Mistakes Were Made

I’ve made some massive mistakes. Uh, just in the last month!

Mistake One: I quit my job. The one I love, have a passion for, and completely flow in my giftings of organization, typing, creativity and details. I resigned.

My husband and I told our pastors after service one Sunday that I had to resign. I was going to babysit my granddaughter 4 days a week. They were amazingly supportive, understood and prayed with us.

As Pastor Judy prayed, I cried. Not because I was sad to leave, but because already I had a clue I wasn’t doing the right thing.

The next week there were moments of, “Man, I’m glad I won’t have to do this [particular task] anymore.”

There were also moments of, “I don’t want to give this [particular task] up. I don’t want to stop doing this [particular task]. I’m going to miss the people in the community I work with. I don’t want to give my keys back. Who’s going to do this job? I know I’m going to criticize the work that comes out of this office now; I don’t want to do that. Are we going to have to leave this church?”

Endless thoughts and questions!

The next week was also the most trying time of babysitting my granddaughter I’ve ever had. Crying and screaming that would. Not. Quit! One afternoon was an hour and 20 minutes by the time my daughter came to get her. I love the girl, but I was ecstatic to hand her off!

That was the night I sent a text to Pastor Judy and said, “Please don’t say anything publicly yet. Can we talk Sunday? I’m feeling confused.”

How was I ever going to do this four days a week? I’ve always said I’m NOT cut out for daycare. I don’t like it. It’s definitely different with a grandchild - it’s more enjoyable, it’s easier, but it’s not the thing I enjoy most. (I feel like a terrible grandparent when I say that.)

My passion? Office work. (I’ve been in love with forms since I discovered them at 7-years-old!)

My husband and I did a lot of talking. I think we over-discussed it. But we were in agreement that I needed to revoke my resignation. Office work is life-giving for me. It’s my creative outlet. Where was I otherwise going to have that?

The next Sunday we had lunch with Pastors Keith and Judy and they were relieved when I revoked my resignation. I was relieved. I knew it was absolutely the right thing to do.

Mistake Two: When I arrived at my job the week before Christmas, I was trying to set up for the day. Unlocking drawers, setting up my laptop, switching from boots to shoes, checking email on my desktop…ah, the email.

With too many things to distract me, I tried to plow through some emails to catch up and get them cleaned out. There was one from USPS Same Day. It told me a package could not be delivered because nobody was at our office to receive it.

True. I’m only there two days a week.

“Click on the attachment for further instructions.”

You know where I’m going, don’t ya? Yep. I. KNOW. BETTER! But distracted. *Click* and a flash. What was that? Hmm, nothing seems to be happening so I must be ok.

Then my laptop (thank you, Jesus, I had my laptop on!) started showing notifications about Dropbox files being updated.

Long story, short, I downloaded an encryption virus. I had to delete my Dropbox account, but fortunately the virus hadn’t made it to the server yet, so all other documents were safe. Although I’ve lost all my contacts and calendars because our IT guy had to rebuild my desktop.

It’s been 3 weeks since I did that and I’m still fuming mad at myself. I know better than to click on attachments, especially from a Canadian email address that claims to be from the US Post Office. How dumb can you be?

What is my point in sharing these mistakes? Life goes on. We can go back and admit our mistakes, ask forgiveness, change the situation as best we can and move forward.

The world didn’t end because I resigned, then revoked it.

The world didn’t end because I downloaded an encryption virus onto my computer that inconvenienced people for days because they had to work around that.

I know you’ve made some mistakes too. Some are way in the past - over and done with. But some may be recent. The past year, the past month - yesterday.

What can you do to resolve the situation? Sometimes we need to humble ourselves and admit our mistakes - then apologize for the inconvenience we cause everyone! (A la computers with viruses!)

Sometimes the only thing we can do is move forward, having learned from our mistake.

Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.
Philippians 3:13 [NLT]

Sometimes it’s just therapy to write about it and share your stupidity with the world! Because I know I’m not alone in making mistakes, and I want you to know you’re not either.

