Recent Awards:

  

I am pleased to report that I was awarded Renner First Place 2-D at the Park Forest Art Show in Park Forest, Illinois, September 20-21, 2014.  The award was for the entire body of work in my booth, not just one specific piece.  The Park Forest Art Fair is the second oldest show in the Chicagoland area in a very special community.  The organizers were wonderful and the show a pleasure to do!  Thanks Park Forest!  I am truly honored.

I am also thrilled to announce that I was awarded the Third Place Prize for the plein air, snow painting entitled, "Hazy Snowy Day, February 18, 2014" in the Juried Member Exhibition for the Indiana Plein Air Painters Association held at the Hoosier Salon Gallery, 22 Rangeline Road in Carmel, Indiana, on exhibit from November 8  through December 7, 2014, so there is still time to catch the show.  The juror, Tom Post of Cincinnati, selected 100 plein air paintings by 47 artists to be included in the exhibition.  IPAPA is one of the largest plein air organizations in the country with lots of great talent so I am humbled and honored to not only have three paintings in the exhibit but to win an award!  The reception was packed with people so it was hard to see the artwork.  I need to run up to Carmel to pick up frames sometime soon so will drop by the show again to actually see the paintings this time.

Here is the award winning painting:
"Hazy Snowy Day, February 18, 2014", oil on panel, 16" x 20", by Charlene Marsh

 

Thanksgiving and the miracle in losses.

Sometimes miracles happen when you least expect it.  Sometimes they happen and you don't even know it...until later. 

Meegy in his last hours.

I wrote this in my e-newsletter dated October 7, 2014(Scroll down for updates): 

"As you may remember from my last e-newsletter, my adult size Shetland pony(my pet term for the ponies), Amigo(Meegy) had been very ill most of the summer and, sadly, had to be euthanzied on August 29, 2014.  I wrote a blog about him here.  I ran into one of his original owners(who had purchased his mother, Missy, when she was pregnant with him) about ten days later and broke the heart wrenching news to her and we both cried standing there in the produce section of Bloomingfoods.  Another ten days later, as I was pulling out of the driveway to head to a show in Chicago, I checked the mailbox and pulled out a plastic bag full of pictures with his sweet face on top.  Thunderstruck, I started crying all over again.  I couldn't look through the packet because I was already running late and knew I could spend an hour looking at them so I tucked them in my luggage to review later, in the hotel.  Later that evening, I carefully looked through the 30 odd pictures, mostly taken when he was a baby colt, before I adopted him, and a few from a visit after I had brought both Meegy and Missy home.  I must have looked at those pictures a dozen times over the weekend and vacillated from pure joy to pure tears and back again within minutes.  I still have Missy who is now 32 and blind.  She seems a bit disoriented without Meegy to help guide her.  I have to call her several times when I head to the barn as she doesn't seem to hear me at first.  Instead of two whinnies, there is only one.  His stall in the barn is empty.  There is a big hole in my heart and his mother, Missy's, heart."

Meegy and Missy in 2010.

One Miracle
Well, there is an additional twist to the story.   The original co-owner I ran into and to whom I told about Meegy's passing is named Suzanne and I sent Suzanne a thank you note via USPS mail(yes, some of us still mail letters), thinking she had dropped off the photographs of my beloved pony after she ran into me and heard he had died.  Then, just a couple of days ago, I ran into Jane, the other original co-owner, and asked if she had heard about Meegy.  She said "yes", that Suzanne had texted her after she got my thank you note and had asked if Jane had dropped off the pictures because she, Suzanne, had not!  At first I did not understand and kept asking, "Yeah, but who told you he had died?" thinking that is why she dropped off the pictures.  

As it turns out, when Jane dropped off those pictures, she did not know Meegy had just recently died!   She had those pictures for nearly twenty years and dropped them off to me within 2-3 weeks of his death, without even knowing he was gone.  When it hit me, I cried again and so did Jane.  I marvel at the magical, perfect timing of almighty God.  Those pictures meant more to me at the time I received them than if they had come years earlier. I relished each one as I looked through them over and over, remembering all the wonderful times we shared from the time he was a baby to the time of his death. 

Another Miracle
This reminds me of another magical, synchronistic connection about twenty years ago when I used to teach oil painting at the John Waldron Art Center in Bloomington, Indiana.  I was working on updating my student roster contact information and came across the name of an older gentleman who had taken my class over a period of several years.  He had quit coming to class and I had heard he got cancer and subsequently died.  Simply tossing out his name seemed so cold and a little voice told me to send his widow a note.  

So I wrote to her about how much I enjoyed him in my class, how much I enjoyed his lovely paintings, even citing one in particular, a still life with lots of golds and blues, and about how sorry I was to hear of his passing.  I dropped the note in the mail and forgot about it.  

A week or so later, I got a note back in the mail from her telling me about the day my note arrived.  She wrote about how she woke up that morning all depressed and ready for a sad day of crying and loneliness and feeling sorry for herself. You see, that day was their Fiftieth Wedding Anniversary and the first one with him gone.  She dreaded the day without him.  Then my letter arrived.  And she said when she opened and read that letter, it turned her day around to one of absolute joy and happiness.  I tear up a little every time I think about it - what perfect timing! - and the small part I played in God's magical plan to bring happiness to another and let her know she was remembered and special. And her husband was safe in the arms of God.

May God's mercy and blessings be upon you.  We need to be grateful every day for everything we have.  At this time when we focus on Thanksgiving, let us be thankful every day for our family, our friends, our homes, our automobile, the clothes we have, the food we eat, the sun and the rain.  And all the miracles that abound around us every day.  Pay attention to God's voice and do what He says.  You will never be sorry.  And know that even when things look bleak and dire, you are special and loved by God.

R.I.P.  Amigo(Meegy) Marsh

April 28, 1995 - August 29, 2014

My beloved pony, Meegy, passed over to heaven last Friday and I am left brokenhearted. 

I first saw Meegy as a baby colt, just a few days old.  Friends had acquired his mother, Missy, who was pregnant, and they needed to find a good home for the coming baby.  Having recently lost a horse, I was open to the idea of adopting him and, when he was five months old and weaned from his momma, I brought him home.  A year later, I brought Missy, his mother, home, too.  I wondered if they would remember each other and when she was unloaded into the pasture, the first thing he tried to do was nurse!   So funny seeing this full grown horse trying to nurse from his mother.  And she would have none of it!  

Both ponies were the Ponies of America (POA) breed, bred from Shetlands, Appaloosas, Arabians, Welsh ponies, and any other small horse or pony with a pleasant disposition.  Meggy's daddy was a mustang.  The POA breed was defined by the markings and size and evolved into a good natured horse safe for children.  I call them my "adult size Shetland ponies" and they were the absolute perfect size for me.  Not too big and not too small.  They are easy to train and easy to be around. 

Having never trained a horse before, I was diligent about studying various training techniques, taking seminars, and working with him regularly doing lots of ground work for the first two years until he was old enough to start training under saddle.  I primarily used John Lyons gentle, round pen techniques and Linda Tellington Jones' TTouch techniques.  There was no "breaking him to ride" but, rather, "starting him to ride".  And he loved every minute!

I was most interested in trail riding since I live next door to Yellowwood State Forest that is laced with miles and miles of horse trails.  I could ride out the front gate and hit the trails without trailering the horses anywhere.  With both Missy(who was already well trained) and Meegy, I had two wonderful, gentle, trail horses and spent many days riding with neighbors and family.  Every weekend and often on Wednesdays(it was addictive), I would be in the woods with the horses riding fifteen mile long trails before heading home.  This was one of the happiest times of my life.

Sadly, Meegy was diagnosed with Cushings a few years ago and developed laminitis.  This latest bout just got worse and worse and it became clear he was in big trouble.  My farrier, Darin Griffith, came out around noon and called a relatively new vet(five years out of school), Dr. Grant Minnemeyer, who could come out that day.  I was very impressed with him.  Despite having consulted three vets prior, Grant was the first to do a thorough, hands on exam of my pony.  He was calm, compassionate, and explained everything carefully and patiently.

Missy, who is now 32 and blind, kept watch over her son and the last day she would wander over and check on him periodically.  Then, when the vet was ready to give him the final shot, Missy came over and put her muzzle down to Meegy's muzzle while I held his head and he took his final breath.  Missy was with him when he took his first breath and she was with him when he took his last breath.  I marvel at her uncanny intuition to know exactly when the final moments were unfolding and walk over to be with him.  Animals are absolutely amazing and we can learn a lot from them. 

