V. is now 2 years old, but this is how she looked as a newborn. The reference photo shows her sleeping on Daddy's white T-shirt. At the time I saw the picture, I was looking for inspiration for the annual "Venus Envy" exhibit. In the past, I've used the ideas in Botticelli's "Birth of Venus". Seeing the folds in that T-shirt reminded me of the ripples in Venus' sea shell, and looking at V.'s sleeping pose made me wonder about her dreams. Dreams. "Beautiful Dreamer." The title was born, the background derived from images in that old song. (detail of the drawing/ graphite on rag paper)- gloria

Our grandson, Bryson, sure doesn't look like this anymore. This pose was captured when he was about 8 years old at his local children's museum. Hard to believe that he will graduate from high school in a few months.-gloria

I've instructed art classes at the local museum for a number of years, mostly drawing classes for adults. Graphite is a great starting point. Maybe that's part of the reason that graphite drawings are "under-rated." Pencils are pretty basic- who doesn't have a pencil? It's up to the artist to use them for something unique. I like to play with words and images (I drive myself crazy with creating a title that I then have to live up by creating its drawing!) Last year was a call for entry for a food-related piece of art. It was also the year for all that hullabaloo about a book titled "Fifty Shades of Gray." Pencil was the perfect choice for the medium. The fun began as I found image ideas that related to the number fifty, the word "shades", and the color grey. I created a composition from the ideas (oh, the food part is a bottle of mustard and a textured loaf of bread), and the result was "Fifty Shades of Gray Poupon".- gloria

A return to florals in oil pastels. This time I worked in a smaller scale- vacation time and easier to transport materials! I decided to use a black surface. It gives the colors a different look.- gloria

Chanoyu…wabi sabi The Japanese tea ceremony developed as a "transformative practice", and began to evolve its own aesthetic, in particular that of "wabi-sabi". "Wabi" represents the inner, or spiritual, experiences of human lives. Its original meaning indicated quiet or sober refinement, or subdued taste "characterized by humility, restraint, simplicity, naturalism, profundity, imperfection, and asymmetry[, emphasizing] simple, unadorned objects and architectural space, and [celebrating] the mellow beauty that time and care impart to materials."[6] "Sabi," on the other hand, represents the outer, or material side of life. Originally, it meant "worn," "weathered," or "decayed." Particularly among the nobility, understanding emptiness was considered the most effective means to spiritual awakening, while embracing imperfection was honored as a healthy reminder to cherish our unpolished selves, here and now, just as we are - the first step to "satori" or enlightenment.

Watercolor by Gary

Three ladies from different time periods...A Native American woman in charcoal...A Japanese woman in pastel and a model in charcoal.

Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They came through you but not from you and though they are with you yet they belong not to you. Khalil Gibran