Kansas City Awaits!

Tomorrow, I will be in the beautiful City of Fountains - Kansas City! It's my annual visit with my kids and grandkids. I'm looking forward to it, as I always do!

Update on my last post on Joplin: My son reported that they did all that they can do for now. Authorities have halted individual clean-ups, since there are still people missing, and might be under any rubble. Matt and Kerry and family have moved to a hotel where there is power, and all of their family seems to be safe and in better spirits.

Again, please keep the people of Joplin in your thoughts and prayers.

My Joplin Connection

This is a photo of my son, Eric and his wife, Mary. Mary's entire family lives in Joplin, Missouri.

Her mother and father and brother live in a house close by her sister Kerry and husband Matt and their two children. Eric and Mary live in Lee's Summit, Mo, a suburb of Kansas City.

Yesterday, Kerry and Matt and their children were in their basement as the tornado destroyed their home above them. They managed to get out of their home safely, without injuries. Mary's parents were also spared any injuries - and I think their home was also spared. I don't have any details on Matt's parents, yet.

This morning, Eric and Mary were gathering up supplies and driving to Joplin. I haven't heard yet if they were able to get into Joplin.

This event has shaken me more that I would like to admit. I've lived most of my life in Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri - spent many hours in basements when the sirens blew, and never experienced a tornado. I never knew anyone who was in this particular kind of Hell. I have led a very blessed life, never coming into contact with accidents, violence or major weather drama. Just a week without power during an ice storm and another one during some hurricane fly-by. Big deal!

I'm so grateful that none of my extended family was hurt during this event, but I know that they will still be struggling to rebuild their home and town. I feel so insigificant and useless. I'll be leaving Saturday for Kansas City for my annual grandkid fix - maybe then I can discover what I can do to help. The good news is that I'll be bringing my granddaughter, Haley, home with me for a couple of weeks.

See you on the flip-side! Please say a prayer for all those affected in Joplin.

Nothing to Report!

I realized that it's been over 2 weeks since I last posted. Boy, how time flies! I haven't been painting much - just painted some more papers and I'm almost ready to start my next flower (this time it's a Bird of Paradise), and hopefully soon, I'll get back in the studio and finish it!

We were in Tallahassee last week for a few days - and when I got back, I had about 25 shows to watch that I recorded! So, there's been a lot of TV watching this weekend! Now, I'm burned out of that, and really want to read and finish the novel I started on the trip. Too many things to do, so little time! I've also been reading a book called "Art & Fear" - "Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking", by David Bayles & Ted Orland. Verrrry Interesting!

Purple ConePOWer!

Finally got back in the studio today and finished my second paper painting! I really wanted to finish it last week, but then my brother & wife came for a visit, and we ran all over the place! Then, I needed a few days to recover - and before I knew it, a week had passed!

So, today is the only day this week that I have nowhere to go, so I MADE myself finish the painting! Here it is before any paper was glued on:


And, here is how it looks now! I love this technique, and I've got plans to do 2 more in this 12" square format, and then we'll see. I'd like to try to do something larger - just not sure of the subject matter.