Missy, too, is starting to show signs of Cushings and I have put her on a special medication to, hopefully, mitigate the symptoms.  She is getting lots of extra attention to help her adjust to being a solo horse.  There are a couple cats down at the barn so they can keep her company, too.  Still, the emptiness is painful.  Instead of two whinnies greeting me in the morning, there is only one.  And one empty stall where Meeg would get his meals and stand patiently to have his hooves trimmed, sans halter.

My neighbor, Bob Woods, came out immediately after the vet left to dig a grave and bury my boy.  Bob just turned 82 today (Happy Birthday, Bob!) and is an amazing man.  He did the foundation for my house back on 2000 and has done some other excavating jobs for me through the years.  I remember one time he said he would not be able to make it on a certain appointed day because he had to dig a grave.  Digging graves were always the top priority because "they can't wait any longer".  And sure enough, he came out right away after the vet left (I had given him a heads up earlier in the day after my farrier left) and finished the job just as the sun was dropping below the horizon.  He told me he has had people call him at midnight and he gets up and goes.  It is something that simply must be done immediately.  

I marveled he was still working at age 82 and he said that he had noticed that a lot of guys he graduated with from the local Brown County High School would work someplace 25, 30, 40 years and then retire and do nothing.  He said he noticed that it wouldn't be too long before he was digging their grave!  He said he figures he still enjoys what he is doing so why not keep working.  He has cut back and slowed down but he still gets out there and I see him in his trucks, out and about, all the time.  I know I am very grateful he continues working and serving his neighbors who need him.  

In the end, I am very grateful to everyone who helped me through this difficult time.  I am grateful to those who helped with Meegy directly and those who helped with their thoughts and prayers.  Saying goodbye to a dear, beloved animal is never easy but being surrounded by good people makes it a bit easier.  Thank you to everyone.

We had a lot of excitement out here on Lanam Ridge Road today!  Day Two of the Memorial Day Weekend Open House and Exhibition started with a large, oak tree out front collapsing at 8:00 a.m. into the road bringing down power and phone lines and totally blocking the road and my neighbor's driveway.  His wife had just left for church a minute before the tree fell!  I am so thankful no one was hurt and that the tree fell away from my house.  The day was clear and calm - no reason for the tree to fall except that it was it's time.

County workers didn't get the road open for another four hours and the power was restored around 3:30 p.m.  The phones lines probably won't be fixed for awhile since AT&T isn't too interested in maintaining landlines.  But one of the guys said they would probably fix this cable because it was affecting so many people.  My cell phone only gets 0-1 bars out here so it is useless.  

But I am here and ready for Day Three of the Open House and Exhibition tomorrow on Monday!

Tree across Lanam Ridge Road.

View from my front yard.

REMC arrives on the scene to assess what needs to be done.

Shredded phone cable.

REMC working on restoring the power lines.

I am back in the studio after another adventure to Texas.  I traveled to Richardson, on the north side of Dallas, this past weekend to exhibit my paintings in the Cottonwood Art Festival, a truly delightful show.  Good art, good patron base, and perfect weather all in a lovely park setting next to a lake.  The organizers had a Hospitality tent with water and snacks for the artists and threw a buffet dinner party on Friday night after set up.  Sunday was sunny and hot but it was a dry heat and felt comfortable to me.  I was surprised that night, back at the hotel, when the news reported a high of 96 degrees!  I thought it was in the low eighties.  

I remembered to take my camera this time and got a few shots at the show. 

Check out this lovely little ballerina:

Wildflowers that welcomed us to the entrance of the park:

Here is the booth with the show tee shirts and lovely flowers and a glass sculpture out front.  The show gave all the exhibitors a voucher for a free tee shirt!  Thanks!  Not many shows do that anymore.

What a perfect spot to showcase one's art!

Good crowds all weekend.  Looks like someone found a painting to take home.

This is my booth at the show.  I adjusted the picture to possibly use as a booth shot in show applications and, since the jury requires anonymity, I covered my name in the sign.

