a cleansing afternoon shower...

Friday and the rains came...strong at times but later moments of pure cleansing showers that cleaned the air and offer a cool refreshment for my garden and my parched hillside. The butterflies have taken flight as if in glee as the temperatures finally broke and dropped into the low 80's. I went down to the Friday afternoon courtyard concert with rhythmic Celtic music and joyful folk songs. The festivities were moved indoors to the central gallery and into my still vacant studio space...the place was filled to the brim. A $5.00 lunch, Gaelic Music, Velvet Ice Cream sandwiches and children playing at the feet of their families and twirling around in a dance they created all on their own. The Nursing home...The Inn on Sharon Brooke brought several of their inhabitants, my friends from the Workshop came over from Columbus for a lunch and the free music and finally the regular community participants came for an afternoon with friends enjoying their retirements. The weather may have been a wee bit in-climate but we needed the rain for our farmers and our gardens.

After our lunch we went over to review the lease and after consideration I chose not to use the central gallery ...I could not see how I could ask any artist to install their works and the exhibit would have to be insured by me, myself and I. I did this for many years when the LCA was in the space but I know how much work it ends up being. We signed with the realization I can have a one or two artist exhibit in coordination with the Downtown Association's Final Fridays. I want to keep it simple and go slow...my space is my studio and I want to work there and possibly gradually move to have a few artists at a time to share their images and processes. The freedom is what I am paying for ...the rent and utilities are my responsibility now and I want to be open for the possibilities. I don't expect to make money right off the bat but with the possible commissions for one of a kind works that will be legacies to pass onto families and communities is one of the two year focuses I am going to do. I received an email about a possible commission last night...to be reproduced to raise funds for cancer patients...by September 24,2010. I am also going to attempt to finish a new work to submit to 2011 Quilt National down in Athens, Ohio. I have to get settled and back to regular work patterns.

Tonight we relaxed and took time to just breathe and had a movie night with fudge and popcorn...We had Shutter Island from Netflix which is a Martin Scorsese movie. The film was intense and the photography incredibly beautiful as they develop the story line about mental health and mental institutions during the 1950's. I worked on a small felted piece for a Fall pin and I became tense my stitches reflected my body's responses to this intense investigation. I need to go for now. I have a gallery talk tomorrow at 11:00 am and two students and their parents and grandson, faculty from Capital University, the watercolor classes from the LCA and who knows who else will show up....and I want to be fresh and energetic. A Saturday morning is a precious time slot in most families and I have a great deal of gratitude for these people coming over from Columbus and Zanesville tomorrow. Imagine and Live in Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart