Ucross Foundation

Another fun thing we did when Ben and Sara were here was to tour their current art exhibit at the Ucross Foundation. 

It is cool that Maria and Eric are having a joint show. We were grateful for staff for opening it up for our family to have a private, guided tour.  

Ben and Sara planned their Wyoming Trip especially to be able to see this display.

Sam had worked a night shift the night before, but was up for the day with the family as well.

This barn is the setting for the art gallery at the Ucross Foundation. This beautiful, isolated setting is a place where  creative people can be chosen to come and use their talents to paint, write, whatever.  It really is a gorgeous place.

We met this golden lab puppy, who chased anything that ran.

After he took a mud bath, we had reason to run from him! 

A tree became the get away of choice.

Isn't that a tree that needed climbed anyway? 

And then this pretty lady joined us...

Later that day we went to visit my Mom, sister and Aunt.  It was such a wonderfully full day.  It involved a lot of driving through beautiful country on a lovely day.  

And, it was a day with all three of our kids together.  That does not happen often! 

I love them.

My babies...

Adding Some Culture

I recently had a fun evening.  After work I went to our local artist guild's gallery for a talk by none other than our talented son-in-law, Eric.  He currently has a showing up of some of his photographs. He has published a book to go along with it as well.  In fact, today I was told he was at a book signing. Doesn't that sound cool?  And to think, I knew him before he was such a big deal.  No, that's not true. He's always been a big deal to us.

So, I went a little early to watch the girls while Eric did the meet and greet thing. Maria was teaching an art class elsewhere but arrived soon.  The girls feel very much at home at the facility. They used up some energy in the back room first. Cordelia explained to me that she needed to do that so she could be good during her Daddy's lecture.

Maria came soon enough to enjoy Eric's lecture as well.

Like I said, the girls feel at home there.  I set them up with stickers and paper. I enjoy this photo as Cordelia was trying to cooperate for a photo but she couldn't quite take her eyes off the stickers.

 And here is Eric nearing the end of his lecture.  I felt proud to be his mother-in-law.

After the lecture we went to the other side of the building and shopped at a Turkey Trunk Show!  Ha ha! I just read what I wrote.  Anyone else picturing a turkey with a trunk?

No, this was a show of items a young artist brought back from Turkey, where she now lives.  She had some beautiful items and served interesting and delicious finger foods.

I feel oh so very cultured!

Art Show!

Maria's Art opening...  "Almost Home"

Almost Home

As promised, I have photos of the next piece of art I purchased.  It will be included in a show Maria is in this coming Spring, entitled Almost Home.  I wanted to be certain to lay claim to it now. 

I want to be sure you know that both Maria and Sara offered me their paintings as gifts. They are sweet to me! I just wanted to be a grown up and purchase art that I wanted so I insisted. 

Maria's painting is also a Wyoming scene. I love the colors.

I took a close-up so you could get a feel for the deep textures and details. 

If you are interested in Maria's gallery go to her website where she has lots to see.

Now, don't you feel all cultured up this week after having seen some new art?

Driving into a Storm

I recently made two purchases. You know I have a lot of family members who are artists, right? Obviously I can't have all their artwork, no matter how lovely. Now and then, though, I treat myself by investing in art that I love.

The first new purchase was this piece created by our daughter-in-law. I liked it the first time I saw it. I went online and purchased it before someone else did.  The title of it is Driving into a Storm.

I am really enjoying it! After I bought it Sara told me where it was. It is on the drive between our's and my Mom's. I love that drive so it is no wonder that painting spoke to me!

If you want to see any more of her work go to the website, newly designed by our son, Ben.

I will get photos ready for my next post of the other new art I purchased.  See you soon!

The View From My Sickbed

When I was hospital-hopping with my Mom last week we both noticed there were a lot of sick people around us. It was almost like sick people were drawn to places like that. Anyway, I prayed that I wouldn't get ill. I washed my hands and used the alcohol gels so much my knuckles started to bleed. That wasn't so bad as it gave me an excuse to run to Bath and Body Works for yummy lotions. I knew that in order to be helpful to Mom I needed to stay healthy, and I did. For that, I was very grateful. 

