Connie in KenyaReview of 2009
Life is great and this year has been a milestone, tough but very rewarding in many ways. You can look below to see the highlights of my artwork and the shows that I was part of. You will notice that my art came to a halt at the end of August. That was because of a major operation on my cervical vertebra on September 10. More on that later. The last oil painting I did was August 28. It was an outdoor painting of the Russell Page garden at the Columbus Museum of Art. I was in great pain and could hardly finish. It was sold by the CMA at an auction fund raiser. I was in surgery the day before the auction and missed the fun. For those of you who want to know the details of the operation read on. The rest of you can skip the next paragraph and go to Connie's trip to Kenya in July and the paintings it produced from her great photography.
The Operation: I haven't painted since the operation on Sept. 10. The operation was a along standing problem I have had with my neck, shoulders, and recently affecting my walking and stability. Vertebra #3,4,5 and 6 were redesigned so to speak. I wore a hard collar then soft up until just a week ago. I expect to begin painting, a few hours at time, until I am up to speed again. I thank everyone for your prayers and good wishes, especially the quilt ministry of First Community Church who gave me a prayer quilt with prayer knots tied by 88 friends which touched me very much. The FCC staff was always in touch with me from day one to see if I needed anything.
Connie's Trip to Kenya: Connie went to Kenya in July with a group of 14 people from First Community Church and three others. One of the church missions is the Rafiki Orphanage outside of Nairobi, Kenya. The orphanage is for children whose parents have died of AIDS. A sidetrip to London, a week in the Nairobi area with the children and staff of Rafiki and the street children, and a three day safari provided her with many photographs as well as a life-changing experience. The poverty, lack of clean water and sanitation coupled with the amazing spirit of the Kenyan people provided lessons in life that can't be realized any other way. I painted several of the scenes, prior to my surgery, that give a picture of Kenya through her eyes. The Masai woman, the lady in the square in Nidiri, and the painting of the boys of Rafiki wrapped in their quilts give just a glimpse of the experience. She has requested a painting of a landscape from safari...a scene with one lone tree in the distance...as a memory of the beauty and magnificence of the Masai Mara area. Although the numerous sightings of giraffes, lions, hippos, elephants, zebras, gazelles, all kinds of birds...along with one heroic leopard...were mind-boggling, that one tree somehow stuck with her as a symbol of the Kenyan experience. Hopefully in the next six months you will see that painting on the blog!
