Smarter than a plastic box: Poika got the catnip out two days in a row.

Lempi can tell time

The Adventures of Flash Meridian.

Today my son and I went out and did some rubbings of historical markers near my house. I brought along a few different art supplies to try, since I had never done this before. Hard compressed charcoal worked best for me today. The paper was an old roll of exam table paper that my dad gave me last July.

My grandfather used to make rubbings on his travels, and they had some of these displayed in their home.

I’m practicing for when I visit the graves of my ancestors.

In the meantime, I’m enjoying this new way to make art out of words.

Everything is subject to change, and that is certainly the case with artistic projects. I may have an idea about the finished product in my head before I start, but the end result will not be a duplicate of that. There are so many variables and surprises along the way. Flexibility is key.

When I set out on a road trip, I don’t know what detours, traffic conditions, animals, mechanical problems or physical factors I will encounter along the route. I need to adapt. It is the same in art, and pretty much everything in life.

My survival often hinges on a change of plans. This is not failure, it is an opportunity to learn and succeed.

Inspiration can come from anywhere if I am open to receive it.

I have this idea to start a group for artists. I’ve gone to artist’s meetings before. I want mine to be very different. Not formal, and with no obligation. Just creative people getting together. This could happen around a bonfire, or just lounging in patio chairs on a deck. We might talk about art. We probably would. But it wouldn’t be a necessity. We might look at work, but maybe not. We might create something together, just having fun, and collaborating in some medium that we might not usually use.

I had the same idea about an unstructured support group for parents. Not stuffy. Not the kind of group where you sit in a circle and wait for someone else to talk. Just parents, getting together. Talking about parenting if they need to, but mostly just being there for each other and having fun.

We don’t always need a sermon or a lesson plan. Sometimes we need to do or just be.

My spiritual and religious self are connected to my creativity. My spiritual part is the invisible part of me that animates my body. Without that, my body would be a corpse. My spiritual part tells my physical part what to do, and as long as the body is able to obey those commands, I will create art.

The religious part is the part I fight against. It creates conflict, and that is a vital component in storytelling. You see, I don’t have friendly thoughts about religion. Does this offend you? I don’t mind. I’m happy for my parents’ faith. It has been a source of comfort and meaning for them. What a wonderful thing. For them!

This conflict has always driven my art. It’s been a tug of war, and the pull has shifted back and forth through various stages of my life.

A lot of it comes down to definitions. Semantics.

If you think you’ve got it all nailed down, I’m pretty sure you have missed the mark. That is none of my business. I wish you well!

I was taught to act like I believed something even if I didn’t, and that eventually I would come to believe it.

If something didn’t make any sense, I was to accept it by faith.

Oh no.

No, no, no.

Thank you all for your kind words and thoughts. We are happily adjusting to the addition to our family. I can’t say too much here, but I look forward to running into you around town! Our house is full, and we are very grateful. It’s taking a little longer for school enrollment, so we are enjoying a few extra days of family bonding.

I’ll be posting some information soon about new paintings available. Any proceeds from these will help with our transition. L came to us with very little. What he had was brought in garbage bags. We need to shop for new clothes and other necessities. Pretty much everything.

Check back here to hear about our story and what paintings are available, and where.

We love you all.

See what happens when I get busy doing something else? I stop writing for a while.

April. My daughter Summer came home for Easter weekend. The pandemic has made her visits few and far between lately. She is such a ball of energy! Joyful. It was wonderful to have her home again.

We did a little shopping on Friday since we were in Duluth.

On Saturday, I performed a wedding on a beach. It was the most perfect day. The weather was warm and the day was sunny. Raymond took pictures.

Easter Sunday we had Luuka with us. We grilled our dinner outdoors over the fire.

Monday we went back to Duluth and had to say goodbye to Summer, but while we were there, we got the message that Landon would be home on Tuesday.

We headed back to Grand Marais to get things ready for him. He arrived, and I took Wednesday off to spend the day with him.

Now it’s Wednesday night, and we will all be back in school tomorrow.

Every school day, I pick Luuka up, and then after school, he comes to my house until his dad gets off work.

This is an unusual post for me. It sounds more like a diary, and I guess that’s what it is.

April has been an amazing month already. It has all been about family. It has all been about love.

Spring is here, and I have a new lease on life.