Monday Morning Musings

It’s going to be a short blog today as I had a busy weekend, and I still don’t want to watch the news or even read news items online. There is so much disinformation in the media today, that I find it very disheartening. I also find some of the reactions – from both sides of the political divide – so distressing. I don’t even want to know how horribly some people are acting.

This weekend was the annual Art and Wine Festival in my small town of Winnsboro, and that was great fun. There were a number of artists there displaying painting’s drawings jewelry and something I found surprising – ant hill sculptures.

I had never heard of anthill sculptures, and was very interested in the process of creating such works of beauty. I asked the artist, in kind of a joking way, “Do you actually dig up the anthill?”

She laughed and said, “Well, yes. But first we pour in some kind of liquid metal and let that harden. That’s what we dig up, and we very meticulously and carefully clean off all the sand and debris. This is what we end up with.”

What they and up with is stunning.

The artists are David and Cindy Gleason, and their motto is “Inspiration through natural creations.” Their website is G7artworks.com You can also catch up hey are also on Facebook

 

The artists were all outside with their booths, and inside the Winnsboro Center for the Arts we had the author showcase I had so much fun sharing the space with nine other authors who had come for the day on Saturday.

One of the volunteers, and there were many who helped make the events such a success, posted on Facebook on Sunday about what experience meant to her. Here is just a part of her post, but it reflects so much warmth and kindness. First she wrote about the beautiful fall day in East Texas and the great environment, then she wrote:

Still..most important..it was the WHOLE crowd..whether an artist, volunteer, shopper, a celebrated veteran or attendee of their program, musician, performer, merchant of wine, cheese, or chocolate, restaurant owner or staff, news reporter, visitor to the Men in the Arts Exhibit, participant of the Author Showcase or a little kiddo learning to line dance. What stood out to me the most in this crowd of countless differences were the SMILES (and I mean the smile that says I WANT to smile even if no one looking!) People were kind and respectful to each other…

That was my experience as well. Some of the authors who came to the showcase event that I organized needed help getting books in and out of the art center. Since I was also one of those authors who needed help, I was not in a position to be carrying somebody else’s boxes, so I went outside and asked for help. Both times, I was asking someone that I didn’t know, but without the slightest hesitation they each said yes and helped the author transport her books.

In the early days of the Winnsboro Center for the Arts when there were not a lot of volunteers, I would often be working with a lady named Patty, and we would need  help moving heavy objects. She would take me by the hand, and we would go down to McCrary’s  hardware and soda shop where there was a lunch counter. Patty would look around until she spotted a young man. She’d walk up to him, feel his arm muscle and ask him what he was going to be doing for the next 15 minutes. Sometimes she would get a very funny look, but most of the time we could count on having one or two of those men, who were there for lunch, walk a few doors down to the art center and help us.

Ever since than I have often just gone outside or to a close by restaurant and do the same, taking a page from Patty’s playbook.

Sometimes we just have to ask.

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On Saturday, my book, One Small Victory was featured on Free Kindle Books & Tips, a great site for finding bargain books for your Kindle. One Perfect Love, the sequel to One Small Victory, released November 8, and to celebrate, both books are only .99 each.