In Spirit these images are intended as gentle invitations to reawaken and to celebrate our birthright: our creative curiosity. My desire is to have my artwork be of good service in this... encouraging the growth of both imaginations and aspirations, hand in hand... affirming the very best in each of us.
As children we had the playful ability to see the extraordinary in the most ordinary. There was never a day just like any other day. Instead there was the joy of the unexpected. We expressed ourselves with the spontaneous ease of our next breath... be it a burst of gleeful enthusiasm... or whispers of quiet amazement.
That sense of wonder is available still... and essential to our wholeness, our wellness... and our happiness. What we choose to communicate, each with our own stories and vision, continually creates and literally becomes the world we share.
Thank you for joining us in an awareness of this, with a common commitment to choose well. The "joy" is here, invite yourself in!
and her husband, artist David Gilbertsen
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We appreciate your choice to support individuals artists. With each purchase you very literally change a life and encourage a dream.
I began showing at outdoor fairs in 1970 when I was 18. I was very timid and would not have dared to exhibit were it not for my Dad who hinged two peg-boards together with shoelaces for my display and sat with me in the car until someone finished mowing the meadow where my first show was to set up. To my surprise, I survived the experience! My artwork sold! With that, the magic had begun. I realize now, 31 years later, that what was being created within me was as special as anything I was creating. The people who encouraged me then and continued to do so year after year coaxed my confidence and coached my indomitable spirit. These effects and more are absolutely visible in my artwork.
Through all those years I've been lovingly nudged with every sale and every conversation. You all have been so generous with your smiles and your willingness to share your own stories. You've sent me books to read, introduced me to music that has filled my studio with song. You've brought me bags of granola to get me through long show hours. You've even shared the raspberries and roses from your gardens. You have thoroughly nurtured my Spirit with your tender loving care. We are co-creators. You tell me how much my artwork has enriched your lives. By inviting me into your homes, you have enriched my life and allowed me the opportunity to continue to make a living at something I love. Because of you, I am able to create other pieces to send out into the world... to enrich... and be enriched again. So often, life at its best is a circle... giving, receiving, and giving again. Thank you for being a part of this.
I feel such a privilege to witness the connection people so often have with my artwork... eyes that come alive with a twinkle, smiles that spring forth, or those beautiful tiny gasps when something has hit home. I have an idea that although our individual lives appear to be very different, our inner lives are very similar. It's as though we began digging for treasure at opposite ends of a large field, oblivious of one another, each in our own drama of life. We dig and dig and dig until eventually our shovels clink together. Ta-Da! What a thrill! We have found the treasure! Suddenly our experience, which we'd perceived as intensely individual, is one that we share. Just as suddenly, we recognize that the treasure we've toiled for is simply the gold that each of us find in the other, just like the gold that we have found, simultaneously, deep within ourselves. My collectors have a deep connection with my images because the pieces come from that same deep place inside of me that is inside of them. It's very basic. It's very beautiful.
We invite you to e-mail us with your comments and questions.
Perhaps something functioned awkwardly for you here on the site. We'd like to know since this is a work in progress! If we forgot something you think would be helpful to know, please let us hear your suggestion.Your ideas are always of interest to us... complaints or compliments! Perhaps you've a favorite children's book or poet you think I'd enjoy. Maybe you know of a shop that you think would be perfect for my work. I'd love to hear. In fact, I'd be grateful for your help. If you have any questions, I'll try to answer them by the following Wednesday.