Meadow's Mural Starting Monday - Nov. 1-2010

Wow, another mural is beginning.  Shelly, Malydia, Wendy, Grandma, Tony and I worked on marking and sorting the paint last Thursday just in time to set up the next mural palette.

I met with Tim and Gwen on Friday afternoon and the mural will be a dedication to the loved ones that owned the farm prior to Tim and Gwen.  They are going to honor the owner who passed away by having a picture of her and Gwen (as a child) holding hands looking at flowers.  There will be collards, watermelons, tomatoes, pecan trees, etc. on that wonderful barn to depict the blessings that have been bestowed on Tim and Gwen.

This will be a privilege.  It is a wonderful honor to be thankful, and by Faith this story of Gwen's is wonderful.  She wrote a essay about "Memories", it touched me and when I get up on those ladders I am sure God will be there to do what He does and that is guide the brush to honor Him and all those who believe in Him.

The puppies are still here, but five have been promised to someone.  We have two left and they are so cute.  So if anyone reading this needs a hound dog (part) and some other dog mix please come by Red Willows and let us know.  They are wonderful pets.  Shari, from Harbor Hound Rescue is helping us find homes for these pups, and supporting us with puppy shots too. 

Today we had Wilbur and Jane here to make a list of what is needed for Tony's workroom upstairs.  We have bought the cabinets, started the plan for the electricity to support the wood working tools, and it is planned to be finished by January.  At that time, Tony will be working on some creative frames for me and bookcases for the library.  Who knew he would enjoy working with wood, making bookcases and planting trees.  He loves NC and he is expanding his talents, I am the lucky one.

Tonight we watched a movie called "Letters to God", I would recommend everyone watch this movie.  It was heart moving and helped us to understand when things go wrong in peoples lives, it is for a short time, but hope and faith, and love are everlasting.......let's have these for others, especially our family members.

I will post some pictures tomorrow:  I got to paint two young musicians, they inspired me, they are so full of passion.

Take care, more to come regularly....pics Monday of the barn without a mural, then each day I paint I will update with pictures.  This barn is right across from the front driveway so I plan to leave the truck there, with paint, and walk over each day to paint "Honor" on those wonderful tin wall.

Thanks Tim and Gwen for this opportunity.  k

Paint, Paint, Paint

On Sunday we received a call from Regina and Matt, they asked Tony to come over and get 14 gallons of paint, and some little cans also, then the mega 5 gallons of paint also.  Thanks you so much By The Sea Farm owned by Matt and Regina. 

Also, I talked with Claudia, Air Frames and Art located in Trenton about making prints of the barn quilts we are producing for Jones County and she is going to give me a price for people who would like to have prints of the barn quilts that are small enough to put inside homes or on porches.  More to come regarding this.

Thanks so much for your prayers regarding paint, it is truly coming in so that means more paintings can occur on barns and building.

k

Barn Art

Today started much like any other, household duties, coffee in the sunshine and the thought of painting.  Tony went to the recycle place, grandma and I visited the greenhouse, and then Tony worked on the foundation of our house, making it stronger.  While he did that I finished a barn art piece.......it evolved throughout the day :

I got the idea for the background from the sky this week.  The sun was going down and the colors were magnificent.  The red was filled with orange and little pits of blue, it looked like water yet it was on fire.

Tomorrow am going to the mountains to take some peak leave pictures with a friend.  Can't wait to see what we get in from the lenses of our cameras.  Who knows it may inspire even more barn art, porch art, art that is visualized outside of your home in an unexpected place, that says beauty is everywhere.  k

Time Passes

Over the past few weeks it seems as if time is flying.  Since coming home from vacation, we have had visitors and played catch up, but today I had the chance to mow the grass, see the blue sky, thank God for friends from Texas.  We spent some time with our good friends, Linda and Bob.  I met Linda in 1979 at a business we both worked at.  We have never lost touch, and I have to say this woman is one of my heroes.  I remember Mike, her husband, and I remember her loss.....but I have to say today, she has not changed, she is still the person who has commitment to her friends.  Thanks Linda and Bob for visiting, it is truly amazing after all these years, we still act like no time has passed.

I am uploading some pictures of a Christmas Card I drew from a snapshot, and one of the G's grandchildren with their musical instrument. 

This is a picture of their mountain home.  It was a pleasure doing this one for them.

The G's are teaching their grandchildren to love and play musical instruments.  This inspires me.  These are good friends of Gypsy and now mine. 

I will be finishing a barn quilt tomorrow named "Carolina Flowers", I will post as soon as it is done.  This is an original design.

Next week I will be starting another mural.....so keep reading and watching.

k

Free Paint

Great Day!

