How long did it take you to paint that?

So often when others view my art they ask, "How long did that take you?"  I know they are referring to the amount of time I had a brush in my hand, but for me, it’s not just the time at the easel, but rather the living, the experience, the textures, the hopes, the vistas, the valleys that all culminate in that moment.  The painting I worked on yesterday may have been on my easel for a week, but it took me decades, a culmination of everything else I have ever created, of every flower I have stopped to admire, of every conversation, every sunrise I have witnessed, every sunset that has bathed me in its glow.  That painting combines every experience, all the decisions I have made, my doubts, my successes.

Me and my sweet baby getting this painting started.

But the thing that is so important and so unique to the times that I express myself in paint is that here, in my paintings, I am holding the brush.  I choose the paint, I choose the process, I choose the surface.  I choose what to share, what to obscure, what to leave vulnerable and what to polish.  I take my experiences and put them there to share in the way that feels very appropriate for me, and that brings me fulfillment and challenge and true happiness and that is why I paint.  It is in my paint that I feel myself emerging, reflecting who I really am, and who I am striving to become, in all aspects of my life.

I painted this painting in my garage during the warmest months of the year.  The evenings brought cooler temperatures and friendly visits from neighbors and new friends stopping by to check on the progress.

Painting feeds me and brings me balance.  The experience of painting is an exhilarating process for me.  It is a process of doubting, questioning, crying, joy, triumph, discovery, elation, and finally peace with it all.  For me that process alone is worth it all, but how much sweeter the reward becomes when I can share it, when someone sees my work and time stops, even if only for a second, and they say, "I like it; it makes me feel happy".  Then my joy is full, and I feel blessed to able to be the giver of that gift.

Here is the finished painting hanging in my exhibit in The Springville Museum of Art.

a rose from my great aunt

After her husband passed away, my great aunt kept the last roses he had given her. Though wilted and most of the petals had fallen off, she kept then because they were his last gift. She selected a withered rose with the most petals and offered it to me. Two more petals fell off. I declined because I realized the sentimentality it represented. Again, she insisted. At home I gently set the withered rose on my drawing table. I wasn't sure what to do. Then I understood- I must paint it because it represented the love of her husband. Flowers give peace, comfort, and love. I named my daughter after my aunt because of her treasured influence. (This painting is part of my exhibit currently on display in The Springville Museum of Art)

Eyes Wide Open Exhibit at The Springville Museum of Art

I have been so busy getting ready for this show that many other things have been neglected- including my blog.   My exhibit at the Springville Museum of art opened last night.  It was wonderful except that I feel like I didn't get to visit with so many of the people who came, I am so grateful for all of the love and support and excitement that I have been bathed in through out this process. 

I am grateful for this opportunity to share my artwork.  My sweet Uncle actually counted my paintings that are on display at the museum right now and there are 137!  I hope you can go see them!

My show will hang until November 11th.  Here are my tips for planning your visit:

Here is a link to the museum's page for planning your visit, it includes directions and also indicates that admission to the museum is FREE.  

The museum hours are: closed on Mondays, open 10-5 Tuesday through Saturday with extended hours on Wednesday night (open until 9 pm) and then on Sunday from 3-6 pm (a great time to miss traffic and have an inspiring and peaceful visit)

This show is called Eyes Wide Open and it features 4 different exhibits within the same show.

Brian Kershisnik's exhibit is awesome.  I am so excited to get to be in the same show with him.  Here is a link to his website.  There is also an exhibit from the Utah Inspirational Association and Denny Thurston a Utah Photographer.  There is also a great exhibit in the basement called Exploring Play that is a fun interactive exhibit for families and that children will especially love.  Upstairs, you will find the artwork of Walter Rane and also an exhibit that features the people and places and ideas in Utah.

If you'd like to eat while you are in Springville, my favorite local spot is the Art City Trolley  It is a great restaurant, the food is delicious the setting is fun (ask to be seated in the trolley for a unique dinning experience) and the service is always great. Here is a link to their menu.  I love the salads there, and my dad says the ribs are especially good (I'm not a big meat eater, but he is, so his opinion is valuable. Also they have very decadent desserts, so if you don't have time for a whole meal, or just want to indulge, go for dessert- the portions are big enough to be shared.  I love the carrot cake.

I have been surprised as I have been telling people about my show when they reveal where they think Springville is, many people seem to think it is very far away in central Utah, it isn't, it is just barely south of Provo.  It's really not a bad drive or inconvenient to visit- you could get there in an hour from Salt  Lake and if you go on Sunday when there is less traffic, it will be a pleasant drive worth taking.

