Muchos Gracias to the whole Rink family and Alex, Gabe, Tyler and Jessica...

My collaboration with the Works and their annual Harvest Festival yesterday defies any of my words that I can come up with. I began my day at 10:30 am in the studio and left at 8:30 pm with a big smile on my face. Tired but thrilled to have had such a wonderful day. When all is said and done I think we made $200.00 for Priscilla and about $65.00 for my beloved YES club...Youth Engaged in Service. When you see the photos I do hope you will smile and remember the simple joys we had as children during the cool colorful days of October. The multitude of generations who came out to play was inspiring... I am thrilled to have made this a fun collaboration for the Works and my Whispers and Echoes Studio. I really truthfully do not know who had the most fun....the adults or the little children. I hope you enjoy the short video that Ken put together with his spooky music choice :O)!

Now I am on to the next process and project. I received my entry form to the Ohio Designers Best of 2011 exhibition...so what will it be??? I have several ideas but you just never know until the exact right moment. I need to work on my Holiday window plans...I discovered the 1962 collector's box of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer with the three perfectly preserved ornaments...Burl Ives as the Snowman...the Misfit Toys... and our dear Rudolph with Santa at my favorite thrift store and wallah! I think I have got it. You will have to stay tuned to see what develops in my childhood's memory. That was the year I received my bicycle under the tree...and we have made it a family tradition to bake cookies or wrap family presents during the 30 minute program. Do you have any special thoughts on how the holidays were spent when you were a small child? We only had small gifts...well except for the bikes that year...but we made most of our exchange gifts back then and it seemed so much more fulfilling. I am working on a parent or teacher gift project for the day after Thanksgiving and it comes in a box that the child will decorate and make a handmade card and put a beautiful yarn or ribbon on it to complete the gift.

Well I need to catch up on household duties and finish my chicken noodle vegetable soup for tonight's dinner.... it is supposed to rain for a couple of day so this will be a great supper to come home to tomorrow. Have a great weekend! Imagine and Live in Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart

act...spread...imagine Peace....

The frost was on the window this morning as the young doe studied my morning expression...we both simultaneously seem to be aware that we were both just travelers on this multicolored blanket of Fall's brushstrokes. I seem to be frozen for a moment as if we seem to both experience each other fragility. I keep focused on my goals to be visible in making my way as a maker of sacred marks but without any forewarning the old fear seems to creep into through a crack ...posing an undisclosed danger and warning ... creating a time of challenge. This all happens for a brief second but I feel the immobilization on and off through my day. Have you ever felt a moment like this? Where does one turn? How do you make the first move forward? What have I learned from this pause in movement? I should have been writing all this down right at the moment of revelation but daily life pushed me forward and now I am struggling to recall the power of this lesson.

Today was a brilliant day filled with clear white light. My thoughts were with my friend Christine as her family said goodbye to a mother, a wife, a dear loving friend. Maybe that is one reason for my uneasiness...my distraction...my absence of time and inability of concentration...I really do not know. I found myself stumbling and forgetting where I had placed papers and small components of art elements during the early morning. Then in a moment ...a friend walked through the door as if to say out loud...everything was going to be work out. We had lunch as my brain fought to stay in the present moment...we are both working hard to make the change we want to see in our lives. Grief was the thief creeping into my process and a fellow deer...a dear friend reminded me that we were both going to be okay. I then found my concentration...my lost papers... my sense of duty to prepare for tomorrow's family experience to collaborate with others in the celebration of the Harvest under a full moon's white light. Thank you dear friends...both my vigilant deer and my dear friend. May God bless and keep us all.

Janet Frame wrote a insightful book "The Pocket Mirror"...thoughts on reflections of making a life. Possibly I need to look into my own eyes in the mirror...what am I seeing? What does the reflection reveal? "All letters began as signs, and all signs began as images" Victor Hugo The autumn leaves are like flapping flags in the gentle currents of the cool chill migrating in a new season. I hope to find strength to stay alert to the many miracles and happenings others might have missed. This is a lesson that makes a day's work meaningful and empowers us all to be aware to make the choice to live in the present. Thank you to all those who crossed my path today and guide my heart home in Peace. Imagine and Live in Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart

Today we glorious sunshine and for about three minutes we had rain and hail.....

I worked very hard to day in the studio. I met with about seven possible patrons for our upcoming Paper Moon Studio on Saturday from 11 am to 7 pm. I think we are really going to be having a fun day with the child in all of our hearts. Priscilla came in to begin her altar preparations ...I will retrieve my reliquaries and special reminders for the Day of the Dead celebrations. Tomorrow I am making midget brownies with candy corn centers for the fund raiser portion to raise $$$ for my work with the YES children. I cleaned and worked on the table presentation and gathered up materials i need to complete my skeleton apron...I will be wearing a donated Indian cotton dress for the Harvest Festival festivities with my black suede moccasins with aqua beaded trims. I am still creating my Batty Boo tee shirt with a detachable collar made out of black laces embellished with little Bats. Oh what Fun! I can wear I other outfit to pass out candies for Trick or Treat night on the 28th!!!...

