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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…
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Nesting Season
“It is never too late to be what you might have been.”George Eliot Early in 2024, while enjoying New Year’s with our family in Jackson, Wyoming, I stumbled upon a gallery shop and was instantly wowed by the artist’s vibrant paintings of animals (Amy Ringholz). Since I don’t have the wall space nor the budget…
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Why So Many Flowers?
“I must have flowers, always and always.” Claude Monet Sometimes I wonder, why do I paint so many flowers? In 2019, very early in my art journey, I took a drawing class at Harrisburg Area Community College. As a mid-50’s working mom, I walked into a classroom full of 18–19-year-old young men and women. They…
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“The Delivery!”
My One Little Word in 2024 has been PLAY and what a joy ride we’ve had together! With PLAY as my lens, I have seen clearly and appreciated deeply the moments when I am happily engaged in the things I love: when I’m interlocking jigsaw pieces into a neat, colorful puzzle and when I’m smudging…
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60 By 60
Five years ago, in November 2019, I was listening to the voice of Stacy Julian on her podcast, “Exactly Enough Time.” Stacy is a colorfully bright, positive and passionate memory keeping creative. For many years I’d been an avid reader of her magazine, Simple Scrapbooks (sadly, no longer published), as well as her books, The…
Melissa Stephens Art 