Oh, and one more thing- the freeway signs for Springville don't say "Springville" on them! they say 1400 N and 400 S, which happens to be the road the museum is on.  They do have those brown historic signs that say Springville Museum of Art. 

I hope this information is helpful!  When you go, feel free to take photos, I love to get to see my work through your perspective!  Leave me a note here or in my book and if you post photos on facebook, make sure to tag me and if you put them on instagram, use the hash tag #SarahSMOFA  (that stands for Springville Museum of Art)  and any other hash tags you see fit.

The official Sotos Syndrome Support Association video is now available on youtube

Last July was a whirlwind of events for us.  Lucy was officially diagnosed with Sotos Syndrome and two weeks later she and I traveled to our first Sotos Syndrome Conference.  It was overwhelming and informative and such a wonderful opportunity to get to connect with so many people with similar experiences.  There is a broad range of differences, but always something in common with each person there.  

A couple of years ago, this video was made at a conference, and it has been a great resource to be able to share with with friends, family, medical professionals, teachers and therapists.  Sotos is so rare that the majority of people that we interact with are not familiar with the syndrome.  I am so grateful for the  families who shared their lives on this video, it has helped us.  I am also grateful to be able to share our journey with Sotos, here, on my blog.  I am so grateful for the people who find my blog searching for information about Sotos.  I am so grateful to be able to provide any support or answers to those who are searching.  I am pleased to be able to get to share this video, it is a great way to become familiar with Sotos Syndrome.  For those searching for answers or recently diagnosed, I hope you can find peace, belonging and support here. 

Merry Christmas

This is a little painting I did for Kids on the Move to use for their Christmas card this year.

I think tulips are appropriate for everything, but especially their Christmas card.

Last month I was honored to be part of a wonderful event, the annual appreciation breakfast hosted by Kids on the Move.  My paintings were used on the invitations, the name badges, the place settings and I was able to present a giclee to Kids on the Move that now hangs in their building.

I like the idea of tulips for Christmas, I added the berries to make it more festive. I think a wreath is a great symbol or greeting, or welcoming. I think it goes so well with the "Welcome to Holland" story that I love.

Welcome To Holland

copyright 1987, by Emily Perl Kingsley

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.  After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and  says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy!  I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.  The important  thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease.  It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.  It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less   flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you  begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful  time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go.   That's  what I had planned."  And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream  is a very very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very  special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

Springville Museum of Art Religious Show 2012

I have a painting in the

27th Annual Spiritual and Religious Art of Utah Exhibition

November 17, 2012 - January 18, 2013

at The Springville Museum Of Art

Each of my daughters has a middle name from the Old Testament, and I have done paintings for each of the women they were named after, they have actually turned into series of paintings and drawings.  This is a painting of Sarah and Abraham and Issac.

I call this painting : "As Numerous as the Stars"

And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken.

For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.

And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.

And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.

And Sarah said, God hath made me to (rejoice), so that all that hear will (rejoice) with me....

And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven...

And said...

That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore...

And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

Genesis 22 / Genesis 26

I put a lot of damar varnish on this painting- it is quite shiny, so excuse all the glare... and I am a mom, so I think it is cute that every photo I took has little girls running around.  It makes me so happy to see them interact and be proud of my paintings.

Rett Ashby made the frame and I love it.

You should go to the museum and check it out.

The Museum is open Tuesday – Saturday 10am to 5pm, Wednesdays 10am to 9pm, and Sundays 3pm to 6pm. Closed Mondays and Holidays, except the first Monday monthly from 6pm to 8pm for Community & Family Night. Community & Family Night is not held on, or in close proximity to holidays.  Admission is Free.

(I think the Sundays 3-6 is a great Sabbath Activity)

Make sure to look for the tulips in this painting... I couldn't help myself...

fresh tulips in November

Recently I had a wonderful opportunity to share some of my art at an appreciation breakfast for Kids On The Move.  It was beautiful.  I will share all the details in another post.  For now, I just want to share this little painting.  They had fresh tulips on all the tables, and I asked if I could take some home to paint, my request was granted and this is what I have so far.  

I am so grateful for the whole opportunity.

While I was there, I met our Mayor, Jim Evans.  He mentioned me in his blog post about it.  I am so honored and grateful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sotos Syndrome Fundraiser at all California Pizza Kitchen locations in Utah

If you have seen us the past couple of weeks you probably already know that

Lucy loves to hand out fliers

for the Sotos Fundraiser we are having at all three locations of the California Pizza Kitchen in Utah.