I stopped by the grocery again to pick up supplies to make my chicken gumbo soup with wide egg noodles...I am thinking of adding barley to fortify this hardy soup for a cool rainy Sunday night. The sky was brilliant on my drive home...the velvet purple hazes and clear blur sky framed the autumn kissed landscapes with the black birds swirling above the horizon. My batteries were almost dead but I hopefully caught a few good images.

I am watching Project Runway with the finalists working on their final clothing presentations. The processes are interesting to me and the source of the inspirations is incredibly diverse with the four finalists. The textures and colors are so different from my rural surroundings and laid back community. Diversity is good! I will be working on my collar while the show is playing in the background. I feel like I am playing with Tim Gunn saying "Make it work".

Joan Baez was a wonderful experience for my spiritual being. Joan is very fragile but her spirit for making this world a better place is still going strong. I had to chuckle when she did her Bob Dylan impression but the closing of the evening we all sang John Lennon's "Imagine" ...what a wonderful world if we all closed our days with these thoughts of peace and gratitude. Imagine and live in Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart

p.s. The COTC students were doing their homework....do I have tape?...scissors... glue stick?... They are simply a joyful sound in my gallery space!!!

Thank you Corrine Gilman...

I am home for the day to receive our Christmas present ...the new efficient furnace to warm us through the frosty winter days and nights. I have had the opportunity to review my prize package from Corrine (dos fishes) and she sent me a new publication "scrapbook & cards today" from summer 2010. There were many new products and essentials that I had never been introduced to. The cards and the tutorials were excellent but I will have to look around to pick up another copy. I love the designer challenges and use of three dimensional cut letters and customized labels for cards and gift wraps...the greatest advice is to just be you in your creations. I had no idea how many cutting and design products the Xyron Creatopia company had...flex rollers...fabric refillz...Cutz...Paternz....and Shapez for embossing. +The market place pages offer connnections with tools, and classes and get together weekends and retreats. Thank you Corrine for igniting my curiosity. I am the luckiest girl in the world...somehow this special package wrapped in love eased the pain of writing a check to pay for the rest of the furnace costs. Lord Help Us ...it is supposed to be 95 % energy efficient.

Mary Thedos gave me a glass making kit..and this afternoon Martha Stewart...no relation ...gave a demonstration of how to create handmade beads...a possibility I have wanted to do since I first met a wonderful glass artist here at the Works. I think next week I will visit the library before I make further purchases for the special torch and annealing ceramic fiber blanket ...I am sure these supplies are not cheap. Thank you Mary ...I know I want to call these future beads "Marilyn"...I am sure she is smiling down on me right now :O)!

I need to go get a warm shower...simple pleasures...and prepare dinner for the oven. I am working the Joan Baez show tonight and can hardly wait to hear her strong voice renewing the memories from past decades of my youth. Today the sunshine is glorious here so I am sending you all positive healing white light for creative living. Imagine and Live in Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart

image uploads will be disabled ....

I have never received this headline before but I will do my best to post a short blog. I had a busy day in the studio and gave out the last Paper Moon postcard. What is that old saying? Be careful what you wish for but Priscilla and I are both getting excited. Doris Carlson brought in an authentic Indian dress for me to wear for this Saturday's Harvest Festival. I do have black moccasins with aqua blue bead trim to wear with them. I am still stitching on my Batty Boo tee shirt for Halloween with a batty collar and possible cape to flow around my black skirt...we will see how tomorrow goes.

I received a wonderful prize yesterday for Dos Fishes .... an incredible prize that is almost like Christmas morning. There is a handmade book, special papers, antique book pages, gold ribbon trim and deluxe tissue wrapping paper. I found out what Prima Flowers are ...vintage paper flowers to embellish a special shadow box possibly...who knows. But my first favorite gift was a Book of miracles..MILAGROS by Helen Thompson. My heart just melted when I read the pages and metaphors for prayers for Healing. Thank you Corrine...you have truly blessed me with your generosity and kindness. I will honor you and your gift in the future months as I post some images on this humble post.

I attended my board meeting and as we went around the room sharing our adventures and experiences here in Licking county ...I felt a true sense of dedication and pride for all the simple gifts we have in our community. Veterans Day plans, our annual dinner and selection of new members from The Midland, Dawes Arboretum..... a time for fresh bodies and fresh ideas. I met Ken for salad and dinner at Ruby Tuesdays ... time to catch up on our day and each other. I then went to the grocery so pick up necessities since I would be house bound tomorrow. I shared my ideas for a vintage Holiday window inspired by the 1962 Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer with Burl Ives and the land of the misfit toys.

Now I am home and ready for bed...the last load of laundry is in the dryer and the shower beckons me. I need to sit down and work out my thoughts for a dedication to Christine Warner in her library where my "Prayer for the Maasai Warrior" quilt now presides over the life long learning for students today and in the future. Imagine and Live in Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart

where do you find your state of grace....