Care to share any mistakes you’ve made and how God redeemed them? Let's encourage each other.

Communicate In Love

I created this graphic a couple of weeks ago and put it on my social media. I'm so struck by the tone of our collective voices in this country lately.

There has been so much hate, anger, fear, concern - and rightly so in most cases. But yelling and violence isn't the answer to hate, anger or fear; I think it just adds to it.

Paul - you know Paul. Paul was a persecutor of Christians, he held coats while others stoned Christians. He called himself zealous and approved of it all!

That Paul. He tells us to speak truth in love.

Love.

OK, so something that is truth to you may not be truth to me. I'm thinking social-issue or politics-wise. What I believe to be true about something like abortion, is going to be different than what another believes. And we both believe we are speaking truth. Yet, in the disagreement, why is there so much hatred flung at each other? Why is there never a civil conversation?

Why aren't we speaking in love?

Why aren't we listening (in love), instead of being so quick to point out why the other is wrong so we can make our point?

When we argue and hate, nobody's mind gets changed.

Disagree, but don't be disagreeable.

My husband and I have an acquaintance who is gay. We love him to pieces and he's always such a joy to be around. I saw the fear on his Facebook page after the election, and that's what really got me to thinking about the way we talk to people.

As someone who believes the way he lives his life is not God's best for him, how would it help him, or me, or we as a society, if we told him how horrible he is and condemned him? No! I feel motivated to have a conversation with him and find out what his fears are and what I, just one individual, can do to help him feel a little less fearful.

And honestly, I feel motivated to love on him more than we already do, because he's such a loving, great guy.

I know some are pretty devastated by the election results. But ask yourself what you can do to help bring a healing narrative to your corner of the world. Whether it's abortion, gay rights, racial issues or just plain fear, what can we do to help bring love?

What words can you say in love?

How can you bring peace or hope to the fearful ones around you?

I know this seems off the topic of health. But doesn't it help us tell a better story with our life if we take time to listen? To understand? To just love someone and speak love over them?

Let's allow God to do the judging. Jesus just requires us to love.

God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love - like Christ in everything. Paul, Ephesians 4:15 [MSG]

Why This Isn’t Goodbye

Photo: Viktor Hanacek

Last week I had the opportunity to attend Storyline Conference in the Chicagoland area. I went last year and it was life changing; it was again this year.

We heard from so many amazing people who are living incredible stories. Please check out I’ll Push You (inspiring 5-minute video) and Jeremy Cowart (oh man, watch his TED Talk at the bottom the page!) and Bob Goff (and more) - you’ll be inspired too!

One of the breakout sessions I attended was with Joshua Becker. You’ve heard me mention him before. I had the privilege of having lunch with him in Nashville in August, I’ve talked about his blog becoming minimalist, and he has just launched The Hope Effect. (Don’t forget I need your help with that! I’m trying to raise $1200 for orphans.)

While Joshua didn’t really say anything I haven’t already heard him say, or have read on his blog, his story struck me in a deeper way this time. 

Living minimalist isn’t just cleaning the clutter out of our houses, but also out of our lives. I’m cleaning apps off my phone, unnecessary events from my calendar, relationships that don’t build me up or encourage me.

(I’m also cleaning out closets and drawers!)

The conference, paired with discussion with my traveling buddy, Nancy Bouwens from An Intentional Life, makes me believe God is leading me in a new direction.

While driving to church last week I thought about how the trees let go of their leaves in the fall, but it’s only for a season. The leaves will come back better and more beautiful in the spring. But if the trees don’t let go of the leaves, there’s no room for something new - there’s no growth.

For a season I need to let go of some “leaves”. They’re pretty leaves and I love my leaves, but just for a season I need to let them go. In the spring they can bud and be beautiful again. The only thing is, I don’t know what they will look like.

What I’m saying is, I’m going to take some time away from blogging.

One year ago after the Storyline Conference, I set out to write once per week, every week for this blog. I’ve accomplished that goal. I’ve told a story in 2015 that I wanted to tell, and I’m proud of myself for doing it!

