Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Love is... Hope!


"Love is..." acrylic on board - 14x11 inches

This small painting holds so much meaning for "Me"... as it did for my Mom. It hangs in my studio now and will be passed on to one of my children when I decide the moment. It was painted as a Mother's Day gift for my Mom when "She" was struggling so to adjust to her the "home" where  she would spend her final days with my Dad. For both of them... leaving their home because they no longer had the health necessary to continue on there independently was traumatic... for home was everything to them. It defined them ... and everything that they derived pleasure from on the journey. For them ... "Home" was more than a house... it was a state of mind... a bastion against the outside din of the world they lived in... a haven where they could actively pursue Health ... Happiness and Freedom. In every corner, a sweet memory was couched of Christmasses long since passed... the many evenings of laughter and conversation between friends now departed. A sofa "manger"... where every newborn grandchild was first presented and welcomed into the Sherman family.

My parents were hardly saints... for they made mistakes in raising their children... as we all have... simply because no manual for parenting... instructions for assembly was available then... or came with anything other than the wisdom of parents and their experiences. We had our share of bad moments as all families will... for as long as the human species still builds nests to rear their young. However... I am and will forever be grateful  to both of them for their unconditional gift of love.... many sacrifices and the "map".... values which I have used to help guide me on my own journey. I truly hope... that if I leave my children nothing more in the way of an inheritence... it will be the knowledge that I truly loved each one of them as unique individuals adn that "I" am proud of them all... equally for their uniqueness... and their differences!

While I simply allow most  of my paintings to speak for themselves... this one is special... and seeing it hanging this morning.... just to my left in our indoor basement studio space caused me... think and  to write these words to share with my Friends. The subject of this painting comes directly from a setting and year in my life which was to become pivotal to my growth and development as an adult. This was my desk at Prince of Wales School in Brockville in Grade five. My teacher and mentor in that classroom was Miss Evelyn Mott... a teacher both revered and feared for her dedication and her high expectations of EVERY child in her care. Ironically... in her eyes... we were all "special needs students" who learned in very different ways.

Despite the fact that she was required to dispense curriculum according to an educational document (aptly) referred to as "the Grey Book"... she somehow managed to tailor it to the needs of the thirty-odd members of her class. Memory work underscored every core subject... from the Biblical Beatitudes... multiplication tables... to the required recitation by each student of iconic Canadian poems like Wilfred Campbell's "Indian Summer":
"Along the smoky hills
A crimson forest stands
And all the day a blue-jay calls
Throughout the autumn lands."

I loved this woman as a second Mother... simply because I knew and felt everyday that although she had high expectations of me... she loved me in an unusual way. She particularly recognized and honoured my predilection to draw and paint and offered art lessons to all every Friday afternoon using materials and techniques which incubated an inner creative spirit and added further to its development. Her words to me when submitting this crayon painting to the Annual Public School Hobby Show were to become the springboard which catapulted me into my lifelong pursuit of art in my personal and teaching lives... up to this very day.


" Me at Miss Mott's Apple Orchard"- crayon on manilla paper (c.1954)

This "painting"... from memory as well could well serve as my introduction to plein air painting because it is exactly in a ten year old's view of his world what lay before him. Miss Mott and her brother Harry (whom she lived with) owned an apple orchard on the northern outskirts of Brockville. They harvested and sold their "Macs" each fall and I would spend my Saturdays picking bushels of windfalls for them. I was accepted as one of their family... though neither ever married or had children of their own. My mom was not jealous of my "love" for Miss Mott... rather she encouraged it. She made special gifts like a green apron with an apple for a pocket which made Miss Mott cry when she opened it. I was always on the lookout for a way of "gifting" and repaying her for the contribution she made to my life and sense of self-esteem.

Though most good parents do in fact help develop self-worth in their children... it is the unconditional and unexpected "no stings attached" recognition of a gifted teacher which can have such a significant and often life long influence in shaping a young child's life. My journey has been blessed with such gifts... from "Givers"... who gave their all! I have made it my duty... and honour to contact as many of these individuals as I can to simply say "Thank you." I have myself received those thank yous... and each time it warms my heart and offers a sense of self worth.

