Ripples and Wishes

Coins in a fountain at the Bellsouth (Batman) Building, Nashville, TN.

Cymbalic Gesture

Nashville was fun, but I’m glad to be back. I have logged more hours in a car than anybody should in a one-month period. It’s been a busy, but really fun summer, though, and I loved checking out Music City! I could totally live there.

YeeeeeeeeHAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!

I’m off to Nashville!

Back in a week or so.

Groceries

This is my daughter, Olivia, “shopping” for toy groceries at Edventure museum in Columbia, South Carolina. It’s a cool exhibit — the kids can load their baskets up with kid-sized versions of adult groceries and actually scan them at real working cash registers. There are hands on lessons about money and nutrition.

The health lessons, however, were pretty much lost on my older two sons, who raided the junk-food aisles:

That ice cream does look pretty tempting, though…

Big Day

Yesterday was the dedication of my installation project, and it was an exciting day, for sure! The installation is a meditation trail commissioned by the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, and it consists of 14 tiled “mile markers” that depict the Stations of the Cross. This is my first ever commissioned project, and probably the biggest project I’ve ever done! I am really pleased with the way everything turned out, though. I had some great help — some of my best students helped me throughout the project, and I couldn’t have done it without them.

I was also commissioned at the same time to paint a mural in the balcony of the gymnasium at Camp Tygart (near Elkins, WV — same location as the trail). That was completed last summer. The gym got a shiny new coat of red paint (to cover up the 1950s green, thankfully) and it really looks great. I didn’t know anything about the gym being painted, but they did a fabulous job of painting around the mural. *whew!*

I got to meet some interesting people at the dinner, dedication and reception — John Yelenic, the Superintendent of WV Catholic schools, and Bishop Michael Bransford, among many others. It was an awesome evening!

(That’s my husband and unwitting assistant for the project, Mike, on the left, Bishop Michael Bransfield in the middle, and me on the right. Do I look nervous? I was. Really.)

I still have one more phase of this project to complete — a huge 5-part painting to go in the camp’s dining hall. The subject of this painting is the Sermon on the Mount. Funny, I’ve never done any religious art before this commission, but I’m really enjoying this project.

Lighthouse

Ponce Inlet Lighthouse, near Daytona Beach, FL.

Drive-by posting

I’m not really here… just wanted to upload these cool photos of some kids’ building toys before taking off again for Nashville.

Anybody know what these toys are called? My kids loved them. Heck, I loved them! We all played with them at Edventure in Columbia, South Carolina — even the grownups! I need to buy some.

See you in August!

Carpe You Some Diem won’t be updated until August due to the fact that I’m going to carpeing my own diems until then. I’ll be traveling a lot and have a big project to finish, and really won’t have time to update until I get back from all of it at the beginning of August. Until then, I hope you’re all out doing wonderful things and enjoying life. Carpe you some diem! See you in August!