Thursday and the skies opened up today at 4 in the morning...

We were all awakened this morning with hail and thunder and about 5 inches of rain in 2 hours. South of us in Hebron, they received 7 inches of rain and hours of flash flooding for two school communities. Rescue workers used boats to go in and retrieve unfortunate homeowners from the rising flood waters and my dear friend Mary had her car flooded out in the parking lot of her apartment. She and the two children are okay... even though there was no school and she could not get to her classes to collect the final projects from her students. Life is never predictable but we learn to be resilient and reach out to lend a helping hand to those who need us right now.

I went in the studio and was a bit dissatisfied with the intensity of the black painted dyes on the silent tree coming to life with the green buds. My lilac tree and forsythia are blooming and all the daffodils are bursting forth on my hillside. I added another layer of direct painting onto this fabric and hopefully will the bright spring green coming forth on the trees. I mixed up some serious deep blue with black accents on another large piece of cotton twill. I am combining an immersion technique with some direct application of dark black dye on top of this procedure. I need to remember the three essential steps to be fulfilled for a good reaction...time....warmth... and moisture. I will keep you posted later. I have other preparations to make tonight and get to bed early. Imagine and Live in Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart

p.s. My grandson has lost two teeth this week and will soon be five. Where did my baby grow????