Catching up to June

It’s been a little quiet here, hasn’t it—the fallout of commitments and the unexpected.

Besides doing art during March and April, I prepared for a writing conference that our writing group sponsored. It included an art exhibition for which I had the responsibility. A little networking and word of mouth resulted in lining up a fine 15-piece exhibition which included paintings, photography, and sculpture.

A week or two before the conference, one of the presenters had to withdraw and we needed another workshop. I looked through former workshops I had given and was able to dust off the slides and script of a talk I gave on the work and writing advice we can glean from four contemporary Christian poets. So in addition to putting together the exhibition, I also gave a workshop.

The conference, held on May 5^th,  went beautifully. It was well attended by around 80 enthusiastic local writers and artists.  The exhibition was very popular. It illustrated well the connection between visual and written creativity and was the perfect corollary to our event’s name: “Faith Igniting Creativity.” Two writing organizations sponsoring the conference sent representatives to give workshops and information. Thanks so much to Inscribe and The Word Guild for supporting our effort. Finally, our days was capped off with a wonderful keynote talk at the banquet given by singer, songwriter, and author Carolyn Arends.

I should say, all went well until coffee time in the afternoon. While walking too quickly and inattentively in the dining area, I tripped on the leg of a chair and landed fast and hard on the floor.  After my nose bleed was stopped and a wonderful first aid instructor attendee had wrapped my injured right shoulder in ice and a makeshift splint, I soldiered through the rest of the event (with the aid of some Tylenol). Later that night, a trip to emergency confirmed my fear: my right shoulder was fractured.

And so my right arm has spent most waking and sleeping hours of the last month in a sling. This definitely crimped my style as I am strongly right-handed. Very little art, writing, or housework happened those first weeks. I did watch some documentaries and read some books trying to bolster my attitude by asking: “What does this make possible?” instead of “What is now impossible?”

Gradually the arm has improved. As May wore on I did some sketches, watercolor wash drawings and last week again took out the acrylic paints. What a joy to lose myself in a couple of days’ worth of making,

My advice to you: TAKE YOUR TIME & TAKE CARE!

Accidents that take only an instant to happen can take a long time to recover from. Of  course we know that even in this, God is sovereign and works these, what we consider “mishaps,” into His wonderful plan and design for our lives (though we may not understand how or why this side of eternity).

Hope you’re having a wonderful June!

Violet

P.S. I closed my Etsy shop for the first two weeks of my convalescence but it’s open again and I’m happy to package up and send any cards or paintings that might catch your fancy.