Newsletter

Yesterday afternoon I took a long break from wrapping and packing paintings for the Spring Stratford Studio Tour and sat in our garden with a delicious murder mystery which had been recommended by friends. I looked around occasionally to enjoy the flowers and redbud blooming. The lilac will soon be in bloom too. Its scent always reminds me of home since my parents' garden had a wonderful lilac hedge running across the bottom of the yard. i was reminded, too, of a man i worked with who gave me some forget-me-nots from his garden with the remark, "Plant these in your garden and you will always remember me." He was right. They pop up everywhere reminding me of him.

As I read, the resident male cardinal began singing his heart out. The sound coming from our neighbours' maple tree reminded me of the celebratory pealing of church bells and continued for almost an hour. I decided, with no proof at all, that he must be announcing the arrival of his offspring to the world. Today both the male and the female cardinal have been feeding constantly. This is unusual for them as they normally feed in the early morning and again in the evening. I have decided, again with no real proof, that they are busy feeding their young. Since life isn't a murder mystery, I find that I have no need of proof. I can tell myself and others whatever story amuses or makes us happy. Do any of you ever do this? I come from a long line of story tellers. Some stories are truer than others, some contain lots of exaggeration, but all are entertaining, and completely true or not, there is always a grain of truth in them somewhere. It occurs to me that the same can be said of my paintings. They are exaggerations of colour and form, embroidering the truth (as my mother used to say) to make something which speaks my own truth in my own way.

I am now almost ready for the Stratford Tour and am looking forward to the coming weekend. Stratford is such a pretty place, especially at this time of year. I hope some of you are able to visit me during the tour. You will find me at #7 on the tour map, 46 Norman Street.

Other opportunities to show my art may be at hand. I have entered some juried shows which will take place in the summer. If my work is accepted I will give you more information in upcoming newsletters.

Thank you to all of you who visited my home and studio during the London Studio Tour. I enjoyed the chance to visit with you. Winners of my raffle as well as the Passport Winners have now all been contacted. Congratulations to all of you. 

Thank you to all of you for reading and responding to my newsletters. Enjoy the spring season, tell yourself some stories, embroider the truth, and when all else fails, read a good murder mystery.

Sue