All in all, a most pleasant and fun show to do.  One measure of "pleasant" for me is the level of cigarette smoke and this show had none!  The visitors simply did not smoke.  The only frog in the soup was another exhibitor who was smoking e-cigarettes during set up which would have been fine except that she was using some flavoring or fragrance in it that was a bit nauseating.  Luckily, I didn't smell it during the show and was very relieved.

Well, back to work catching up around the farm and getting ready for the next show! 

I am back in the studio after attending the Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival in The Woodlands(Houston), Texas last weekend.  What an adventure!  One highlight of the weekend was selling two oil paintings to Adrian Peterson, the NFL Most Valuable Player for 2013.  He plays for the Minnesota Vikings and, having been raised in Texas, he has a home in The Woodlands in the off season.  He bought the Creme Daffodils painting featured in my last newsletter and a brand new, tulip still life. 

Tulips in a Vase, c. 2014, 12" x 9", oil on panel, by Charlene Marsh, SOLD

The drive home was insane.  Eighteen hours straight – an hour longer than the drive down.  I had to drive through a torrential deluge from Texarkana to north of Memphis (about six hours) and then it settled down to just plain 'ole rain for the next six hours.  The last couple of hours (from the new I-69) was in a heavy, blowing snow.  Yes!  Snow!

The new I-69 has absolutely no services at all and I made sure to gas up near Evansville before turning onto it.  I think there were only two vehicles on the whole route.  The drive from my house to Evansville used to take over three hours on two lane roads but it only took me two hours on the new I-69 which is not even complete yet.  Still two lane roads from Bloomington to the Crane Naval Base where the new I-69 begins.  And, of course, two lanes from my house to Bloomington.

But the scariest part of the trip was in the stretch between Houston and Texarkana on Highway 59 (a four lane road with 75 mph speed limits and driveways with direct access). I was in the northbound passing lane when a semi trailer came across the median, through the grass, and came barreling south, down my lane, aiming for a head on collision!   Of course, I managed to get over before that happened.  I have no idea what happened to cause him to cross the median.  I called 911 and got passed off four times before reaching someone in the right county.  

This is the first time I have been to Texas and it is beautiful!  The wildflowers were all in bloom along the highway and made for a gorgeous drive.  I stayed with a lovely host family in their beautiful home in The Woodlands where a magnolia tree was one week from blooming.  The weather was comfortably, balmy and warm.  Most pleasant.  A wonderful change for the ongoing chilly spring we are having here.  A little rain on Sunday morning did not hamper or slow down the show.  In fact, my sales were best on Sunday!

I am looking forward to returning to Texas to do the Cottonwood Art Show in Dallas in a couple of weeks!

Great Blue Herons

I had to run into Bloomington today to pick up paintings from the Venue Gallery to take to my next show.  I was sitting at a stoplight near the College Mall when I spotted a Great Blue Heron flying overhead.  Seemed so unusual to spot one over the city like that!  They are so elegant and exotic and very distinctive with their curved neckline and long legs trailing behind.  I always think that seeing one is very auspicious.  Then, while walking in the forest later in the afternoon, I spied another one flying overhead!  Two herons in one day!  Most auspicious! 

The heron is one of my totem animals.  After all, the heron is a wader bird, king of the marsh!  Herons represent self determination and self reliance.  Heron people follow their own path and have a seemingly unstructured life lacking stability and security.  Heron people have a variety of skills that they can call upon and use to their advantage.  Heron people are unique and non-traditional and must listen to their own intuitive understanding to determine their best path rather than listen to "logical" advice from others.  Heron people need a wide range of skills and knowledge to stay interested and engaged.  The world is wide open to be explored!

The legs of the heron symbolize balance and independence as they balance on one thin leg while stalking their prey in shallow and deeper waters.  The heron, a lone hunter, must be able to stand on it's own.  Even though it's legs are thin, they are sturdy enough to support and sustain the heron.

As I prepare to start my show season with my first big show of the year in Houston, Texas next weekend, I take comfort in the message from the herons.  I have butterflies in my stomach as I feel both fear and excitement.  I have never been to Houston, never even been to Texas, and have never been to this show.  So much potential - potential for good and potential for problems.  But the herons remind me that I am up to the task, with the help and grace of God.