Thought-Full Art Studio

A conversation...

by

Long Hot Summer Ahead!

The Oklahoma City Festival of the Arts was great – and extremely hot! Normally that show is held in April when weather in Oklahoma is punctuated by cool evenings and occasional rain. It was a marathon to get through, and I am so grateful to all my former and new patrons who went out of their way to attend and purchase art!

For the first time in many years, I came back from my very short “art season” to a garden still in active production. I’m enjoying gathering in cucumbers, onions, and tomatoes! I do not have any other shows on my calendar at this time until Fall. I’ll post those dates when they become available.

With the rise of the Covid Delta Variant, numbers are again ticking up here in Texas and across the country. For us to beat this thing and get people safely back to work, make events as safe as possible, make school as safe as possible for teachers and our children, and to enjoy a Fall of true Thanksgiving and holiday blessings – we HAVE to work TOGETHER.

Please – if you have not been vaccinated – reconsider and take action. Getting vaccinated was the most personally liberating act for myself and my wife. Not only do we know that we are safer – we know that we are doing the best we can to help others remain safe. Nothing is “foolproof” and from the beginning, scientists have made it clear that these vaccines are about 95-99% effective against Covid 19. But, in addition, for those who do contract Covid and are fully vaccinated, hospitalization is typically not necessary and they can very often be treated at home.

At this time, over 95% of those being hospitalized are unvaccinated. The AVERAGE hospital stay for Covid patients is seven days. I don’t know if you have ever been hospitalized, but even without life-saving heroics such as ventilators and ICU care, the costs are prohibitive even if you are lucky enough to have insurance. This isn’t political. This is just good, basic science. God bless and I do hope we can have a Fall art season. It really does depend on people stepping up their game in regard to Covid.

by

Enjoying Down Time

One of the great things about being a working artist is that there are times when I can take a breather and do some of the other things that give me great pleasure. One of those things is working in my yard.

Lately, I’ve been working on streamlining the amount of time it takes to keep up with all my plantings. I enjoy having plants that “take care of themselves”. With all the varying weather conditions in Texas, it can take some time to figure out which ones can survive the heat and drought, which require “weathering” in the winter, and which are simply unsuited. This year I’ve been focusing on adding some “native” plantings.

When I draw, I pull a lot of my gardening work into my imagery. There are almost always plants, flowers, or trees in almost all my work. God’s creativity is boundless and it is a joy to plant something and watch it grow and thrive. I’m grateful that God gives us this bit of insight into how He must feel all the time.