And if you haven't seen us, 

just consider yourself personally invited by Lucy herself.

You don't have to have a flier to support the cause, you can just go and say you are  there for the fundraiser, read the post below for all the details.

Thank you for your support!

Sotos Syndrome FUNdraiser at California Pizza Kitchen

We have felt the love, support and prayers of so many as we have been through these past couple of years.  Many of you have asked if there was anything you could do, and here is something you can do:

Please enjoy some food at any California Pizza Kitchen in Utah on November 7th and 8th 2012 and mention that you are there to support Sotos Syndrome.  20% of the proceeds will go to the Sotos Syndrome Support Association.

Sotos is very rare affecting an estimated 1 in every 15,000 -20,000 births, so the chances of interacting with others with Sotos are very slim.  This also means that most of Lucy's doctors have never even heard of Sotos, let alone ever dealt with a patient who has Sotos.

When Lucy was diagnosed, her geneticists told me about the Sotos Syndrome Support Association, and as luck would have it, their annual conference was just two short weeks later... in Vancouver Canada.  It was a whirlwind getting all the arrangements made to get there.   I am so incredibly grateful that we got everything together and made the trip.  There are so many things you can learn from doctors, nurses and hospital staff and there are so many things you can learn from the internet, but being able to learn from other individuals with Sotos and their families and the doctors who have dedicated themselves to studying Sotos is something else.  

When I walked into the conference, all of a sudden, we belonged, the other kids even looked like Lucy.  Many of the other moms would stop and gasp and then want to hold her, it was like we had turned back time and they were looking at their own baby.  They have shared their baby photos and it is fascinating how much they look alike.  

As I attended the classes and met with the doctors and socialized with the other families, so many things started to fall into place and make more sense, the whole picture became more clear.

Needless to say, I love being part of this network.

I feel so much more prepared and supported.  By supporting the SSSA they will be able to continue to provide these services.  

Deseret Book Gospel Vision of the Arts Scholarship Program

Last Spring I was featured at a "Lunch and Learn"  at the Deseret Book Flagship Store at City Creek.  My daughter sent one of her paintings with me and everyone loved it so much that they asked both of us to paint blocks for the Gospel Vision of the Arts Scholarship Program auction. 

We had so much fun working on these in my studio together.  I love how simple and sweet Grace's turned out.  I kept looking at hers and it made me keep working and working on mine because I wanted it to feel more like hers!  I love how they both turned out, you really ought to go see them in person.

There are many wonderful little paintings that will be auctioned off from many great artists.  I feel honored to be among them.

Participating Scholarship Bock Artists:

Annie Henrie Cristall Harper

James Christensen Brian kershisnik

Ben Behunin Howard Lyon

Amy Tolk Richards J. Kirk Richards

Sarah Samuelson Grace Samuelson

Linda Curly Christensen Robert A. Boyd

Scott Sumner Robert T. Barrett

Jenny Elizabeth Shirley McKay Britsch

Justin Kunz Julie Rogers

Christopher Young Mary Summerhays

Sandra Rast Cassandra Barney

Elandra Garbett Glenda Gleave

Rose Datoc Dall           Jennifer Thompson

Liz Lemon Swindle

I told my daughter that it is amazing for her to be included in such a list as a five year old, to which she replied, "I was a four year old when I painted it"  She makes me smile.  I am glad we got to do this.

The auction runs from October 26th through December 10th.  100% of the proceeds will go to the 2012 Gospel Vision of the Arts Scholarship program.

To bid contact Linda Howard: 801-328-8191

lindarubyhoward@gmail.com.

tiny shiny tulips

Here is a tiny painting I recently did, interestingly, painting little doesn't necessarily mean painting faster, sometimes I spend more time on a little one than I do on a bigger one.

This one has metallic gold and silver and some glitter too.

Lucy's Birthday Gift to Primary Children's Medical Center

When Lucy turned one, she didn't celebrate like most one year olds do, she has a g tube.  I suppose I could have pureed a cupcake and put it in her tummy.  One of the things we did to celebrate was donate some of my art to Primary Children's Hospital on Lucy's behalf.  I loved that Lucy got excited about exploring it before we delivered it.

This is a  giclee print on canvas of my painting called "Not Arrayed Like One Of These".  The original is an oil painting on panel and it is about 4 feet by 8 feet.  This giclee is about half the size of the original.  

My kids love to wear the sick masks at the hospital every time they go (whether they need to or not).  We had such a fun time delivering it.  The girls couldn't believe we got to go to the hospital just for fun and not for any appointments.

