inhale...exhale...relax your shoulders...repeat as often as needed

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

the magic of "kindred spirits down the path"

the living artists
my mumsie, my brother nelson, my brother doug, 
me and my cousin kristen


where do i begin?
oh, it is such a long and lovely story...

months ago my brother doug asked us if we would be interested
in participating in a show,
gathering generations of our family's art.

we said "yes"!

this past weekend the show opened with a

over 120 people showed up.
folks from my mom's church,
folks she volunteers with at the historical society,
friends of hers from art school
(where she met my dad).
my brothers' high school art teacher,
members and fans of my brother's band,
some of my high school friends (!),
our large extended family,
even my elusive brother nelson flew in from portland, oregon.
and all three of my daughters gathered 
despite busy lives and long distances.
(we did miss our stewart and his wife dawn,
but we know they were with us in spirit).

my mumsie was the queen of the day,
with so many people embracing her and celebrating her.
xo

hannah, lindsey, ra, nelson, doug, my mumsie (isn't she cute?)
me, batman and gretta

we wanted to get everybody in the pics!
here is my mumsie, greeting my best buddy from 
childhood (we are only a week apart in age,
her dad and my dad were best friends and served as 
best men at one another's weddings...)
my dear friend judy is wearing purple and her husband
bill is to her left. judy has posted a lovely account of the exhibit 
this is my beloved uncle david, 
chatting with my daughter lindsey.
each of the seven artists are represented on this wall.
the wall of trees.
a watercolor by my dad, on the left.
a mixed media piece by my brother nelson,
a serigraph of birches by my brother doug, 
a pen and ink branch by my mumsie,
a tiny paper collaged nest by my cousin kristen,
my own fabric and found object piece and
my great grandfather's gouache piece.

(all of the above photos are courtesy of larry cotton,
a friend of my mumsie's)

before the reception opened, i ran around and 
snapped a few quick pictures of some of the artwork.
sadly, the glare on the glass was hard to avoid
but i hope this gives you an idea of the work.
above:the tribute i did to my dad after he died.
left:a watercolor painted by my dad two years before i was born
right:a serigraph done by my brother doug.
on the left wall are pieces by all three siblings,
my piece incorporates a photo of the three of us together in 1967. 
on the right wall are pieces by my cousin kristen and 
a serigraph by doug.
the fish and crabs are serigraphs by doug,
the gold framed landscape is by my great grandfather,
the watercolor of the marsh is my dad's
and the triptych in green is mixed media by nelson.
the watercolors on either side are my dad's,
the gouache is nelson's
and "be the light" is my piece.


there were so many moments filled with love and fun and magic...
along with the crazy logistics of everyone going to and fro.
it just added to the 
festive feeling of the weekend.

doug, nelson and i spent the day together
on friday, organizing and hanging the show.
such a very rare bit of time.
just us three siblings,
with a walk in the woods, too.

doug and ra opened their home to all of us,
there were sleeping bags in front of the fire,
mountains of good food,
raucous laughter at the dinner table,
walks around the cranberry bogs,

and so much love.
so very much love.

13 comments:

  1. Wouldn't it be wonderful if every family could share such an experience? Congratulations to all of your talented family. I can feel the warmth of the ocassion positively ooze out of the compute screen! :)

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  2. How radiantly happy your Mumsie looks, Karen. Kudos to Doug for imagining such a project and to each of you for grabbing it with both hands.

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    1. Thank you, Sharon. We are still basking in the glow!

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  3. It was a beautiful occasion, Karen, full of love, and I felt very blessed to be there. xo

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    1. It was a fine day, even better 'cause you were there. xo

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  4. Such a heartfelt concept for a show! The love and respect you all have for each other is palpable. Much joy to you, my friend!!

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  5. It was so inspiring to get a glimpse of the lovely art of your very special family. So beautiful and so special how you all were able to come together and share your love of nature expressed in each of your unique ways through art.

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    1. Nan, thank you for your kindness. I do not take any of this for granted. xo

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  6. This is just so wonderful, Karen. So, so wonderful!

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    1. Thank you Anne! It really was wonderful. I'm still pinching myself to make sure it really happened. xo

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