The Vineyard

I have recently been walking through Portteus vineyards, drawing and painting...What an amazing opportunity after six long years of surgeries. I am able to recover, rest, and exercise to become stronger. I am able to be surrounded by the beauty of the Yakima Valley in Washington State and marinate in God's love while beginning to pour out images, color, line and emotion on canvas, paper, wood...whatever I can create on! I will post these pieces as they form...this is where God's 'pillar of cloud' has led us. We are growing and healing. In the near future, I will dive back into the hope+healing project at hospitals in Yakima and Seattle possibilities...more to come!

March Hospital Exhibition

This month a show bearing the culmination of the journey of healing thus far is hung at St. Alphonsus Hospital in Boise. While dear friends of mine helped put the pictures into place (a special thanks included to the volunteer department at St. Als!), doctors, hospital staff and patients walked by, took it all in and filled the hall with comments of having been encouraged and inspired. This is the purpose of the exhibition--to bring life, color, hope & encouragement into a place where fear and the unknown are often prevelant. I was in tears, feeling closure to this chapter of the journey. Of course, six weeks later, I hope that this has been the last surgery...but I am encouraged either way. I have experienced more hope and goodness than pain. I hope I can pass this along through the show...and many more to come!

post surgery

so much has happened since this picture was taken. first off, this is the best i've looked after coming off of anesthesia ever. i was so thankful to feel good and go home that day. the surgery went well and hopefully it will be the last of six along this journey. a cure to pelvic adhesive disease continues to be a bit elusive. regarding healing, we pray that this is it! so far so good. i am learning and have learned patience in the midst of waiting, calm in the midst of pain, the ability to slow down with more grace than i previously had (still learning on this one). again, thank you to everyone who has offered support during another step along the way. we are thankful for family and friends who are with us always.

a new day

It's the Wine and Chocolates event at Portteus winery in the Yakima Valley, the place we grew up in. It is a time of rest and recovery. I am thrilled to report that marymakesart had it's first show in a long time! We were able to raise enough funds to purchase more poly fil 'silky soft' to stuff dolls. Now we can prepare to give dolls away at St. Alphonsus Hospital in conjunction with the second destination of the traveling art exhibition. As I settle in for the night with my cup of decaf Earl Grey I am thankful for a successful day of not only bringing in funds for "hope+healing", but having great conversation sharing the vision with people who came through the winery for the event...and I am grateful for a body that is finally able to handle the beginning of a new season of shows and exhibitions. God is good!
p.s. note the new addition to marymakesart, handmade paper flowers! coming soon to the etsy site!

garments of praise

A new crop of creation is happening! I am ready to put on the garments of praise in exchange for the heaviness of all that pain! I am still healing, and hoping that when the process is complete, these garments will be too! After finishing seams, hems, necklines and so forth, I will paint and print on the garments, creating wearable art. I look forward to posting the completed series when it is finished! Here is a sneak peek at the garments in process. Special thanks to my dear friend Rachel for inspiring me to continue the work.

Let my love open the door to your heart

Since I last entered a post, I have been resting and saving what pain free time I have for my family. As we receive our internet from our local favorite coffee place, the Flying M, sometimes it takes me a while to get here and post. But here I am, six days before surgery, one morning after the hilarious funeral my girlfriends threw for the ovary that is going away (that's a good thing, at this point...but we are holding out for healing in any form God chooses!). One of the benefits of quieting myself between writings is that God gives me all sorts of lovely ideas to work on whilst reclined. The latest of these came when I listened to Sondre Lerche's version of "Let My Love Open the Door to Your Heart"...love this artist's version from the Dan in Real Life sound track. Anyhoo, whenever I hear those lyrics I think of how Jesus is saying the same thing to all of us everyday at every moment. I have struggled with my heart becoming slightly closed...you know...those moments where one feels like they've just had enough. Every time this happens Jesus puts these lyrics into my head and reminds me to keep up with the act of 'reclined creating' ;D rather than just lying down and giving up. Picutred here is the beautiful result. I see hundreds and hundreds of these being given to patients who are exhausted from days on end of pain...with notes of prayer inside from folks who are praying for hope & healing to those who are suffering. If you would like to become a partner in praying about and writing a note to someone in the hospital, please leave your address. I'll send you a little "door note" , which has an expandable inside note ready for you to write in. In turn, you'll send it back to me and it will make its way to a patient! How exciting is this!!!???

better late than never

it's late. i'm up and in pain waiting for the meds to kick in. this evening an dear friend arrived at my in-law's winery and called me out to say hello. she reminded me of how much has happened creatively since we had last seen each other. and i saw that despite all of this rediculous pain, God has produced so much growth. like a green shoot arising from concrete or reaching the peak after a long, difficult climb (you climbers know what i mean). i was able to receive a great deal of perspective while realizing that the only momentum i've gained couldn't have been pushed forward without the quiet of being saturated in prayer, contemplation on how the Bible applies to real moments in life and a whole lot of support. i have not been regularly blogging as sitting up has become difficult, but it needed to happen tonight. so, appropriate for the season, i am thankful for the ability to use the creativity i've been created with to...well...create...even if it's something as small as a paper bird.
what have i been up to the past six months? well, healing both physically and in every other respect...coming down with some large haematobic ovarian cysts plus preparing for what we really hope will be the last surgery to remove that ovary... and really trying to understand what it means when God's Word says that He promises to be faithful to complete a good work He begins (i.e. the hope+healing project) and that He promises to work every situation out for good. these words are no longer cliche's to me...they are very real and living. in the last six months over 50 paper birds have been created, i received beautiful photographs from mary spears which will accompany several paintings (a friend has graciously offered to adhere them to boards and hang the work for me until i am able to do more physically), applied for and recieved a wonderful spot to exhibit work on the art wall at St. Alphonsus Hospital in Boise in March, and have been developing ideas for what the differing ages of children in pediatric hospitals might enjoy and be most encoraged by...paper bird mobiles for infants, paper flowers for caregivers, dolls for kids, small pieces of fine art and screen printed pillows for older ped. patients. all of this quiet has given way to a lot of inspiration. all of this quiet gives way to an openess to more ideas...plenty of which He wants to show us if we can be quiet for long enough to let them shine through. i pray that in the future i will carve out more moments of quiet without the need to be reclined in pain to do so. thank God for his mercy at present! :D