BE bold

LAST NIGHT I HAD THE STRANGEST DREAM...

Well, it was last night but i was awake.

i was having trouble reading something

so I decided to look for the bold button.

yep, the bold button in my mind.

Crazy how thoughts hit us and how much

computers and the digital age are molded 

into our daily lives. that a thought such as

making my brain be able to see things in 

dark print would be as easy as pressing that bold button

on the screen.

This got me thinking about bold in another sense o

of the word. Such as being bold in life.

how much easier it is to press the bold button 

on a keyboard than it is to stand tall and be bold 

in todays world. I consider myself to be a fairly

fair person and it takes quite a bit to get me angry

yet when being pushed to far, I will speak out for myself.

there are still those cases, however, when I 

don't feel bold, when I feel that going with the flow

is easier than standing up for what is right

or best for myself. last night I had to press

that bold button in my mind, in my heart.

as i did this I realized, in this instance I needed

to stand up for myself and not allow a situation

continue by being quiet, being passive.

I am not a procrastinator in most areas of my life.

when I am it is usually because I am not being bold.

there is so much in life to be happy about

and when a situation finds you more unhappy than happy 

it is time to be bold and walk away.

It's a hard thing to be bold and yet we all need

to press that button in our minds 

at times.

I was speeding...

 Yep, I was speeding.

First one since I was 18.

It was in St. Gabriel, an area I pass quite often.

The difference this day was my sister, C was with me

and we were talking....

What, me talking?? yep...

As I said I pass this area quite often but not at this time of day.

I never noticed the flashing yellow lights that marked

a school zone. I did notice the officer come out from behind the

tree with his radar in hand flagging me down.

he stated "Going 44 in a 25" had me turn around and

I heard him call in my license plate number.

C said, "Oh he won't give you a ticket"

His nonsense approach told me otherwise.

I was just realizing it was a school zone ticket.

How could I have missed that?

I deserved the ticket, I was speeding and I take school zones seriously

having been a school nurse for a quarter of my 30 years in nursing.

I appreciated this officer, he didn't give me any sass,

didn't give me any leeway to talk myself out of the ticket.

As he came back with my ticket, I apologized and he kindly said

probably after finding out I was not a fugitive or had a warrant

for my arrest, "We all make mistakes, Just be careful."

As I pulled out C wondered, " Can you get it fixed?"

NO, I had decided I was not going to get it fixed.

I was speeding and I had a lesson to learn. 

I was going to pay the ticket.

I waited about a week and called the St. Gabriel Police Dept.

The kind woman did not ask for a ticket number,

only asked, "What was the speed limit and how fast were you going?"

44 in a 25, was my answer.

"$170 and make sure you send a money order."

Okay, not only was I going to pay the ticket but I would

be forced out of my comfort zone to  buy a money order.

No check would do. I purchased the money order,

and it sat at my desk along with the ticket for a few days.

By this time, I wondered how long I could sit with a ticket

before they would arrest me.

I real criminal I am not, the real things don't worry about 

arrest warrants...

On with the story.

My court date was coming up, better mail this thing.

As I sat down with ticket and payment in hand I thought

of the purpose of speeding tickets.

In my case, it worked. I knew I would be more careful

around school zones and in general when regards to speeding.

I wondered if one of the reasons, besides some writing bad checks,

having you send a money order was, in fact, to get me out of

my comfort zone, to have me think of what I had done.

With these thoughts in hand I decided, I needed to make the officer

a thank you card. Yep, A 'Mumsie's Cottage' original

complete with a long love letter on the inside.

Finally the ticket was in the mail and I could put the

whole ordeal behind me. 

Even with that, I know I will never receive another 

speeding ticket in a school zone.

BE Kind...

One thing some may not know about me is

every January, I find a word, one word that I want to focus on

for the year. Although I started my 2021 in the hospital 

with Covid, I still picked my word...

BE

Yep, that is it, Be.

For me the word BE can be a complete sentence.

It's meaning, to slow down and take it all in,

Just Be.

Just like my reasoning for picking the word,

I try to find things that allow me to just 

be in the moment, enjoy the quiet, the time

as it is, right then, right now.

Covid stopped visits for me and hugs, and kisses

yet it has not changed me.

A few weeks ago I was able to resume coffees at the cottage

with dear friends and I was reminded of just

how much we have missed in this year.

I was present in the moment, listening to my good friends,

catching up on happenings of the year.

I allowed myself to enjoy the moment, to 

get off the chair in my studio, to wash the paintbrushes for

a few hours and just 

Be.

I would like to say we all benefitted from this

but I know, just one year taken from me, as I get older is a big deal.