I was driving to the studio this morning and the sky was filled with an overcast of clouds....
then on the horizon...the sky opened up and the clear line of blue sky cut the horizon...
the entrance to a celestial energy with white light peering back down to the Autumn landscape...
I felt the Grace ...entering my being and guiding my spiritual being to my home away from home...
I had found a quiet moment of Grace.

I had a Harvest salad with fresh apples, walnuts and cheeses over dark rich greens with a friend just returning from surgery and week confined to her home ...a painter working in a new and expansive direction... a daughter learning to walk alone... and a patron waiting with us until her gal pals arrive for their lunch. The room was buzzing with activity and yet as I enjoyed my luncheon companions I felt a kinship in a circle of women all working the intricacies of their lives...one moment at a time. This may seem like a simple lunch but I felt a gratitude for being in the moment...the present moment of time.

After the socializing I buckled down to work on my "Batty Boo" tee shirt I had hand painted and will embellish for our Saturday of holiday fun for the Paper Moon celebration. I ended up chain stitching...a slow cloth process the outline of two bats flying under a full Harvest moon... I love the time slipping away as the afternoon passed in a quiet solitude. I listened to Native American flutes and eased in the stitches all the while planning the next steps for embellishing. And what about a head dress of some kind? I have a board meeting at 4:00 o clock and then I need to make a few errands. The men are coming to install our new thermostat and new furnace...Merry Christmas to us!!! It should take about 5 hours to complete the whole job so I will be working from home in my upstairs studio. I have plenty to keep me busy but I will miss being in the middle of the downtown activity. I am hoping you all embraced the promise that today gave us ...I am a blessed woman. Now I know I do not have a perfect life but I realize we each make our own happiness with the choices we make at the beginning of each day. Imagine and Live in peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart

p.s. Joan Baez is coming to our theater ...The Midland Theater on Wednesday evening...I have been humming "The Night They Torn Old Dixie down... I am not sure these are the right words...but you get the picture :O)!

A day of gratitude...I am in awe of my children...

One would suppose we all feel this way about our most precious treasures...our children and now their children. Tina took the three girls to The Wilds on Saturday and spent the day seeing giraffes, rhinos, cheetahs and just the great outdoors on a crisp clear Fall day here in Ohio. I was thrilled they were out together making a memory for their hearts and souls. Ken and I went over to Erin's...Chance had a 24 hour shift at the hospital ... so we could babysit for Baby Lyndon Allen while Erin took Cole and Morgan to a birthday for Sammy ...their little friend was celebrating her fourth. This would be the first time he would take mommas milk from a bottle...and he was a real trooper... he took the whole bottle and seemed to be totally content to be full and burped and held over my heart. Nine pounds and a couple ounces... who knew love could be so real...something one could hold and cherish and ease me and her grandfather into the glory days of our lives. I am a blessed person...my gifts have been great and my heart is full.

Thelma Eddy brought over her mother's sewing box buttons and scraps from her lace collection ...I have died and gone to heaven . When I hand clean and select and sort ...I have so many design elements ...I am so happy. Thelma and Myrtle are now gentles whispers from women's work. The possibilities are infinite to where we can grow from here...one generation speaks and guides another. Let the circle be unbroken.

Imagine and Live in Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart

Saturday with my baby Lyndon Allen...

We came over for a sleep over with Erin and the children. Cole and Morgan had been invited to a pony birthday party with their Mothers group. So Ken and I took care of Lyndon and actually fed him his first bottle. Luckily he was receptive to this experience and pretty easy to care for. At five weeks he is at 9 pounds and his schedule is tenuous with set back from his hospital stay at Children's for a viral infection. He studied my face and responded to my voice as I coaxed him into accepting the bottle of Mom's milk and he gazed up into my face as he had his feeding. With a diaper change and a slow walk around the house he slowly dropped off to a peaceful slumber. Wouldn't the world be so much happier if we all could have a cuddle in loving arms with warm milk before we drift back into a peaceful sleep in the swing? Cole and Morgan literally stripped down to undies so we could put them into an early bath and avoid exposure to a foreign germ or bacteria to Baby Lyndon. The children were fired up from playing cowboy and having birthday cake ...so dinner consisted of mashed potatoes and a slow cooked roast Erin put into the crock pot with carrots...planning early in the day to be able to feed them something nutritious for dinner after an afternoon of sweet delights.

I will try to pull up the photographs from my latest woman's whisper...Thelma Eddy brought in her mother Myrtle's sewing and button box filled with exquisite bits of lace memories, buttons, pins, and beaded designs recovered from a turn of the century wool garment. I was thrilled beyond my words and Thelma said she wished everyone could be as happy with receiving "nothing". I explained that this was a treasure collection of fiber design elements to re-purpose today in my art works and give a voice to the delicate precise handwork women did last century. Lovely memories flow from this collection and I am honored to restore them to their brilliance in design and composition. Thank you dear Thelma and Myrtle.... for the additional whispers and echoes from a woman's work. I am extremely tired today so this will have to be a short post. I am tired from chasing little angels here on earth who hold my heart in their tiny little hands. Imagine and Live in Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart