Dad

I lost my Dad on August 10th, just a month shy of his 90th birthday! He was a wonderful Dad and gave me so many things, including my artistic side. He was good natured and was being sweet and funny right up until the end. I will miss him terribly!!

Here is a new painting I finished titled " Sweet Attraction". It is watercolor and colored pencil. It is matted in white with a black frame and really stands out. I am currently working on a gourd birdfeeder for myself as a recent storm broke the branch my old one was hanging on and smashed it. I also finished a carved sign that was ordered for a gift.

Here is a lovely heron picture I took at the state park nearby, to close this post. Take a moment to enjoy the beauty around us, life is short!!

close up of campbell pottery entry

Here is a close up view of my entry in the Campbell Pottery Lily festival art show.  It is done in watercolor and colored pencil. Hope you like it!

It has been very warm and dry here lately and it has been a challenge to keep the flowers and vegetables watered enough. The butterflies have been visiting my flowers though, along with the hummingbirds. I love summer!

Campbell Pottery opening reception

First of all I would like to thank everyone that came to see me today at the Campbell Pottery Lily festival opening reception!I appreciate all your support. Here is a picture of me with my artwork that made it in this year.It is entitled, "red, white, and crystal".It is made using watercolor and colored pencil on black matboard. This year's show is full of amazing works and well worth the trip to see it. It runs until August 12th. The only thing missing this year, was my Dad. He was here with me last year , but is now in a nursing home and not doing real well. 

Lily festival juried art show

Got the news Friday that one of my art pieces made it into the juried art show at Campbell Pottery!! This is the  second year I have made it into the show!! All entries have to be Lily themed. The opening is on July 14th and the artists reception is  from 1 to 3 PM. It runs until August 11th at the Gallery at Campbell Pottery.It is a beautiful show and worth the trip to see it. http://www.campbellpotterystore.com/  Here is a photo of some Lilies and swallowtail butterfly to get you in the mood to go!!

Here is a small ornament I made for a special order.I think the chickadee is one of my favorite birds!

The last two birdhouses



My Clematis with azalea in the background



Here are the last two birdhouses I finished lately, one is of tree sparrows and the other is a house finch.  They were both given as Mother's day gifts. Now I hope to spend all of my art time on a couple of entries for the Campbell Pottery Lily Festival. It is a busy time here now, since planting time is upon us. My flowers are starting to bloom and my seedlings in the green  houses are ready to plant. Mowing, weeding, mulching, and planting will require alot of time now. Hopefully I will have some time to ride my horses, as they have been neglected alot the last year. The beauty and promise of Spring still leaves me a little sad and worried, due to the threat of environmental destruction by fracking and the tire burning plant planned for this area. I wonder how long it will take for the beauty of this rural area to be gone and the views I so love to be a distant memory! Will we have clean air, water,safe food, lakes , streams, forests,wildlife,to enjoy in the future?



Geese on the nearby lake



A visit with Sandra Steingraber

Here I am getting copies of Sandra Steingrabers' books signed at a presentation she gave at Washington and Jefferson College last night. She is such an eloquent and beautiful speaker, covering topics that are dirty and frightening and in need of immediate action. She even managed to keep my husband awake for the whole presentation which is really saying something!! :) IF you CAN, read her books and go see her speak!!

It would be time well spent, for all of us!  

Here is a picture of some lovely pink dogwoods in bloom at the college! Aren't they gorgeous!!?

Springs Arrival!

It seems that spring has arrived in western PA! The trees are blooming and the birds are singing! I love this time of year for all the beauty and promise of things to come it affords! I have finished 3 more birdhouses that were ordered and have a couple more to go! I would like to get orders done so I can start work on an entry for the Cambell Pottery Lily festival. I have been busy of late with my Dad who is 89 and was in the hospital for 2 weeks and has since gone to a nursing home. It is so hard watching the Dad that took care of you and was strong for you , waste away before your eyes! I love him dearly and hope he can stay around a while longer!! Life is so precious and so short, makes you want to not waste a second of it!! I still am keeping up on the fracking fight but have not had time to do much lately, thankfully others are keeping the fight on track!! Sometimes it is hard to stay optimistic about stopping this awful practice , but I look at the beauty around here and know that we must fight to save our clean air, water, and country lifestyle!! Here are some photos I took recently. Enjoy!