Still Life with Strawberries

Last week I posted about an art show that I wasn't really excited about participating in. I was very busy with my daily paintings and I had a show to hang that week....However, I had a lot of glass stock sitting in my studio and a dear friend in need, so I went ahead and decided to set up at the show and sell my glass wares, with proceeds to benefit my recovering friend and his family.

My mom was always a giver and a helper. If there was someone sick or in need, she was the first to bake meals or do what she could. This is a perfect example of how kids learn by watching their parents. My mom never forced us to be that way, but my brother, sister, and I are all the same. We would give the shirt off our back to anyone that asked, or jump in to stop people from beating their children in public. This could be a bad thing, as I've learned, because some people take advantage of givers and people like me who don't like to say no. But I still think us humans are basically good, and at my age, I don't plan on changing.

A few years ago, I worked for the Boys and Girls Club...my kids were a little too old to be trick or treating, but they did anyway, and I told them how many of the young kids at the club didn't have parents that would take them around or it was too unsafe to go where they lived. They donated all their candy without me asking. I was so proud. I told them God would repay them 10-fold someday....they didn't get what I meant until the following week. One of my sons had entered a contest at the library and he was called to pick up his prize....a giant bag of candy. I could have kissed the librarian for validating my promise to my kids.

while I didn't enter this show for a 10 fold reward, life surprises us sometimes. The organizer of the event who encouraged me to join in the first place introduced me to a wonderful young woman who owns a gallery in a neighboring town. She offered to take all my remaining glass that doesn't sell off my hands and sell it in her shop. Blessings in disguise, my mom would tell me.

Today's painting is another version of the still life I set up with strawberries last week...I really like how the pewter pitcher turned out.