new artwork, 2012

This is a view from my booth at Foley's Art in the Park, 2012. It's always Mother's Day weekend, a tradition held for 40 years now. One of my favorite shows. The other show I adore is Fairhope's Grand Festival of Art. It's a fall show, and this year will be on October 5th & 6th in beautiful downtown Fairhope AL. Hopefully, Doll Whiskers will have a booth again this year...so come see me! In the meantime, check out my art as it comes off the easel on my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/DollWhiskers.

It's all part of the plan

It's been nearly a year since the last blog post?! So much I could tell you about, but I choose my most favorite: growth in my small business, and in my faith. In 2007, we left Mississippi and moved to Mobile's Eastern Shore--an art mecca, which I'd never realized before. When we bought our house, it was from a sweet elderly lady, whom we immediately bonded with. She was in her seventies or eighties, but was as sharp as someone decades her junior. She was selling her home and making plans to move to Tennessee with her son and his family. Telling me she wouldn't need it, she offered to leave the dining room table and chairs, and its matching china hutch. It was one of those tables with a finish you couldn't hurt if you tried! It was not my taste in the least, but it was being gifted, and it filled up a room that would otherwise be empty. So, I graciously accepted, but really just to be polite. For three years, that table sat there, mostly unused. Fast forward to tonight, five years later. I've turned that rarely-occupied dining room into an art studio. Late 2010, I began painting again and in 2011 made everything official, opening my own business selling my artwork. I am amazed at how it's taken off, but even more so at how little things lined up in my favor. That table you couldn't hurt? It's my paint-smattered work station. That hutch? It's full of small paintings which I've arranged to look like a little gift shop. The walls hold a dozen or more large paintings. The lady also left a four-drawer file cabinet (another thing I was so sure I wouldn't use) which holds all my files and shipping supplies. All those things I was so quick to dismiss quietly became invaluable pieces to my puzzle. It took me forty one years, but here I sit, exactly where I'm meant to be. I'm finally doing what I was created to do. All these things were lined up for me even before I knew I'd need them. God's plan in action. He provides everything in its perfect time. So, it's with a heart of gratitude that I share this story with you. Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose." Thank you, Jesus. Just thank you for all of it. What's tugging at your heart to do, to become?