Today is a different story. Tuesday night I felt like I was developing a sinus infection but by last night I was sick all over. I had to take today off so I don't share this with coworkers and patients. I have taken up residence in our guest room, trying not to share this with Mike. People need him, you know. 

So, what to blog about when you are sick in bed? I looked around me this morning and was enjoying the art in this room. I may have shared some of these with you before but if so, they are worth the repeat.

My mom painted this first one when I was a teenager. I loved how she used a palette knife, giving it a lot of texture. I don't think she actually ever gave me this painting but I pretty much just claimed it. It was probably the first piece in my now extensive family art collection. Possession is 90 percent of the law, right?

This piece is a photograph taken by our son-in-law. I purchased it way back when he was not yet our son-in-law because I loved it.  I still do.

This is another of my Mom's paintings. I expect I borrowEd it and just didn't give it back. She painted it from a photograph of my Grandma Rose. Grandma always, always kept her hair pretty but she really outdid herself when she was wearing it like that. Mom did such a nice job as this looks just like Grandma, right down to that dimple on her cheek. Below the painting is a plate I found in a thrift store in Denver. I just felt happy when I saw it so now it is mine.

The last wall in my sick room is this watercolor by our daughter, Maria. I think she produced this when she was in high school. I was drawn to it! I make up stories about this lady. She is a young singer, still kind of nervous, who is wondering if the audience can tell she is in early pregnancy.  By the way, she has a tremendous voice, sweet but powerful.

So, there you have it, the view from my sick bed.  Now, I need to rest.

Mom's Gallery

Something I've always been around is great art. I live among many, many creative people!

My first exposure to art came from my Mom. She picked up our little water colors when I was about 7 years old. She's not stopped since then! Not only did she study and learn and practice her own techniques, but she later taught classes to help release the inner artist in others.

My Mom has passed on this gift for drawing and painting on to quite a few members of the family. My older brother has that gift. As I've said before, I have the carrier gene and so does my sister. Many of Mom's grandchildren and great grandchildren are artists as well. It is wonderful to watch as they all develop their own styles!

Today, I came upon some photos I took just while I walked around Mom's home one day. I think you'll enjoy walking through this little home gallery as well. Enjoy!

Artists, a Boot-Wearing Fairy Princess and a Little Flower Girl

Last night we went to an art exhibition so today I am feeling more cultured than usual.

This particular exhibition was special because it was curated by our son-in-law. He did such a nice job!

The artist, Michael Copeland, is special to our family as well. He was Maria and Eric's mentor/teacher when they were in high school and he has remained a big inspiration to them. His wife, Victoria, has also become a dear friend to our kids. She is also a fellow blogger and she often shares wonderful, wonderful recipes here.

There were some surprises for the Copeland's last night. As it turns out, Maria and Eric were not their only former students who arrived for his show! They came from out of state to surprise him! Maria will have some wonderful photos to share, I'm sure. For that reason, I am going to wait and let Maria tell you more about this event and Michael's work. She is going non-stop this week-end but Monday she will have some wonderful photos/stories to share. Keep checking here for that post.

After enjoying the art for a time, I took the little girls home to spend a bit of time with them and then to get them to bed so their parents could enjoy some time with their dear friends. Before we even left the parking lot of the art museum, though, we had to stop and spend some time in the flowers. All I had was my phone to take photos, but they were just so cute I could not resist.

I especially loved the outfit Cordelia had put together for the art opening. She was like a beautiful little boot-wearing fairy princess!

I love her style!

Elise was all about the flowers!

Did you have anything fun on your calendar for this week-end?

Kingdom!

Last night we attended our daughter's first solo art opening, Kingdom. What an experience! I felt very proud to be the mother-of-the-artist.

I took a lot of photos and I will be happy to share some of them with you over the next several days. You are in for a treat!

These two were very popular. I wish I'd taken close-ups of each but I didn't. With so many people there, photos of the artwork were a challenge.

It was a wonderful evening. One of the biggest surprises for Maria was to look up and see her Aunt Karen and Uncle Gregg, who came from out of town. Gregg wasn't too cooperative when the camera came out but Karen was very photogenic. It was so sweet of them to make the trip.

It really was a nice art opening and such a big night for Maria. I think those who purchased her paintings will be so glad they did. I think they will enjoy their Kingdom friends for years!

Check back for more photos!