Art2Die4

Susan's Message

 

While I love taking my own photos, I have really become "hooked" on the incredible historic images that I have discovered hidden away in old archives. There are so many treasures that I am constantly lost in the process of having to choose which image to bring back to life with my palette of colors. Wow! It is so exciting to search for them. And then just as exciting to restore  the picture and then paint it with my oils adding just enough color to bring it renewed life.

 

As I show these images at art shows I am equally amazed at the interest and all the stories other people have to share of their own lives. I think the old images give rise to warm and caring emotions in people, and they often just enjoy viewing them and remembering their own childhood or stories they have heard about relatives they never met. We live in such a fast-paced world that we don't take the time to stop and reflect and recall those things that really make us feel good. And while the times were not always easy and the work was harder in many ways, it still seemed simplier as families really worked together and depended on each other in ways that are not so evident in today's world.

 

So, enjoy your own journey as you take a few moments to reflect and remember your Aunt Sally or Uncle Harry and the stories about how your own family may have conquered the west or worked the farm or traveled from town to town selling their wares. Those stories that make you the unique person that you are today. It is a good thing. And as we truly celebrate our past, we are given the priviledge of making today even better and tomorrow calm and beautiful. It is only when we can celebrate where we have been that we can fully understand and celebrate the beauty of each moment of today.