Now, after Storyline 2016, I don’t know where God is taking me. I don’t know what story He wants me to tell this year. But I do know that my calendar is too full. My self-imposed schedule is too much for me to maintain. I’m making myself nuts with things I wonder if are really the most important things in my life to focus on right now.

So, for a season, I’m taking time off. I’m going to read the stack of books that I haven’t had time for. I’m going to coffee and lunch with people who love me the most and mean the most to me. I’m going to spend extra time with my princess granddaughter.

I’m going to be less of a slave to social media and spend more time connecting in real life and making memories for myself and my family and friends.

I’m going to take time to really listen to what God has for me and which direction He’s taking me.

I’m just going to slow down and rest.

I love writing and I will be doing lots of that as well. Maybe some of it will end up on this blog or in your email on occasion. Maybe I’ll be back with an entirely different blog in the new season. I don’t know.

So, this isn't goodbye, just a see you in the figurative spring.

Thank you for being faithful friends in this little community. You can still always reach me via Twitter and Facebook - I would LOVE to hear from you. ANYTIME!

Now go live your life and tell a great story!

I Know Where the Time Went

Kyle and Me, September 18, 2015

Most kids in West Michigan start school the day after Labor Day. My Facebook feed was filled with pictures of kids from pre-school through college on their first day. I joked on my Facebook that if I had one dollar for every hashtag “where did the time go” I could make a car payment!

Of course I was exaggerating, but not much!

Yesterday was my son’s 22nd birthday, and because of the where-did-the-time-go question, I thought about where 22 years went. Here's what I know.

The time went with basketball shoes and Snoopy t-shirts. 

It went with Bionicles, Legos and Beanie Babies.

It went with Veggies Tales, Spongebob, Strongbad and Homestar Runner.

It went with first days of school and summer vacations.

It went with bringing home a puppy and saying goodbye to her 10 years later.

It went with surprise movie dates and countdowns to movies we wanted to see.

It went with going to a NASCAR race and Wisconsin for vacations.

It went with parades - to watch as a little guy and to participate in when he was older.

It went with trips to Indianapolis for national marching band competition and becoming a state marching band champion. 

It went with going to concerts - school band concerts and professional concerts downtown. (Star Wars, Trace Bundy, John Williams’ Tribute, Blast!)

It went with guitar lessons and trumpet lessons.

It went with making up songs for everything when he was little to writing beautiful music on the piano.

It went with going to the fair for elephant ears and french fries.

It went with crazy YouTube videos and funny memes.

It went with Taco Bell lunches and meatloaf dinners.

It went with drivers ed and a graduation celebration!

It went with birthday parties, family reunions and funerals.

It went with struggles, hard times and adversity as well as joy, laughter and some of the best times in life.

Now it’s at college, chasing dreams, making new friends and finding new passions.

I can’t wait to see where the time goes in the future!

Happy Birthday, Kyle!

It was fun to stop and reflect on where 22 years went, and there is so much more to the story than these few lines.

It also reminds me that life is so short; 22 years really did fly by. I want to keep living life in a way that celebrates every day, because we just don't know when the time to celebrate will come to an end. I'm going to make memories, have fun, live huge and make the days count!

I’d love to hear where the time has gone for you and your family! Please share in the comments below or via Twitter and Facebook.

Choose Joy

Note: This is a guest post from my close friend, Nancy Bouwens. She is a simplicity coach, writer, speaker and wonder seeker! She loves books, laughter and coffee with the people she treasures most.

I believe in living a life of celebration. I believe the world we wake up to each day is incredibly full to the brim with more passion than we can contain and our hearts overflow with a deep aching for love and acceptance.

Choose Joy.

Mixed in with the celebration of life is also pain and great sadness. While we each face both joy and pain, life is not fair and some have more hard and ugly places than others.

Choose Joy.

When I look in the mirror I see a face and a neck which seem to belong to someone else. Time marches on but I am determined to navigate the next chapter of my life with grace no matter what comes my way.

