiting for a project that needed them.

I made curtains, sealed walls and floors so that

a two year old sweet pea could play with it to her

hearts content.

I began sending photos to Lovey and with each photo

came a compliment or admittance of tears being shared.

A text saying,

"I am so happy with my dollhouse. You brought it back

to life and its much prettier than it was from the day I 

got it. This was enough to now make me shed tears.

This was a challenge of the heart. I wanted to give

Lovey all she wanted so she could share many years with her 

Sweet Pea....

And as I always try to do, I pick up things

at thrift stores, garage sales, etc. I save them because

I know a time will come that it will mean something

big to someone else. One of Lovey's notes were

to add something like the flower, sweet pea or 

something to remind Sophia that she was her Lovey's 

Sweet Pea. Then I remembered and I hunted...

for a pure silver small top that had a sweet pea

on it......

... and when I finally found it, it was perfect! 

A perfect fit behind the dollhouse right below the chimney!

Not only are there two little peas that move around in the pod 

but the saying was perfect for Lovey and her little Sweet Pea.

"SHALL WE STICK TOGETHER AS LONG AS WE LIVE?"

Yes, with every piece of work I do, there is at least one

of these small miracles/coincidences that are hard to explain.

With that the dollhouse was finished and delivered to 

my wonderful friend. What an honor to be such a big

part to such a wonderful piece.!

Thanks, Tina!

Addendum:

"What so ever you do for the least of your brothers, that you do unto me"

It has taken me some time to write this blog.

I was missing my grand girls as Tina was missing her Sophia

so it was hard to find the things I wanted to share here.

As I took upon this project another dear friend,

JoAnne Kauffman, was looking for someone to gift 

her miniature collection to. Another friend, Gloria

told me about Jo's post and I immediately sent her a message.

I am the chosen and I am overwhelmed that as I finished

this project, having me follow my love for miniatures once 

again, here was someone who I have known since her daughter

and I were friends in middle school, who I then worked with for

many years at Lady of the Sea who wants to gift me her 

collection! Saturday the boo and I will pick up these 

kits, and tools, and books all about Miniature world

and I am just so very excited! 

When you do for others, things come to you.

I don't know how I will ever thank JO enough...