Got up this morning and went down to Gypsy to meet Betty Heath and discuss her travels for the summer and her new waterfront property.  We had breakfast that was yummy!  Then off to New Bern to meet Wendy and go to the free paint sight.

The day was beautiful not a cloud in the sky, and Mitchell's Hardware was just in sight where Wendy was meeting us.  Tony, Grandma and I picked up Wendy and over the bridges we went to Bridgeton to the paint recycling center.  We arrived, found the rows of paint and started to remove more than 70 cans of paint.  We packed it in the car, went to garage sales at two places, met some wonderful people.  One guy made bird houses out of drift wood and shells he and his wife picked up while beach walking, a wonderful couple, and great bird houses.  I got his name and number for Red Willows in Trenton. 

We left there went to McDonalds and got some refreshment, then dropped Wendy off, said goodbye and had a great time laughing with each other.  And I got the number of the guy at the paint shop for Wendy also, he was interested in her.....hehehe me.

On the way home we picked up some bacon and syrup we are having guests for breakfast, Regina and Matt.  They are working hard on their farm.   Can't wait to catch up with their summer too!

When we got home, I opened a deck staining can of paint and the next thing I knew the back deck with finished and the little deck under the gazabo was coated also.  Grandma brought the shovel I planted some mums and then we poured over the quilt patterns she had found in a needlepoint book, that was fun.

Then dinner, and a movie "I'm Reed Fish", quite entertaining and now writing to my blog readers.  All in all a wonderful day, a wonderful life.

I kept telling Wendy today felt like Christmas 70 cans of paint free.......where are the walls I have a need to paint.

Talk to you soon, k

The Wedding, Jason and Kalia

Once upon a time, a darling blond came up to me at church and asked if I would help her surprise her fiance!  Whoa La......a chance to surprise someone, help with a dream and create a memory for life, and a wedding on top of all of that, I jumped at the chance.

This blond beauty said her fiance asked her to marry him on a bridge in Cades Cove in the mountains.  How romantic!  So this story began to deepen with love and a wedding, how could I miss.

I love weddings.  Well the request came in May, the wedding was to be in October.  I don't do well with secrets, because I usually get really excited about romantic things, and this was going to be part of the wedding ceremony.  How was this going to work, well keep reading and the story does unfold!

Kalia Louise Goerler and Michael Jason Jarman were about to experience the most wonderful months of their life so far.  A wedding is a very exciting event for the family, friends and in this case the town of Trenton.

So when I attended church on Sundays I would always say a little to Kalia and she would give me information like pictures of the bridge where he proposed and what colors were going to be used in the wedding.  How this was going to be a surprise for Jason and she wanted to make sure the bridge was drawn so it looked like they would be standing on it during the ceremony.  Details.

Sure, no problem, I thought!  Perspective is a growing thing to painters.  Each and every new drawing I began to draw requires me to study the object, work on the light, and bones of the apparatus.  Plus get Tony to work with me regarding perspective.  This time it happened to be a bridge.  I am not really familiar with too many bridges, so I asked Kalia to sit down with me while we plotted the picture out.  We checked the Internet and found the bridge, it looked simple enough to me, but it was flipped in the picture.  I needed it to become a mirror image because that would be easier for me to paint and hit it with light.  So I sent the picture to Claudia Henley who owns Air Frames and Art in Trenton.  I emailed the picture and she sent it back with magic.  The bridge was flipped and it was so easy to place in the picture, but then came the water, the rocks, the trees, the colors and all of this had to be placed in the picture because we mostly had only water from the pictures on the trip. 

I did a block in and invited Ms. Kalia back to look at the layout, and she was pleased.  She was so easy with the appointments and I wondered if she had leaked the project to Jason yet. No, she had not and she was going to keep this project secret until the wedding.

I would see both of them at church, and speak briefly, because I didn't want Jason to figure out I was in cahoots with his future wife, we had a plan do not tell anyone.

So I started this project seven days before we left on vacation, it was 60 percent done before we left, but while I was on vacation (helping my daughter move into her new house) I kept thinking about this bridge.  I thought the bridge should not be the most important part of the picture, the tree should be.  There is a large red leaved tree in the picture and it stands tall, firm and is lighted with the natural light of life.

This spoke to me.  Kalia and Jason lives will forever be changed on October 9, 2010.  They stand in front of friends, family, and well wishers and commit themselves to each other and God.  Their verse was "There are three things that last, faith, hope and love, and the greatest of these sf love.  I Corinthians 13:13.  So the tree of Life is God.  God is the tree that shades, reveals, protects and creates life in our lives.  So these two lovely people were about to walk across the bridge from two to one.  They would become husband and wife, a holy union under the eyes and blessings of God. 

