Author: Fragments of Light

Always – lament for a father taken too soon

On a balmy October afternoon, we gathered on a green slope saturated with sinking-sun amber light. Sentinel trees swayed in a swan dance of brilliant-hued Autumn. We clustered amidst names engraved in stone, contemplating the eternal promise of Scripture, swelling with tears to the last lingering notes of Amazing Grace. Each of us clutched a…Read more Always – lament for a father taken too soon

Texture and patina – in art and in life

I have grown to love texture and patina. My husband and I live in a 100 year old house with four active children and a dog, so perhaps it is simply a subconscious decision to accept the inevitable. But, actually, I think it might be rooted in wisdom. Earlier in life, I strove for pristine…Read more Texture and patina – in art and in life

Where true joy can be found

I know a place where unhindered joy pulsates. But you won’t believe it when I first take you there. Perched on the edge of desolation, humble and inconspicuous, a gray cement block building crouches behind ramshackle shops. Barefoot children play on a pile of rubble, and rusty-corrugated-roof shacks lean on either side. Before we go…Read more Where true joy can be found

Covering: Reflections on 20 years of marriage

In the early days, I was a kite and he was the string. I, the idyllic dreamer, tempted him with crazy ideas like living in a 700 square foot hot tub wing/studio apartment of a house nestled in the mountains west of Denver.  We looked at other places. Still, to this day, we laugh when…Read more Covering: Reflections on 20 years of marriage

Print purchase clarification

Dear friends, I wanted to clarify and apologize for a misprint in my earlier blog post - prints are $119, NOT including shipping (which will average about $11/print including shipping materials). Prints are now  available through Pamba Toto fine art prints. I owe so much to so many of you who have been God's Voice…Read more Print purchase clarification

Free Indeed

Red patterned light trickles across black curtains. A fanciful bouquet erupts on stage right: black-and-white-striped poles adorned with pink sparkly netting, fuzzy green puffs dripping with silver strands, orange tufts dotted with pink. Green cardboard-cut-out leaves ground the arrangement. Expectant silence swells as the curtain draws. Lilting music evokes the changing moods of “My Many…Read more Free Indeed

Reach

“You only get just one time around, you only get one shot at this, one chance to find out the one thing that you don’t want to miss.” One Life to Love by 33 Miles This song lyric often plays in my mind. Life on this earth tumbles by and falls off the final cliff…Read more Reach

Songs in the Valley

“It doesn’t look as bad as it did yesterday,” my ever-honest 12 year old tried to encourage me. I asked my husband, “Is it really bad?” “I like some of your other pieces better,” he conceded. I gave it one last look, and shredded it. Every piece of artwork, for me, seems to pass through…Read more Songs in the Valley

Orphans in Nepal

Nepal is world-renowned for towering majestic mountains, fertile terraced fields, and verdant valleys. Nepal is no less than the magical, enticing destination that Tourist Guidebooks claim. But Nepal also subsists amongst the ten poorest countries in the world. Until a decade ago, she was the world’s only Hindu Kingdom; now secularized, karma, fatalism, dharma, and the resulting caste system still…Read more Orphans in Nepal

Trees

As a kid growing up in Black Forest, trees were my favorite place to while away a summer day: scent of pine, sticky sap, whispering wind, choosing the next limb to climb ever higher, a quiet kingdom of my very own. Still at points of stress, I like to think about trees. Something about their…Read more Trees