The rains have arrived...

Yesterday was gorgeous and I took over 100 photos ...Ken counted them as he entered into our shared computer...I need to buy one of those little sticks to put all my photos from the year on and sort them according to my own preferences. I think it might help the gears in this amazing machine...the computer; and then it will work more efficiently or at least that is what I have been advised. I ran to the bank and did a few errands before he gray of the day settled in on my hill. I put a big pot of black bean soup on the stove and the whole house was filled with wonderful aromas...Ken ate three bowls when he came from teaching. Sour dough bread and black bean soup are a great way to embrace the changing of the seasons and the cool winds blowing into my hillside. Tonight I listen to the crickets and maybe even a katydid or two join in a chorus of combined orchestral performance. I want to remember their symphony because before I know it it will disappear until next year.

I spent some time with the young artists at the Granville Visual Studios Arts yesterday and I hope you can smile when I share their personal free expressions of themselves in pure color and wildness in their brushstrokes. Maurice Sendak"s Where the Wild Things Are" opens soon and I love the courage and freedom of little Max. When I walk into Todd's classroom I can see Max in the flesh in an environment where their voices are loud and clear for all the hear. The pure joy and unsophistication of a child's observations erupt freely as they describe what they see in a painting, how it makes them feels and where it might take them in the future. It is not about is it good Art? Does it cost a lot? Will it win an exhibit? A child sees with his or her heart and personal experiences and from where they are coming ...have they been allowed to speak their mind? Would they like to try a composition like one they have just seen? Todd generously guides the children and learns himself many times as they share a dialogue on possibilities. I hope you can remember some of their feelings they are desperately attempting to bravely share. Authenticity. Integrity. Pure Explorations!!!

Tonight I have been slowly chain stitching onto the lower section...slow and steady...that is how I move into my process of sharing my narrative. Have a great evening and Imagine and Live in Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart