There are times when life tosses things at us, tosses things to us, and takes things away from us. The thing is we can't honestly predict the future. There are no facts in the future someone wise once said to me.
Recently I found out that I was going to be a grandmother. Woah that was something that took me entirely by surprise when I heard the words. I instantly was overcome with deilight, and amazement. My baby is having a baby! then I got the second bit of news. They wanted me to be in the delivery room. Woah! I was both honored and terrified. I didnt know if I had what it took but I sure as heck was going to show up and give it a go. The experience was heartwarming, educational, funny, inspiring and amazing. And now we have this little bundle of sunshine, puke, giggles, joy and pure wonder, and we cant imagine our lives without him. I painted the piece above for him. The words "It takes a village to raise a child" are said to be an African proverb. and I added the part below that reads "And that child bonds us all together." the idea behind this piece is to have everyone close in this little guys world to sign their names to the piece along the longitude and latitude lines. Doing so is to say we are here for you, we are your family, whether we be friend or family, we are all bonded together by you dear one. When he is old enough to sign his name and understand what it means to add it to the piece, to his village, then he can do so.It is my hope the piece will live a long life aside him and that names will be added to it for as long as he so wishes.
Now if that’s not enough for the universe to have thrown my way how about this. Years have passed since the car accidents that altered my physical self. I went through a lot of rehab, some surgeries, and put in a great deal of work to recover and become a woman of physical strength once again. Now, it seems the surgery has come undone, and I find myself currently with 5 torn muscles and ligaments in my shoulder. One might think i tried to lift a bus from the bottom of the sea in order to have done this, but it just took a bit of living and here I am, once again, slightly broken.
Okay, am I happy about this recent toss from the universe? hell no. but will I rise to the occasion? hell yah. Why? because thats what life is all about. "It is better to light a candle, than to curse at the darkness" a wise Eleanor Roosevelt once said. I happen to have a soft spot for Eleanor Roosevelt. She was a strong woman with a wise head and heart, and it seems, if family stories are correct, that she was a friend of our grandmothers. I dont know if the stories are true, but either way, I like her take on many things. "Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one." Another one of my favourtites. I strive to honour my individuality in my personal life as well as my art. The subjects I paint, the mediums I choose, all vary on a regular basis. I swing from one to another with great comfort. I am proud to announce that I have just been featured in the November/December '2018 issue of Boulevard Magazine Okanagan! The piece is entitled "Have Paintbrush Will Travel" and the link can be found on my website www.pattyfeist.com or by following this link https://issuu.com/boulevardlifestylesinc/docs/2018_11_blvdok_web/26
Thank you David Wylie for writing the piece and Darren Hull for the photography.
So you see, life is here to keep us on our toes. i didnt see the baby coming, I didnt see my shoulder breaking again, and I certainly was not expecting to be featured in this beautiful Magazine. I have my baseball mitt ready to catch whatevers coming my way. Do you? Come on people, this is our life, let's bat it out of the park!