GRATITUDE

Inside this beautiful new home I have studio space.
Thanks to my brother John whose home this is!

November is the month that we celebrate gratitude, our thankfulness for the bounties in our lives. This particular November I have more to celebrate that usual. I have a new art studio and next week I will be having a Grand Opening. This event will be a way of showing appreciation for all my blessings...my friends, my collectors, my God-given talent but mostly my gratitude for my family. In particular my brother John.

I am one of 5 of siblings and we grew up relentlessly competitive, both physically and intellectually, learning early on to hold our own in a verbal war. A word could sting but a sentence could slay. Yet love and loyalty cushioned the blows and we didn't harbor any hard feelings...it was just all part of the game. It was good training for life in general...but that may be easy for me to say...I was the 2nd oldest so I probably dished out more than I took. This rivalry didn't extend beyond childhood. Today my 2 brothers and 2 sisters are my dearest friends on the planet.

John, being the oldest, was afforded special status by our Father so our response was to tag him with the nickname "Golden Boy". It was apt, and still is. John was given more responsibilities and he never took them lightly. We are all type A...John is AAA, but not at all uptight, quite the opposite.  He graduated high school and college at the top of his class, navigated the business world with aplomb and success and was able to retire early due to his sacrifices, brilliance and nose-to-the-grindstone work ethic. We come from humble and he rose to the top, yet never does he adopt an arrogance that often comes with the territory.

When he was designing his new home...his forever home I have come to call it...he came to me with an offer. It would be larger then he would personally need and he felt guilty about the extra space. Could I use studio space? He would be happy to give me some along with gallery space with room to hold events. Who would say no to that? That was nearly 2 years ago and even though he moved in 6 months ago I have finally set up my studio and begun to paint there.  Now it is time to celebrate! I want to share this with people, this new beginning, this fresh start. After coming out of the ashes it really does feel like the promise of great things to come.

Let the festivities begin!!