So the annual Grand Rapids Festival of the Arts has come and gone and I am still trying to interpret how I feel about it this year.

The Festival celebrated its 50th year, this year, but somehow didn’t feel as momentous as it should. 50 years is a big deal! And truthfully it feels a little anticlimactic. Maybe it is just me, but it feels like there has been a change in the way the community participates in Festival. Attendance feels down, the number of food booths has practically been halved compared to previous decades, and most of all I don’t sense any buzz or chatter about attending.

I love going to Festival and still look forward to it every year. I enjoy the crowds, and running into familiar faces. I bask in the energy and celebration of the different art forms, and being surrounded by the grilling food and music from the many stages. It all is invigorating to me. But it feels like there has been a collective shift. I sense that the people who attend are mostly families and friends of participants instead of crowds looking for something to do, or the curious observers of art or those who want to be exposed to new art and art forms. When I ask friends and co-workers if they are going, many decline or share that they aren’t interested. I grew up anticipating this once-a-year celebration and am baffled by people who don't feel the same way.

It used to be that THAT was the place to be, or at least it felt that way to me. The colors, sights, sounds, art, music AND PEOPLE!  The most people I saw in one place might be at church or a football game, but THIS was a gathering of people on the move. People laughing, and singing, and walking, and dancing. You could sit and people watch, or travel from booth to booth nibbling and sharing. It felt like the best things in life. If that all still exists, why aren't the masses drawn to the Festival?

There are always the people who 'don't like crowds' or those intimidated by parking downtown. But if the population of Grand Rapids is still growing, why aren't the festival crowds growing? If I try and analyze it, I suspect that there are other, more regular opportunities that is taking some of the 'specialness' out of this one-time-a-year event. (Like how the Wizard of Oz used to be special because it was once a year, and now you can stream it anytime or buy the DVD and it isn't so special anymore.)  Artprize now draws large crowds to downtown for free and that has the atmosphere of carnival that Festival used to have. And we now have weekly free concerts in spots around town on different days of the week for music lovers to gather. Is it marketing that isn't getting through? Is it just the fact that another generation has grown up and it doesn't hold the same appeal?

All I know is that the things that make Festival great, are the things that make LIFE itself great: art, music, family, fun, and food! We can all search out ways to get our regular dose of art to enhance our lives. If you haven't attended Festival in a while, make it a point to visit next year. It is always the first full weekend in June. Mark it on your calendar! I'll be there!

As for the future of Festival, I have a couple of suggestions.

1.  Since eating whole-food, plant based, (a vegan diet) there aren't choices for me to eat down there. I used to be able to buy a walking salad, or veggie noodles, but those booths aren't participating anymore. I'd like to see more healthy choices available that aren't dripping in butter or oil (most cultures have vegan dishes, I'd like to see them participating).

2.  I'd also like to go back to a ban on bringing pets to the Festival. I may be a party pooper, but I was disheartened to see all the animals (even though on leashes) with owners not being responsible. All the noises and crowds really freaked out a lot of pets. I saw terror in their faces, and owners handling them roughly when they were having normal reactions to people and noises. I saw innocent pedestrians being tripped by leashes of distracted owners. I witnessed owners not paying attention as their dogs ran right up to the faces of babies of people they don't know, and the dogs licked the babies, since they were at the same level, and the owners laughed it off. I'd be infuriated, in fact I was and it wasn't even my child. Some people aren't responsible and endanger others, so we should have rules to protect others. No pets at the Festival, please. 

If you go, what draws you in? If not, why do you think people refrain from visiting the Festival?

I look forward to going. Maybe one of these years, my art will be accepted into the Festival Competition. That'd be a dream come true.

I'm working on it.

This is a chalk pastel drawing of the Calder Plaza at the Festival. I tried to loosely capture the COLOR of the moment.





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To some, Memorial Day is a day off from work to enjoy the everyday things we enjoy such as family, food, and fun. For others, Memorial Day is a day to visit the cemetery and remember parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters, and those we love who have passed on. It is important to take time to keep in mind those that can no longer enjoy the pleasures of life on this earth. Keeping each of them in mind is like keeping a part of them alive.

But on Memorial Day, we can take that one step further, and remember why this holiday was designated: to honor the men and women who died serving in the U.S. Military. Each individual left his or her family to fight to preserve our rights and freedoms.

