Day Trips

I've been hard at it, putting the last swipes of  color on canvas for an exhibit I hang in just a few short days.

I'd been struggling with ideas and themes for an exhibit that had been scheduled for several months. You know how it is when you look hard for something and it just doesn't make itself known?  Like Sir Isaac Newton; he spent all that time looking for a good idea without success, then when he least expected, an apple fell on his head and -'poof' - there it was, gravity.

Handsome Husband and I were out for a much needed breath of fresh air early this spring. We'd been cooped up for weeks due to typical Nebraska winter weather; grey, windy and c-c-c-c-cold. On this day, however, the sun shone brilliantly against a warming blue sky and we hopped in the car to see what had happened around the county since the last snowstorm. 

As HH and I drove the roads around our town we saw life rising in the meadows and fields, creeks and river bottoms. Grey turned to gold, pink, coral. Honestly, it's this way every spring and yet, every year it is a delightful surprise; the loveliness that unfolds so often right before our eyes in the routine of our days. And there it was; my great idea.  I had quit looking for a theme, and it was right there in front of me. What I see every day, drive by, through or around in the course of my life. Day Trips.

We plan magnificent vacations and travel for days and fly a thousand miles to see something new, we read of exotic locations that leave us wishing we were anywhere but here. Yet sometimes 'here', that place within a few minutes of home, is lovely too; rich with color, texture and mystery.

 

©2013Patricia Scarborough  Harvested   12 x 12 oil

Day Trips is a call to attention, a kind suggestion that you, I, all of us, tuck our pads, pods, phones and readers away for awhile and lift our eyes to the world in front of us, right where we are.

Day Trips is an exhibit of new work opening at The Burkholder Project in Lincoln, Ne. on July 3rd, and available for viewing through July 31st, 2013.  I'm sharing exhibit space with ceramic artist Sharon Ohmberger. Our opening reception is during Lincoln's First Friday Art Walk on Friday, July 5th from 7 - 9pm. Looking forward to seeing you there!

HH Day

 

Happy Father's Day to my Handsome Husband, who has not only been a husband extraordinaire for the last 37 years, but a fine father to our two much-loved  sons.

HH, you've been an inspiration and guide for the fam for a good long while. Thank you.

We're off to go do Father Stuff today. I don't mind one bit.

Day Trips - Abundance

©2013 Patricia Scarborough  Abundance 12 x 12 oil

We've had some fantastic rains here lately. Also some tornadoes, high winds, a little hail, but let's not dwell on that.

This is one of my favorite places to check when I drive west out of town. Across the county line, in a field of tall wavy grass, there is a shallow puddle, a sliver in the grass that reflects the blue sky. 

After our recent downpours  the pond filled beyond capacity, overflowing into the old creek bed.  The entire field felt swollen with abundance and anticipation. And sky.

This will be part of my Day Trips exhibit at The Burkholder Project in Lincoln, Ne.,with ceramic artist Sharon Ohmberger, opening July 5th.  Consider yourself invited.

Remembering

It appears that for the last 4 years I have managed to write a Memorial Day post.  And so I shall again.

@Patricia Scarborough 2013   Cemetery Road  12 x 12 oil

This old road leads to two cemeteries just a couple of miles apart, far out from town. It is home to veterans  who served in many wars around the world. 

Before you dash out to your first picnic, ball game or fishing hole, take a moment to consider how it has come to be that you have the ability – freedom if you will – to do just that.

The original Memorial Day was created to commemorate those men and women who died in our Civil War. It has since come to be a day to honor all who have died in military service.

Regardless of your political stripes, you’ve got to admit it takes tremendous fortitude to put on a uniform and serve a government with whom you may or may not agree. A bullet whizzing past your ear sounds the same whether you are Democrat or Republican, or anything in between.

You may pass a cemetery on your way to the lake, family picnic or ball tournament. As you do, consider whispering a quiet ‘thank you’ to those buried there – or anywhere, who died in the line of duty. Include their families in that gratitude, who shared their loved ones with us. For us.