May turned to June, June to July, July to August, August to September, September to October and the final 5 days before the wedding, the picture, grew in stature and grace.  As I always say it is not me that paints it is the brush with the Spirit of Awe Winds.  I believe God breathes and I feel his grace, and my hand moves, thereby creating the picture for Kalia and Jason.

Well, the week came, Thursday night she was in the church preparing for the wedding, we got the call to bring the picture (4 foot by 8 foot) and a screwdriver with wood blocks and braces.  She had a desk we were going to attach the braces thereby making a very large easel to hold the picture.  We arrived in the explorer, the rear hatch open wide, the painting hanging out, with me holding the painting from the second set of seats.  Grandma and Tony were in the front as we arrived, and we didn't see Jason.  We passed right by his house on the way to the church, but Tony had turned the painting backward when putting it into the car just in case he was outside looking at the road.  We cleared his house, got to the church, unpacked the painting, walked it into the church and she was happy.  And you know that made us happy.

She had placed the painting and the desk just beautifully so the light above resonated upon it and made it look wonderful.  She and Jason would be standing in front of this picture as they remembered their months toward becoming one.

After we left she called Jason and he saw the painting for the first time.  He liked it also.  Yea, success!

We attended the wedding, which was beautiful too many wonderful little details to much to explain, but I can tell you this Kalia can put on a wedding, it was wonderful and very personal.  The first wedding I have seen using a piece of art to capture the audience, the groom and herself.  They looked as if they were standing on a bridge, waiting to sit underneath the tree of light, as they grew old together.

After the wedding, we visited the reception line and Jason said "we will talk when I get back about keeping secrets".....he wasn't serious, because there was a huge twinkle in his eye.  He was married to a woman he loved and they will live happily ever after....

k

2010 Summer "Barn Quilts"

Well it has been a summer, lots of work, lots of fun, and lots of opportunity coming to this special town as more and more people get involved in making Trenton their home. Ben Casey came to our fair city twice to see Mr. A.L. "Dude" Andrews. Ben was here for Mr. Andrews birthday and special pictures were taken with his entire family and Ben. It was a pleasure to see the honor Ben gave Dude. Thanks you Mr. Casey, and Happy Birthday Dude!


Recently Willow and I visited West Jefferson City in North Carolina. We spoke to the arts council there, met several artists, made a CD of the murals and the barn quilts and took the barn quilt tour in Ashe County. When we got back we started gearing up to create our own Barn Quilt Tour of Jones County, NC. As you can see from the past picture of our first barn quilt we have begun.

Bethlehem Star Barn Quilt (commissioned by a local farm)

I am going to post several more painted quilts at the end of today's blog. I got a call today from my friend Lisa in California. We were recently there and had the pleasure of visiting their haven in Yucapai. Grandma and Tony talked with Steve, and Lisa, Kaylee and I had our feet in the pool. When I sat at this hacienda, I remembered when they were just starting to dream of this house, the land and it's mountains in the background. When I sat there I couldn't help but believe in blessings and belief. When Lisa and Steve had this home built, Lisa stepped out on faith and left her teaching position the day she signed the loan. She has since built a business, helped numerous schools pro bono and has attained her doctorate. Kudos to you Lisa, you are a hero to many, and one of the best friends I have ever had, thanks for coming into my life.

I believe barn quilts will make their way to Yucapai also, Lisa and I hope to get these barn quilts into schools to teach math, design and art.

There are some upcoming murals on schedule now. I believe there will be a new one on Wyse Fork Road soon, then I will begin working on the mill mural in downtown Trenton. This should be finished prior to really cold weather. So keep looking for more paintings to appear in the area.

Yesterday I learned from Wendy Walker about a Paint Exchange Program in Craven County. I called today and because of the flooding, which occurred this month, they are extending their hours this week and have paint I can pick up free to work on the murals in the upcoming months. Thanks Wendy, this is a double kudos thank you......there will be more painting because of this find.

I shared this news with Betty Heath today, they are looking for a house paint, and she will benefit from this news also. Helping others by just a few words over dinner......it's better than the Internet.

Keep watch for barn quilts appearing in Jones County, let me know what you think of them. All comments come to me be prior to posting, but don't worry I am checking the blog daily now and your postings will be released to the blog.

Today was a good day the "Bethlehem Star" was completed for a farm in the area. I can't wait to see that quilt on a barn, it is beautiful. Tony drew the star for me, it took him 5 hours to draw it, because there is about 600 diamonds on this piece. Then I spent 7 hours today painting each block the color it needed to be. It does look like a star, but the colors are amazing.


Take care and each day help someone know they are cared for. k draft 2:48:00 PM by K. Rowland Delete

More finished Barn Quilts:

Fish Barn Quilt

This is a copy of the quilt (the only difference is the background was white so the floating diamonds stood out more. I will try to get a picture from Red Willows.