We celebrate those who made that sacrifice, and whose lives were changed by serving in the military. I'd like to thank those close to me who are still serving; a shout out to nephews Elton and Hunter, and to other family members who are proud veterans: Father-in-law Bill, Brother-in-law Jim H, sister Mary Therese,  nephew Bob B and cousin Tom W.  Remembrances for veteran uncles Bob and Milo whose lives were changed because of the war and who have passed away.

Thank you for your service! I'll continue to keep you in mind and in my prayers of thanksgiving.

​I'm working on it.

I recently had an echocardiogram that reaffirms my awe of the human body. Lying in the dark, watching the images on the screen, I was fascinated to see my own beating heart. It was pumping and working away so hard; amazingly I had the ability to just watch it and be grateful. I said out loud "thank you little heart - keep going - don't stop". The technician must have thought I was a bit crazy. To think my whole existence depends on a muscle to keep going. It gets no rest, no good-days and bad-days, no vacations - just non-stop pumping. I think about how often I get a muscle leg cramp or foot cramp. My heart is just a muscle, too. What if it decides to just cramp up or have a weird glitch?

All our lives hang in the balance of tissues and muscles getting signals to continue on. That is sobering. Our bodies are so wonderfully made. They take so much abuse and just keep on doing what they do - usually without much thought from us. Yet, we often are shocked when something is wrong or a disease infiltrates. But when looking at all the things that can go wrong with the human body, it's a wonder any of us are well at all. We are really just at the mercy of the next heartbeat or the next breath.

So a big shout out to my heart....and yours...for doing such a marvelous job. KEEP ON beating little hearts....we are so grateful.



Note - In case you were wondering, Heart Disease runs in our family, and we have lost a few dear, loved ones because of that condition. I recently had some heart 'rhythm' issues come up, so I am getting that checked out. The best I can do is eat responsibly, keep moving, and be aware of any changes. Please take care of yourself, be kind to your body, and I'll do the same.

After this loooooooong winter, spring has sprung in Michigan! The trees now have tiny buds, and green is making its way up from the earth and is emerging from the brownish-gray branches. I love the vibrancy of the green. This is a watercolor base over which I worked some chalk pastel and prisma pencil. I tried to capture a splash of green….not too fussy. I love the awakening of color.

Here are two sketches from my sketchbook done June 1999 on our family trip to Mackinac Island. 

I had glued some dark paper in my sketchbook so I could use chalk pastel. This location is the view from Mission Point beach on Mackinac Island. [Go to the navigation bar at the top of the page 'About. . .' to see more information about Mackinac Island.]

My process: I've used this technique in other drawings on this blog.  I use a medium value of paper, then I can add a dark line, and lighter color for highlights, and it hits the whole range of values and makes it feel complete.

Here's my boy!  This is a sketch from the same sketchbook, that I didn't complete in color. It is of our son, who was 4 at the time resting in the umbrella stroller, when we were on the same vacation on Mackinac Island. You can see the horse and carriage, and a bike in the background. It must have been at Arch Rock. 

There is something about this sketch I like (besides the subject matter), I think it is the varied lines weights on the darker paper. The tone reminds me of old master's drawings.  

This is the famous landmark of Grand Haven, Mi. We had gone out to see the effects of our frigid winter on the pier and channel. It was below zero windchill that day. In this drawing, I wanted to capture the day where everything was white or gray with the exception of the pier. At this point in our relentless winter, I've had enough of the endless snow and ice and dream of the return of sunshine.  BUT, this is PURE Michigan, and I love the beauty of the seasons. 

My process: I chose a blue-gray paper so that would be the basic color of the scene. I used marker for the line drawing, then used chalk pastel. I added darker gray for the ice and shadow, and light blue for the sky. I used workable fixative to set that layer and then went in with white over the top.

I love my little red girl, Windry. She is a 'Red' Shiba Inu. She's dainty and beefy at the same time. She is charming and beautiful. I haven't really drawn her much, because the task is a bit intimidating. I haven't been able to capture her beauty so far. But I am determined to get her on paper! This is a study for a future book I am working on. She is lying on the ottoman in her favorite sunspot.  

My process: It is drawn on a brown grocery bag. I like the tone for her coloring. It is done with marker and then a few accents of chalk pastel on top.