Choose Joy.

Is it possible to live life full-out, doors open wide and wind in our hair until we cross from this life to the next? I want to be caught in the very act of living until my final breath.

Choose Joy.

It's a little bit rebellious perhaps to choose such an exuberant and out loud kind of life. It can make others uncomfortable. We could just live a normal, every day, quiet sort of life and save up all the good parts of living for someday. Much like saving the "good" dishes for guests who, if asked, would tell you they would much rather eat on plain paper plates in your backyard, with their feet up, listening to the night sounds and sipping great wine, instead of using fancy china and sitting inside on stiff chairs.

Choose Joy.

What if we looked at our life as a celebration? What if we saw it as our own special occasion? What if we could see through magic glasses, and understand with every fiber of our being we have been given an incredible gift, and we chose to take it all in - knowing we will not have this moment before us again?

Choose Joy.

We live in a beautiful world. Yes, there are awful parts of it, and there will be hurt and our tears and heartbreak will be huge. There are pieces of this life which should not be. But they are and we must keep breathing and standing and reaching upwards toward the hand of a God who loves us without measure and promises enough strength to sustain when all around us crumbles.

Choose Joy.

When you and I live purposefully and well, when we dance instead of sitting it out no matter we don't know the steps or the music is unfamiliar, we have a chance to embrace our one and only life and live it to the fullest with few regrets.

Choose Joy.

Laugh out loud until tears run down your cheeks and make squiggly rivers in your makeup. Run into the winds with arms open,  loving big and deep and wide. Don't care if you look silly or something jiggles which never did before. Live your very best life with every breath you have been given!

Choose Joy.

Nancy Bouwens - Simplicity Coach. Writer & Wonder Seeker

Nancy has a deep passion to see individuals find their place of belonging and purpose at any age and any stage of life. 

She is an empty nester mom to three adult children and writes, coaches and speaks about living on purpose through intentional choice and embracing a simpler, slower and more abundant life.  

Her speaking topics include: Dancing in the Rain, How to Keep Believing in the Midst of a Storm, When Your Heart is Shattered - Loving a Prodigal Child, Balanced Living in an Unbalanced World, KISS Keep it Simple Sister – Making What Matters Matter, and Living from the Inside Out - Reaching for a Life of Significance and Purpose.  

Nancy has seen the faithfulness of God in the midst of unspeakable pain as her three adult children, within a short seven month time span, each journeyed through life changing medical conditions; a car accident resulting from drunk driving, an autoimmune disorder, and a devastating stroke.  

She daily holds tight to Psalm 27:13 Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living. [NLT]

Nancy would love to connect with you:

Website: An Intentional Life

Facebook: An Intentional Life

Twitter: @nancy_bouwens

Why You Need Help

I know, I know...the "windows" as my husband calls them. Hey, if you wore glasses in the 80s you were just as cool!

My husband and I celebrated our 30th anniversary this past week. He took the day off work and we had coffee at Starbucks, lunch in Holland, saw the King Tut exhibit  at the Grand Rapids Public Museum and had dinner in East Grand Rapids. 

During the day I thought about our wedding day and all of the days since - good and bad. 

We’ve had lots of good days, most days were just normal, average days, and we’ve had some bad, dark days.

I reflected on all of the help we had on our wedding day and all of the days since.

Some of those dark days required help. We had friends, pastors and leaders come along side us to help, to mentor, to teach and to help us grow.

We can't do marriage alone.

We can’t do life alone.

We need people to do life with. 

Do you have someone to do life with? Are you walking through some bad, dark days? Ask for help if you need it, there's no shame. People love to help.

Maybe you know of someone who needs help. Be the friend they can count on. Someone to love unconditionally, mentor and bring accountability to a hurting soul. 

You need help. 

We all  need help. 

None of us can - or were meant to - walk this life-journey alone. God created us to need each other.

Challenge: Think about an area where you need help (it doesn't have to be marriage) and decide who you can call on to do life with. Don’t let fear stop you - it’s a liar.

