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My Favorite Things
‘Tis the season for gazing at our tree’s twinkling white lights, sitting by our fire’s comforting warm flames, and baking (then eating!) our family’s favorite Christmas cookies. These are a few of my favorite things this time of year! To that I’ll add a new tradition, writing re-mixes, last year of the beloved holiday poem,…
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Breadcrumbs
My husband, Art, recently launched his own blog. His “why” for writing? To help him answer the question he is most often asked when anyone discovers we have visited all 63 national parks, “which park was your favorite?” It’s a simple, 5-word question that’s lead to a complex, many word answer. To that end, he’s been…
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My Paean
Here’s a nerdy but likely not surprising fact about me, I LOVE the English language! Mrs. Haas, my 12th grade English teacher, was a gem. Fresh out of college, she taught my mother and, as she neared retirement, she taught me. She inspired my mom to study English in college and, later, to also teach the…
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Unlearning
“Anything worth doing is worth doing right.” Hunter S. Thompson It’s back-to-school time, truly one of my favorite seasons of the year. At 60, I still yearn to purchase a new notebook, sharpen a #2 pencil, and sit in the front row of a classroom like a nerdy sponge, ready to absorb. We live in a…
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I’ll Always Have Paris
In many ways I’m surprised it took me 60 years to get to Paris but, in equally as many ways, I’m thankful it did. As my interest in art has grown, so has my desire to visit France. I’ve read art history and travel books as well artists’ blogs, underlining text, dog-earing pages and taking…
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Never Too Many Questions
I don’t know how many times I heard my father open a conversation with, “Let me ask you a question,” but I know it was A LOT! All five of us understood, when Pop Pop led with those words, we were in for a lengthy discourse on some subject of interest to him, often involving…
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“Taking a Line for a Walk”
“Taking a line for a walk” Paul Klee Paul Klee (1879-1940) was a Swiss-born artist whose works are found in major museums around the world. As I dive deeper into art, artists, and art history, I’ve come across his words, “taking a line for a walk,” many times. It sounded like a lovely way to draw…
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I Worried
“I Worried” by Mary Oliver I worried a lot. Will the garden grow, will the riversflow in the right direction, will the earth turnas it was taught, and if not how shall I correct it? Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven,can I do better? Will I ever be able to sing, even…
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Make
“Your life is already artful – waiting, just waiting, for you to make it art” Toni Morrison 3 pottery pieces from my recent class and an old treasure I’ve saved from Scott’s elementary school days (circa 2005) It’s been a lovely winter for me, spent happily making art from my life. I crafted a PLAY-book,…
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What is Beauty?
Last fall I submitted an artist statement and several of my paintings and drawings to the Bellefonte Art Museum in hopes of being accepted, through a juried process, to their Artist Registry. A lovely friend in my Outdoor Art Group encouraged me past my fear of rejection to apply. Her belief in my art prompted…
Melissa Stephens Art 