I signed it:  Lucy's Mom (Sarah)

Here it is in it's final spot- the Dental Clinic (3rd floor, south end).  I was initially hoping it could go somewhere where we actually spend time in the hospital, and this wasn't one of the clinics that Lucy visited.  Ironically, she has now visited them a few times, and it looks like we will spend plenty of time here in the future.  It looks great here and everyone who works in the office loves it.  I am so glad we could do this for Lucy.

An Update on Lucy, Sotos Syndrome Diagnosis

It was a year ago that Lucy was first seen by a geneticists.  She had been hospitalized at Primary Children's and we begin working with an incredible team of doctors who have trained us and loved us.  We have learned so much.  Lucy has been amazing through it all and so have her big sisters.  I know many prayers have been offered in our behalf, I am so grateful for the love and support we have received, your prayers have sustained us.

Her  geneticists was very diligent, exploring so many different ideas, then this spring, he was moved into a different area in his department, and Lucy was assigned a new geneticists.  Lucy had started to make some great progress, she passed her swallow study, she started to get more mobile... so I wondered if we even needed to go meet the new geneticists.  We did go, and the minute our new doctor saw Lucy, he said she reminded him of another baby he knew 11 years ago, and he thought she had Sotos Syndrome.  The test results came back a couple of weeks ago confirming what he had suspected.  So many things make sense, I understand better so many of the struggles that Lucy has been working on.  It feels like we have met so many of the doctors and therapists right at the right times we needed to.

The timing of the testing sent us into a whirlwind adventure.  Each year the Sotos Syndrome Support Association has a conference, this year's happened to be in Vancouver Canada.  With the encouragement of our doctors Lucy and I got our passports and headed to Canada to attend.   We were able to meet with Dr Shaefer, the leading authority on Sotos Syndrome in the US (who Lucy has wrapped around her little finger, by the way). We were also able to meet with about 50 other families from around the world who have a child with Sotos Syndrome.  It was very informative.   I fell in love with the other children, and they fell in love with Lucy.  The look of Sotos is so strong and common between these children, that they felt like they were seeing themselves as a baby when they saw Lucy.  One darling girl would always come and smile at Lucy and say, "That's me when I was a baby!"   The other parents would caress my sweet baby and see their own baby in her.  We are part of a family with great support.  I am so grateful we got to go.

I am so grateful I get to be Lucy's mom.  She is a blessing and a miracle.  I am excited for what lies ahead and grateful for all we have been through.  I would do anything for this little girl.

It looks like I have another little artist.

Lulu and Nie Nie

A few weeks ago we were out celebrating my sweet baby Lucy's first birthday.  I felt that more than any other birthday, this one had been earned.  It has been a year full of struggle, but this little one has fought so hard and been so sweet through it all.   

Her big sister said, "Mom, how come Lucy always smiles even though she has so many hard things?  And how come I sometimes have a hard time smiling even if things aren't that hard?  I am kind of jealous of her smile." 

I thought it was especially nice that we happened to run into Stephanie Nielson (nieniedialogues)that night.  It was the week before her baby was due, and maybe it was because she was almost to have another little girl, or maybe because she could sense that Lucy knows about fighting to live and being happy in the process, or maybe she is just super nice.  At any rate, she could not have been any sweeter or more interested in little Lulu and all that she has been through in her first year.  I am glad to have this photo as a memento of that sweet little time we spent.  She was so sweet talking to Lucy and playing with her and loving her smiles.  I will love to get to show it to Lucy when she is big.  

I also want to read Stephanie's new book, Heaven is Here, actually, I am not really much of a reader, so I looked it up on i tunes to see if I could listen instead, and guess what, it's there, and she reads it herself.  I really want to get it and hear her tell her story in her own voice.

I just checked her blog and she is in New York City right now.  She has posted a schedule of the shows she will be appearing on this upcoming week.

lunch and learn at Deseret Book

Last Friday I was the featured artist at The Deseret Book Flagship Store at City Creek.  Richard Paul Evans was there as the featured writer.  He was signing copies of his new book, "The Road to Grace".  He was very nice.  

The City Creek shopping area is open now, and the weather was so nice, so there was a good amount of traffic in the store.  I always love getting to get out and talk to people about my art.  It is always a great opportunity to be invited to Deseret Book.

I am also excited about the new products Deseret Book is working on for me.  They are trying to get a couple of different options of my Noah's Ark painting into some frames that will work great for children's rooms.  I had a couple good title options for that at one time and I am trying to remember what they were, something about hope that referenced the tulips and rainbow... I should have written them down in a better spot.