Inspiration
3 Things I’m Thinking About This November
This November has me thinking about a lot of things that on the surface don’t seem to have much in common. What does my birthday, All Saints Day, the Election, and Charles Dickens have in common?
Read MoreThey Are All Long Shots
“They are all long shots.” Those words reverberated in my bones. All of it, all these risks we take, they are all long shots. If you keep pulling back that bow, one of these times you are going to hit the target. The thing about trying and missing is that you are going to get better.
Read MoreThe Story of Hempel Studios, Part IV
For the people who visit Our Lady of Mercy, the sculptures point us to the Divine. The Stations of the Cross illustrate the Passion. They don’t merely retell an historical event but attempt to uncover some of the deeper spiritual truths. The Virgin Mary is celebrated as the mother of God but also as a woman whose act of faith changed the world. Her husband, St. Joseph, stands as a reminder to fathers and husbands of the important role that God has for them.
Read MoreThe Story of Hempel Studios, Part III
In my image, St. Joseph sits in his workshop with his carpenter’s angle in one hand dropping into his lap. A hammer and nails on the floor remind us of Christ’s passion. Joseph has just heard word from the angel in his dream about Jesus, and he stares into his hand, “Me, a father? The Son of God?!”
Read MoreThe Story of Hempel Studios, Part II
Most people imagine the artist caught up in fits of passion, creating, oblivious of the needs of daily life. We picture the sculptor chipping away in a frenzy of artistic ecstasy. The most exciting part of creating art is indeed the conceptual phase at the beginning.
Read MoreThe Story of Hempel Studios, Part I
God gave me a vision of a sculpture that I had to make. I pulled out a pen and sketched out the image on an overturned piece of stationary. I drew an image of a woman, shown from the waist up. Her head and eyes turned dramatically to one side as her body twisted in the opposite direction. The visual effect was that of a spiral.
Read MoreA Tale of Two Aprons
put on my kitchen apron. My aprons keep my clothes cleaner, certainly, but they are important for managing that mental shift I make everyday from working artist to working mother.
Read MoreTrade Your DoomScrolling for a Book
I’ve been plugging my phone in earlier in the evening and spending that time reading. It’s amazing how many pages I’ve been able to read! T
Read MoreOn Walking
I had been feeling panicked about not getting enough work done or paying enough attention to this thing or that, but I have been giving my mind and body exactly what it has needed- a reset.
Read MoreHow a simple reframing can help your life feel less chaotic
I cannot keep a schedule, but I can keep a rhythm.
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