Read my previous post: Food Focus: Leafy Greens

Take Time: Relationships

Photo: Drew Coffman

Last week went nothing like I had planned on Sunday night; my week was going to be spent writing, planning and working.

Mondays are usually my research and writing day. I work on my blog post for the week and look for articles of interest to share on my Be Real Facebook page and Twitter.

Monday morning my friend called and said she had the day off work and asked if I wanted to run a couple of errands with her. Of course! I don't get enough time with her, so I changed my plans, thinking I could catch up later that day or on Wednesday.

We did some shopping, had lunch then stopped for Starbucks on the way home.

But I couldn't get my head into my work when I got home and the rest of Monday was useless for writing.

Wednesday I forgot I had a later-than-usual hair appointment - right in the middle of the morning! My hair is not naturally this beautiful color, so it wasn't a quick appointment. No problem, I'd just work into the evening. I still had writing to do and a health coaching appointment on Thursday to prepare for.

At the last minute my husband decided we should go see Rear Window playing at the local theater Wednesday night. I'll never pass up a chance to see a classic movie on the big screen, so off we went. 

I had gotten some writing done but it wasn't complete; I thought I'd catch up at lunch on Thursday at my "day job". (That actually didn’t happen.)

Thursday after my day job, then the health coaching appointment, I came home to finish my blog post - but it was gone from my computer! Somehow I lost what I had been working on and had to start over. Late Thursday night I finally had it ready to go.

Friday I had a last minute lunch date with my college son while I was in Kalamazoo. (Still with work to finish at home.) About 10 minutes after I got home a friend unexpectedly stopped in to visit and we spent an hour talking. It was awesome!

Saturday morning I thought I could finally catch up on my work and get ahead for next week. Nope!

At 8:30 my son-in-law asked if I'd like to go with he and my daughter to have breakfast with his dad. I've known his dad for 10 years, so honored to have been asked I agreed to go and we had a wonderful time!

I'm telling you about my week because as I thought about it I noticed a theme. Many times last week relationships won over work. 

I took time to be with people who are important to me, who love me and whom I love back. 

I never want to be so busy writing blog posts and doing other work that I can't take time to shop with a friend, have a movie date with my husband, have lunch with my son, visit with a friend or go for coffee with my daughter and her in-laws. 

Life is about relationships and spending time with people we love, it's about doing life together.

And while I still felt behind in what I wanted to accomplish last week, I wouldn't trade the time I spent with people for anything!

What about you? Are you placing loved ones as priority number one over work? Are you taking time for a cup of coffee with in-laws over pursuit of a dream? Do your children know they're more important than your research and planning? Do you have time for your friends?

Relationships are most important above all else. No matter what you’re working on, it can wait while you spend time with people. The work will be there later.

Who can you spend time with this week instead of working? In what way can you make them feel special and important?

Read my next post: Slow Down

Lift Up Your Face and Live Life

I love my iPhone and it's probably fair to say I may be somewhat, slightly addicted to my iPad. (To say nothing of the music on my iPod!) But lately I've noticed a trend that is heartbreaking and a bit disturbing.

Every Monday night my husband I go to Culver's for dinner. We always marvel at the people who use their devices while eating. The majority of the time it's within a family at the table.

We've seen old couples where one is playing on a phone. We've seen girlfriends in their early 20s sitting together, each texting. (Each other?!) But what really breaks my heart is when I see a family where usually the dad is using his device while the mom and kids eat.

Worse yet is the dad and sons in the picture above.

We watched as the three of them ate their entire meal without making eye contact or conversation with each other. They hardly removed their eyes from their screen long enough to even look at the next bite.

My comment to my husband was that one day he'll finally look up and his boys will be waving goodbye as they go off to college.

A few months ago while eating at Panera I saw a mom with her two daughters. The mom had her back to me and I could see she was playing games on her phone while her two daughters, maybe 9 - 11-year-old range, sat across from her quietly eating.

We need to get our faces out of our screens and live life!

