Christmas in April

    I have been really busy with doing the little art thingy for the winery and creating a new entry to my studio.
I just plain forgot all about PAMO!!! Mea Culpa for sure I just didn't have my priorities in the correct order.
If I were clever I would link this site to hers, but I am not and you will just have to do the leg work. She is on the blogs I follow and well worth a visit.

As you can see I am gently opening it to discover a package within a package!

   It seems months ago that we decided to exchange presents of some kind. a piece of my heart kind of thing, a bit of art between our houses.  She set up rules for me. Can you believe that?  Rules?  Me?  Something "about the size of a post card", so I created something from the debris around my shop and mailed it off to her.  Then I just plain forgot about everything!
This morning on my doorstep is a package from FedEx and I am thinking that I didn't order any steel, what could this be?
Viagra always comes in a plain brown package and for a whole weeks worth it is a bit bigger and heavier, so I knew it wasn't that.  My hot russian babes photos always come in a flat parcel, also clearly unmarked and never wrapped in red.  I am thinking how can the internet be so smart?  How do they know that red and blue are my favorite colors?  Do they know about the russian babes?  My friendly Canadian Viagra salesperson
(Helga) has always promised me discretion!
    I continue this gentle unwrapping process and my heart is pounding.  I really haven't done any drugs since the '60's, could this be my friend from Afghanistan?  No!

 Original PAMO Art! and a BOOK!

   It's from PAMO! and now I am rich beyond my imagination!
I am off to the frame shop today as this is certainly "suitable for framing"!  PAMO, I can't say thank you loud enough!
AND a book! "Twice Weekly Letters", by Robert Genn with thousands of his blogs to friends and fellow artists.  An idea gold mine!  Thank you for this too!!!
   Christmas in April.

My concrete pour is HERE

Butterflies Are Free!

I did not make a calendar this year. I am not sure why the dates have to change from year to year, Christmas is always on the 25th, my birthday remains the third day in December, everything should remain the same!

This year, for Christmas, I bought my wife the most delicate and precisely drawn Calendar:

"A Fantasy of Butterflies and Flowers" created by

Constance Widen, a South African (yes, she is a lion!)

Canadian (yes, she is a butterfly!) and Internationally known (I am privileged to know her and call her my friend!) Artist Extrordinaire!

The wings are different is the first thing I noticed! These are not computer generated mirror images but hand painted in pastels, imperfect to perfection, the perfect Chrismas gift, a wonderful addition to the kitchen wall. My wife will love it!

Most Amazing Calendar

These are my tomatoes, nurtured from seed,
talked to everyday and perhaps the best Art
I do. They have been magically transformed
through the clever talents of my friend and
fellow artist, R.C. deWinter, to become the
most amazing Calendar. Brazenly, I am plugging her HERE! For the gardener or Kitchen Gourmet
there is no better Christmas gift. Twelve wonderful photos that have become art, a piece
of my garden, a little bit of me and a little bit of
"Gina". They are wonderfully produced as a large Wall Calendar. I hope you enjoy it.

A Gazillion Megapixels!

What if God were an Artist? You don't have to look far for evidence of this. His canvas is huge, the Night Sky so mesmerizing, the early morning sunrise so promising, all colors we steal from Nature and we are humbled and left in awe. How it all works we do not understand but even hurricanes and firestorms are cleansing and promise new growth.
Now suppose He gave this to us all at once, everything. What would you say if asked was it enough? Why is it we always want more when we dont make use of what we have?

The NorthWest Coastal American Indians invented the "potlatch", the term now being our "potluck" dinner. This was actually a pleasant type of warfare, the winning chief was the tribe that brought the most to the table, not just food, but gifts of animal skins, even canoes, the best of what they could give away! What a wonderful tradition! God gives so much and also gives us our ability to share what we have.

I wonder sometimes when we hear of people in need, why is it that we want to pray for them?
Are we now asking God to create MORE? Would we ever really admit that what we are asking
is "please, God, let me keep everything I have, but make some more for them"? I think we pray
because it is easier than giviong up our lattes. We pray because we want someone else to do it.
We have our stuff and we pray that you get yours!

I am skeptical of prayer and never pray for things for me or for others. I pray for appreciation
that I could be satisfied with less than I have. I pray for strength that gives me appreciation.
I pray for courage to give me that strength. I have never prayed for more but to make good use of what I have, and sometimes, often, the answer is to give it away!

I think God is an artist and we are here to appreciate His work.