In Newtown, several such individuals offered the supreme sacrifice of their lives to protect those innocents in their care. I live too far away to offer thanks to their surviving  family members and peers. But over this week, I have written posts using more carefully chosen words and thoughts than is the usual case. They are sent to offer everyone in that grieving community the gift of my "presence"... through my words. I feel your sense of loss and grief. Your loved ones have not died vainly... if their going acts as the catalyst to our countries are driven by a public outcry and a demand ....that these too numerous needless and obscene tragedies end.

If  Heaven and God do exist... and my Faith and Hope continues to believe so... Miss Mott and these individuals lost far too soon and wretchedly will already be in Paradise... for no other reason than the fact that lived and died... embraced in Love. Therefore...  Hope and Forgiveness can survive and offer an epitaph that we must all remember... and honour in our daily lives!

Give Love a chance! I send mine... unconditionally and fully. Let... "Love lift us [all] up to where we [all]... can  belong" !

12 comments:

  1. Your words and thoughts are just beautiful, Bruce. I love the painting that was your mom's. It is really stunning. Too, I am glad to see that I am not the only one who likes order, which I see in your 10 year old "painting."

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  2. Good Morning Sherry!... Your presence this morning means a great deal to "Me"!

    The events in the US have greatly disrupted my state of Happiness. The horror of that snen in Newtown summons up demons in my own past which I had thought were quieted.

    I left teaching because I had born witness to much violence and abuse heaped upon my students. The helplessness that I felt almost consumed "Me". It has taken a great deal of time to overcome the horror that I saw in my school.

    I can only imagine... but in my own way understand their sense of loss... futility and anger!

    I am working my way through this bad time... as so many otheres around the world are... everywhere and not just in the US. It is my Hope... that our voices... joined in unison... can overcome and reset a new pathway to Peace and the Pursuit of Happiness... for everyone... especially our innocent children!

    Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts Sherry. And yes... order was then and remains important to "Me". How can one find Happiness out of chaos? Some say it is possible. I wonder?????....

    Good Painting!
    Warmest regards,
    Bruce

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  3. beautifully done bruce! and such a moving post. enjoy the holidays my friend.

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  4. Than kyu for visiting Susan... I have soo missed our chats and sharings!

    I have not forgotten you either. Both... You and Tim have been much in my thoughts ... for avery long time!

    I will explain myself more fully in a private email!

    Wishing you Peace and Happiness!

    Good Painting!
    Warmest regards,
    Bruce

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  5. Beautifully stated, Bruce.

    Hoping that you and yours will share a warm and loving Christmas and New Year.

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  6. Good Morning Marian! ... Thank you for visiting!

    Thanks to for your interest in the blog over the years. It is so great to be able to share ideas with other kindred spirits!

    A very Merry and Peaceful Christmas to you and yours!

    Good Painting!
    Warmest regards,
    Bruce

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  7. A beautiful and poetic post Bruce, very heart felt. I am at the library and hope to get back here before Christmas day! Wishing you a very happy festive holiday Bruce and may you have a very happy painting year ahead laddie!

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  8. Hi Bruce, the painting is wonderful, both in technique and in sentiment. It seems so appropriate to these times.

    I hope you enjoy the Christmas break and the comfort of your family.

    Happy Christmas to you and Deb
    from
    Keith and Elaine.

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  9. This is a wonderful painting Bruce and such a heart-felt and moving post.
    Merry Christmas to you and yours

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  10. Good Morning Highland Lass!... So good to hear from you!Thank
    you for your encouragement and sharing over the past year! It is always a great pleasure to visit and share back n'forth!

    Have a wonderful Christmas with your family!

    Much Peace and Good Painting!
    Warmest regards,
    Bruce

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  11. Good Morning Keith... Thank you for your visit and for your always encouraging thoughts!

    Like you... I do feel and respond to events in the world around me and am at times deeply affected by these events... even too deeply I'm afraid for my own good!

    I do take great comfort in the love and constant support of my wonderful family as do you! They are a blessing in my life!

    Merry Christmas Keith!

    Good Painting,
    Warmest regards,
    Bruce

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  12. Good Morning John!... Thank you ever so much for your kind words and Christmas best wishes!

    I send back those best wishes for a very Merry and Joyous Christmas Season to you... and yours!

    Good Painting!
    Warmest regards,
    Bruce

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