Today, Jolee and I will visit my big sister in Larose nursing home.

She is 23 years older than me and not as healthy as we wish.

To have had a year where the only way us siblings could

visit is at a window where we could hardly hear let alone hug.

Today we will hug her and we will kiss her and I may 

just shed a few tears that we all made it out of this year still intact.

We will shower her with love and kindness that she has

not been able to have from us for a year.

I strive to BE kind, even on my worst days.

Not only to those I love but to complete strangers.

I don't always succeed. Sometimes I don't have the conversation

with the cashier at my favorite grocery store,

I don't greet a good morning to the ferry workers that

tirelessly tow us from one bank to the other.

Yet, when I remember these things, when I do them even when

I am not having the best day, I BEnefit...

There is that word again, BE.

Yes, it does matter, that word nice.

Many times in my children's lives I would point to this sign

when they would fight or have an attitude with me.

Did I still scream at them? Of Course

Did they talk back to me? At times

but the main vibe in the home was....

BECAUSE NICE MATTERS (BE again?)

and I finish up with saying, 

Be kind to all not just those you love dearly.

Even the most hard and cold person will

bend a little with a smile and kind gesture.

BECAUSE NICE MATTERS

 

Home portraits, not just a painting.

One day a few months ago, I heard

Jemma tell one of her friends,

"See that lady? She is my Mumsie and she is a famous artist"

It made me laugh as famous I am not,

but it was in hearing that statement that had me realize

I am an artist.

I am a mixed media artist.

After having now, over the last two and a half years,

painted over 150 homes I still love what I do.

It is a passion and every new project, every new client

excites me. The people I meet, the stories I hear,

the lifetime friends I have met are part of the bonus for me.

Some question what a mixed media artist is,

in knowing this let me explain a few things.

One client expressed, "Working with you is not just a painting,

it's an experience" I could not have said it better.

From the time an order comes up, my thoughts and prayers 

while painting is for that family. Slate is my canvas, old music

part of my media. I begin to scan through all the old music I have

to find the perfect title to go with the history and stories 

that the client tells me about. I ask lots of questions during the sketching phase.

I know when I have found the perfect music sheets.

I just feel it somewhere in my soul and have had many encounters

that have me believing there is more to life than what we live on this Earth.

There is also a special paper I choose to add to every painting even if it

is just a small piece. Here is the story behind that:

A few years ago, Randy and I went to an estate sale and I found a 

gallon ziplock filled with old papers and a pad of ecru paper that looked as

though it was embossed with braille. I bought it for two dollars and took it

home knowing somehow, that what I had purchased had far greater worth

than the price tag said. when I returned home I found a newspaper article

explaining how A musician had a blind son and wanted that son to play

his music. He had his pieces set into musical braille and that was the tablet

that was in the bag!

What a wonderful find for a mixed media artist!

Once I lay my papers onto slate, the painting process begins.

I always get so excited when adding that first brush stroke

and have never tired from any painting.

After the painting is done, having shared many text conversations

with my client it is time for the "extra's"

Finding the pieces I will use to tell the story of the home.

Last names, what letters to use, what extra pieces to add,

it's all part of the process. I always like to add an "established" date.

Sometime I will use the year the home was built, other times,

the year the home was purchased. My favorite date to use

when I am painting for a family is the year they were married.

As I explain, when a family begins, it is not the year they

bought a particular home but the year they said "I do" to each other.

This date is one they naively began a life together, finding that

being a family starts on that day. This date is to remember all the good times

along with the hard times that have found them still together,

with children and pets added along the years.

I love using this date to show the hard work of a marriage/relationship.

Sometimes I use all three as in the case of my last painting done for

Charley and Keith.

I find ephemera in my vast collection that tells an individual story

of who these clients are.

Lastly, behind each painting I add my logo as well as a "love note"

from myself to that client/ friend from Mumsie.

This is a brief explanation of what a mixed media artist is.

I use many textures and pieces to make each painting unique,

telling a story of memories for that family.

Only once did I forget to add a love note and in doing so, realized

just how important this touch is.

When Jill, a returning client, got her family piece she expressed she and

her family's joy over it but that her husband was looking forward to 

the  "love note". I could not believe I had forgotten that important piece

of my work. I mailed a handwritten love not to them so they could

add it to the back of their slate. Jill texted me when receiving it,

explaining how they did not expect it and how happy it made her 

dear Hubby, Matt. they have added it to the back of their slate.

Although, I could not believe I had forgotten this touch

it was necessary for me to see just how important it was.

This is my explanation of what a mixed media artist is.

I hope each client, after receiving their piece has this feeling,

"IT'S NOT JUST A PAINTING, ITS AN EXPERIENCE"