There is so much around us to enjoy and experience: relationships to be had, nature to observe, colors to be seen, textures to be felt, birds to hear sing, food to taste, flowers and coffee to smell. But we're missing that by having our face glued to a glowing screen.

Make it a rule that there will be no devices at mealtime. Whatever you need to do on your phone can wait 30 minutes while you eat and engage with the people at your table, whether little people or big people, or even if you're eating by yourself.

Put down your device and take a walk and notice nature: snow, leaves, rain, sunshine, birds, dogs, whatever - notice it!

Eat outside and watch the squirrels play in the trees, look at the blue sky, enjoy the breeze.

There is certainly a time and a place for all of this wonderful technology we have, but please, make family time a priority and turn off the device! Nothing is that important.

Psalm 3:3
But You, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the One who lifts my head.

Do you think this will be hard or easy for you to do?

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Read my previous post: Pomegranates
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We Are State Champs!

Family and relationships feed our health. Well, if they're good relationships, maybe not so much if they're bad. But I have a good relationship with my son and his sense of humor definitely feeds my health. Because of that I'll be blogging about him today from the perspective of a proud mama!

As you know, my son is a senior in high school. He's played trumpet since the 6th grade and loves marching band.

Every year we participate in invitationals in the fall, culminating in State and National Championships in November. Last Saturday was our state competition at Ford Field in Detroit.

 (c) 11/5/11, Kathy Fannon

After being beaten by our nemesis for the past six years, this year MY SON and the band brought home the state championship title in our Flight!

I am so excited and SO proud of my baby boy and all that he's done on the field. He's been committed, dedicated, worked hard, rehearsed from June to November for the past four years and has been a leader among his peers. I'm full of pride and respect for him.

My son and me at the celebration pep rally back at the high school Saturday night!

Thursday morning we will be headed to Indianapolis and Lucas Oil Stadium for Grand National Championships. We may make it semi-finals, but at that level there are so many amazing bands it's hard to guess. Really, being at Nationals is more about the experience. And it's a GREAT experience!

So I will probably be scarce around here until next week. I have lots of packing to do, driving plans to make, marching bands to watch and a son to cheer on as he ends his marching band career.

Wow, after 2 kids and eight years of marching band, this is it for us. Oh man, pass the Kleenex!

PS: The last time we won a state championship was my daughter's sophomore year of marching band. I'm so glad my son gets to experience the feeling too!

Read my previous post: Pride and Attitude (Lessons from a Marching Band Invitational)
Read my next post: Protein

Grand Rapids Art Prize 2011

Art and exercise all at once? Oh, yeah!

Last Friday my friend wanted to go to Art Prize, and since the weather was so nice we headed for downtown. We found a good place to park and started our hike. Altogether we walked probably 3 or more miles. We wished we had a pedometer because we walked for a long time. Hours! (Activity and exercise doesn't always have to be at a gym. Whew!)

My friend likes to look at things the way I do...look and move on. Sometimes at really special pieces we stopped and studied and read the information, but mostly it was constant movement. I may have wanted to go a bit slower sometimes because of my photography desire, but we did pretty well together.

These are the pictures I took with my iPhone, so they're nothing special and some are just not good, but it will give you an idea of the AMAZING art that was on display downtown...and we only saw a fraction of it! We were blown away by the creativity of these people! 

I will definitely do this again next year like we did this year...the day after the winner is announced! The crowds and traffic were SO much better than the day last week I needed to be downtown.

(Please follow these links for better pictures and a description of the artist and their work! And as always, click on the picture to enlarge the view. While I took these pictures, the material is certainly copyrighted by the artists.)

Click on the venue name to see more art and artists! SO much to see!

Venue: The B.O.B.

We started at this building, The B.O.B. (Big Old Building). It houses bars and restaurants and is a block or two from Van Andel Arena where there are many concerts, conferences, sports and events, so it's always packed with people wanting to eat. I've never been there but after this trip I may go back for food. One of the restaurants smelled AMAZING like pizza! And the old-fashioned architecture inside was gorgeous!

