Refuge; 19.75" x 11.5"; watercolor, ink, acrylic, water-soluble pastel. Another morning. Another heartbreaking headline. Mass shootings, earthquakes, climate change, disease. I wonder, Where can I go to escape this darkness? Even in the highest mountain refuge, the darkness is still there. In me. I think of Jesus’ words in Luke 21:25-28 “There will be signs…Read more Refuge
Life in Colorado
Evening Song
Evening Song; 2021; 15.5" x 25.5"; watercolor, acrylic, pastel, chalk, graphite, ink. John 1:5, "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome." There was a time not too long ago when the darkness hovered near. Chaotic world events and challenges all around leached me dry. I snuck away to a monastery for…Read more Evening Song
Hope in troubled times…
It's not that I'm ignoring the pain and chaos. No, I am not forgetting, but transcending....
When A Thistle Matters
Lavender probes a rim of midnight blue, the tender touch of land and sky as daylight yields to night. I am ragged, like the thistle’s fringe, so insignificant in this vastness, yet reaching for the sinking sun. And the hem of a robe sweeps low, setting the sky on fire. Setting me on fire. Like…Read more When A Thistle Matters
Winter Wander
Winter Wander; 2021; 11.75" x 16"; mixed media: graphite, watercolor, acrylic, crayon.
Timeless
Wandering in a Winter Forest; 2021; 7.5" x 13'; mixed media: ink, watercolor, gouache, oil pastel, graphite. Grasses arc ochre, under frozen sheen, sparkling like the laughter of my grandma, bowing at her feet. I see her there, at a picnic table, her wisdom words still embedded in black, trusting limbs, still reaching under the…Read more Timeless
ShoutOut Colorado Interview
Please visit the wonderful online publication, ShoutOut Colorado, featuring the people of my home state, Colorado! This interview was originally published in ShoutOut Colorado, December 22, 2020. Hi Colleen, how does your business help the community?We are not alone. I keep stumbling on this theme wherever I go in the world (and strangely, especially among…Read more ShoutOut Colorado Interview
Peace For A Weary Heart
I wonder if your heart is as weary as mine? I picture our hearts like silos. Collective stress induced by a global pandemic, natural disasters, and economic hardship fill the storage column. And then, over that basic elevated societal level, personal challenges sift. Layers, filling to the top, spilling over. In the past few monthsl,…Read more Peace For A Weary Heart
Wedding Day
Love Story; 2020; 22" x 28"; watercolor, gauche, ink. For Jacob and Jenny with all my love always.
The Day I Became A Protester
I was scared to go, and I didn’t have the faintest idea how to be a protester. As my patient husband can attest, I’ve certainly ranted and raved at home about issues. But the most radical political act I’ve committed up until this week was to vote. Except for maybe when I adopted a Black…Read more The Day I Became A Protester