I did this drawing over a year ago. I keep returning to this image of a person who has fallen asleep with a book. Perhaps it has to do with how I often keep so sleepy while reading to the children. Maybe it has to do with books as a portal into a different reality. Falling asleep and into a dream is another portal. I take a short nap in the afternoon after lunch and I a refreshed afterwards. What about that blue stain that envelopes the man’s head? I don’t know.
The house smells like ginger bread ’cause Rose is in the kitchen making ginger bread people cookies. Yum. I have been feeling the pressue that comes with this season. All the expectations that can ride up your back. I am doing my best to stall chilled out and kind of failing.
I have a group show at Ann Nathan Galley next month. The opening is on the 11th Friday night. It always feels like a big deal to have a show in Chicago. I don’t feel much of a connection to that city but it is fun to go out beyond Grand Rapids once in awhile.
I have been in a woodblock and collage mode lately. It is a lot of fun to print on all sorts of different kinds of used paper and then piece them together and see what I can come up with. I like a certain amount of randomness and accidents. Making these prints feels like what my life is like…..lots of different odd pieces coming together in surprising ways.
When some one sneezes and we say “bless you”, usually I don’t think it means much though it is a gracious gesture. But to say “bless you” or to pray for some one to be blessed can be very powerful. I have begun to reread the Prayer of Jabez book and I am being reminded of what blessing really means. In the book Wilkinson tells us that to be blessed means that God gives you favor. He encourages us to ask God to bless our life because this is what God wants to do and yet we need to ask to activate these good things God has waiting for us because as Jesus says, “We do not have because we do not ask”. So following this reminder I have begun to ask God for his blessings to be released into my life and a very cool thing happened Saturday morning.
The day before thanksgiving the frame of my glasses broke. I was able to keep wearing them but they were fragile. I finally made my way out to Kentwood where our optomitrist has his office on my bike to pick out some new glasses but didn’t like anything they had to offer. I spent a long time in their catologs ’till I found something I liked which they then had to order. This meant another bike trip out for a fitting. After the second trip out to have the frames fitted I asked if they would be able to just send me my finnished glasses inorder to save me another long winter bike ride. They agreed for an extra $2. Well it was last Saturday and we had a family gathering to go to in Muskegon with a borrowed car and I still had not gotten my glasses in the mail. I mentioned to Brenda how I had hoped that my glasses would come today and about a half hour later there was some one at the door which turned out to be Dr Scholton our optomitrist with a small package. He said that he was in our neighborhood and thought he would just drop off my glasses. I was stunned. This small gracious gesture has stayed with me all week making feel blessed, letting me feel God’s favor active in my life.
Monday morning and the Beerhorst Family Art Show is now over. It was a great weekend with a good batch of visitors. Good converstations, paintings sold, prayers prayed, cookies eaten. Many Sock Monsters and potholders went out the door.
I am very thankful for the support that meets our family through these open house projects. It is a good experience to make things and then share them with your local community. It is a little scary because you want people to respond favorably so you will be reasured that you are on the right track. You can’t control how people will react to your work.
Some times people don’t even notice. Somtimes they do notice.
I want to visit other peoples events in their homes where a culture experience is available. Try things and invite us because we are interested in what you are doing, what you are dreaming, what you have made.
the compression that winter brings
picking up toys
apologies
walking to Family Fair grocery store
flocks of sparrows pecking at what the chickens left
early morning ink drawing
Shepherds hair
parsnips and stew meat
God hungry
watching movies squished together on the couch
Rose and all her green tea
Brenda’s eyes
crunching through the snow
wondering were Brooklyn went
Pearl strumming an Em chord
buckwheat pancakes with apples and cranberries
