Sometimes the Blessing is to Accept the Change

Yesterday as I was driving along the highway to a family wedding,

I saw that enough leaves have begun to change color. As happy a I was to see the beautiful colors of gold, orange and red I wasn't quite ready to accept this sign, needing sweaters, coats, gloves, boots and shovels.

Change is stressful even when good...
Getting a new job, buying a home, getting married, having a baby, retiring, ...all things people plan,
look forward to in the future, and bring joy to their life. But change also can be more abruptly shaken  when change is something you were not planning or looking forward to, it becomes even more unsettling:
a loved one dies, an illness is diagnosed, a natural disaster occurs, a loss of job, a car accident.

Change can be confusing, making one feel lost. We are knocked out of our comfort area. Things become uncertain and we just do not know what to expect. We ask ourselves, "Who am I now?"
"How will I make it through this time in my life?" Whether change is accepting a new reality or adjusting to autumn moving to winter, it takes us a minute to find those answers and cope with the situation.

I remember how, incredibly difficult it was to be a caregiver of four loved ones through a span of eight years of my life. Each loved one had various diagnoses or terminal illnesses. How did I survive? As I moved through this change, I encountered denial, anger, resentment, resistance and I bargained with my faith to help my loved ones. I searched for hope and waited and waited, unable to move, sometimes over-reactive. 

I realized as a caregiver, as the changes were occurring, I was letting go of something and becoming something new. I had to focus my attention on my young daughter who needed strength and stability. I tended to my loved ones with the utmost care but I was still a wife, mother, daughter, artist and full-time employee. 

And so, as we move through change, whether it's personal, seasonal, environmental or political, we are always letting go of the old and embracing the new. Are we courageous enough to let go and be open to the new patterns in our life so it grows strong and beautiful?

In the painting, "Sweet Refreshment" the water fountain symbolizes the renewal change brings in one's life. The magic of fairyland shows one to be open to new ideas and creativity. To embrace life in all its glory.

Sometimes it requires only to be present in mind and a commitment to giving back. To help others in need, the homeless, the poor, the survivors of natural disasters. Yes, one experiences change in so many ways. Some good, some not so good, but if we stay resilient, it is our choice how we move forward.

XO,
Patty

Prints available at www.pattyblipinski.com

#blog #change #painting #watercolor #prints

'Sweet Refreshment'

Watercolor

ART OF FACTS | Uncovering Pittsburgh Stories Opening

Exhibit Saturday, July 22nd

@Senator John Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania running till January, 2018

Member of the Pittsburgh Society of Illustrators Group Show

Art of Facts| Uncovering Pittsburgh Stories has been a wonderful experience for me.
The call to illustrators was to communicate the significance of Western Pennsylvania history in a way that tells a story through one's art. After I began to research all the many amazing facts about Western PA, I found Pittsburgh's roots showed great value.

I became intrigued with one person whom I found quite interesting. A woman who began her young career as a lace maker in a little shop in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania. She evolved to be the first woman editor to run the first newspaper in Pittsburgh, "Pittsburgh Spirit Liberty." Jane Grey Swisshelm was the person I chose to illustrate for this exhibit. Her strength and determination were somehow connected to my personal beliefs.

The story of Jane is one of conviction, courage and independence. She was a petite woman, with a pleasant face, eyes radiant with kindness, a soft voice and gracious manners. Her personality, however, was eccentric and abrasive but her intellect and positivity was clear in its principles. 
She became a great American journalist, publisher, abolitionist, women's rights advocate, Civil War nurse and first woman Correspondent in the Senate Gallery in Washington, DC when President Andrew Johnson was in office.

Eventually she returned home to farmland east of Pittsburgh, to Swissvale. Here Jane continued to write her autobiography, Half of a Century, which was published in 1881. She passed away on July 22, 1884 and is laid to rest at Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
         

Like Jane Grey Swisshelm, I am a true believer in fairness and equality. It's important to me to help others, to have a strong faith, to care for the poor, to take care of loved ones who are ill, to love family and friends.

Yes, we should live a life worth living!

'Paper, Pens & Petticoats, Jane Grey Swisshelm', Watercolor, 18"x 24"