I SO wish this "Glitter Girl" had turned out better. It was made with little tiny plastic, colored sequins and pins. No paint! (Watch the video! Wow!)

I also wish I had taken a picture of the larger art piece here. It was leaves that were painted with acrylic paint. The piece was probably 6' x 12'? Massive and beautiful! (Sadly, I can't find a link for this artist.)

Blurry picture but incredible painting! "Aspen Forest"

"The Stories We Tell" There were 5 or 6 of these paintings of people's faces. From a distance they are beautiful....but....look close. The lines on their faces told their story! Who thinks of this stuff?! This was one of my favorites and definitely one I'll remember.

This was for my dad. It's from a larger group of pictures (see the next one) of icons and architecture from around Grand Rapids. My dad LOVED Red Lion chili dogs. (They're no longer in business.) He went there often as a teenager and raised my brother and I on them too. Now I live by an onion farm and when I drive by it smells like chili dogs to me and reminds me of times spent in the booth at Red Lion with my family...and Dad stealing french fries off my plate!

The larger piece of "Reflections of Grand Rapids".

"Under Construction" During the competition there were 3 guys as part of this display. Friday, this one was by himself. Look close..it's a live person! These guys stood for hours and days without moving! We watched him for awhile and we didn't see him blink, swallow, breathe or move in any way. It was unbelievable! And I know he's alive because I saw him be interviewed on the news in his makeup. Kinda creepy! But they won 9th place! (Check the link for more pictures.)

Venue: Cornerstone Building

"This is Michigan" I wish this had turned out better. It was pictures on bare aluminum and was SO beautiful!

Venue: Fifth Third Bank

My friend, Christi Jirinec, made these paper mache ladies. They were sitting on a bench at the bank. It was fun to watch people have their pictures taken with them and listen to comments. Because we KNOW her! 

One had a Bible, the other a magazine reading about grandmothers. Cute!

Venue: Amway Grand Plaza Hotel

"You Are Your Dreams" Each one was about 5' x 3'.

Venue: Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum

There were bears in the water at the Ford Presidential Museum, and more than just these. Some of the "Grizzlies on the Ford" had fish in their mouths. Very cool. These bears, made out of wood, won 6th place.

This wasn't part of Art Prize, but since I was at the Ford Museum, why not?

There was a companion painting to this one. "Waterfalls of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore". I thought these were so incredible. Look at that detail! 

Again, not part of Art Prize, but why pass up a chance to take a picture of a piece of the Berlin Wall that's housed in my 'backyard'? It was just as moving as some of the art we saw.

This was one of those times when my friend was on the move, so I didn't get a good shot of this. "Lady of Dance" was made out of plaster and hand-done. It was so pretty and we could just feel the movement.

Venue: Grand Rapids Public Museum

"Rain" won 3rd place. Honestly, it was one of those that I didn't 'get'. It was cool, but there were other pieces I found much more intricate. These were little gold polyester film squares and put together with fish line and hung from the ceiling. It was tall, ten feet. And square, each side was also 10 feet. It slowly rotated and it made me dizzy to look at. Nice, but not my favorite.

"Fire in the Belly of the Stricken Marquessa" To me, this was much more amazing. It was a painting - and look at those amazing colors! 

"Branches" See the description in the next picture of how this was made. Just...wow!

So there it is, just a VERY few of the tons of things we saw. There are a few things I wish I had taken pictures of and didn't, like "Joy", which actually looked much prettier in person or this one, "The Painted Laugh". Or "The Tempest II", which won 7th place.

Please check out the website for Art Prize! You'll see some of the other amazing pieces that placed in the top 10 along with some other awards. And the piece that won is SO beautiful! It was commissioned for a Catholic church in California but the building was put on hold, so the artist entered it and won! It's amazing!

If you live in West Michigan, have you been to Art Prize? What are some of your favorite pieces? Are you gifted in art? I'm not, unless you count stick people! (I'll stick to cooking!)

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