Let my silence grow with noise as pregnant mothers grow with life. Let my silence permeate these walls as sunlight permeates a home. Let the silence rise from unwatered graves and craters left by bombs. Let the silence rise from empty bellies and surge from broken hearts. The silence of the hidden and forgotten. The silence of the abused and tortured. The silence of the persecuted and imprisoned. The silence of the hanged and massacred. Loud as all the sounds can be, let my silence be loud so the hungry may eat my words and the poor may wear my words. Loud as all the sounds can be, let my silence be loud so I may resurrect the dead and give voice to the oppressed. My silence speaks. -Kamand Kojouri ARTWORK: Pieces selected from the “UNTAMED PROJECT” 23 Collage on paper #untamed #art-collection #erinmcgrathrieke #justeproductions #political_art #creative #expression #process #process_art #silence #noise #quote #poetry #takeastand #bethechangeyouwanttosee
Join us for an eye-opening discussion on gender violence in our society. In this event, we will hear from speakers sharing their own experiences and insights on this crucial issue. Let’s come together to raise awareness and empower each other to create positive change. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to listen and learn from those who have been directly affected. Together, we can make a difference!
I’ve also learned how to fit in, but constantly trying to do so is more than just uncomfortable now, it hurts. Because I don’t. Fit. I fold my jagged edges inside myself and smooth over the most obvious differences between us, but I am not the same as you. There are over 7 billion people on the planet, and yet I have somehow managed to spend a lifetime feeling alone. Alice Feeney, His & Hers ARTWORK “Same Kind of Different” Charcoal on Paper #samekindofdifferent #artwork #erinmcgrathrieke #justeproductions #dms #divinemoirastudio #charcoal #paper #originalartforsale
“We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily difference we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee.” - Marian Wright Edelman, activist #arrforacause #erinmcgrathrieke #justeproductions #dms #divinemoirastudio #pastelonpaper #originalartforsale #stlouisartist #artist #artwork #abstract #modernart #contemporaryart
Educate yourself. Educate your children. Educate your family. Educate your friends. #nomeansno🚫 #metoo #metoomovement #harrassed #harrassmentintheworkplace #violation_of_human_rights #saam #gbv #standup #wehavevoicestoo #youcantsilenceus #timesup #justeproductions #erinmcgrathrieke #erin_mcgrath _rieke
The only time I got to prayin' for a red light Was when I saw your destination as a deadline "This is normal conversation, babe, it's all fine" Makin' quiet calculations where the fault lies This is good land, or at least it was It takes a strong hand and a sound mind The college kids are gettin' so young, ain't they? They're correctin' all the grammar on a spray paint And I even gave up drivin' after nightfall I got tired of the frat boys with their brights on This is good land, or at least it was It takes a strong hand and a sound mind It makes me smile to know when things get hard Ooh-ooh, you'll be far Ooh-ooh, you'll be far from here And while I clean shit up in the yard Ooh-ooh, you'll be far Ooh-ooh, you'll be far far from here So, pack up your car, put a hand on your heart Say whatever you feel, be wherever you are We ain't angry at you, love You're the greatest thing we've lost The birds will still sing, your folks will still fight The boards will still creak, the leaves will still die We ain't angry at you, love We'll be waitin' for you, love And we'll all be here forever And we'll all be here forever Sure will We're overdue for a revival We spent so long just gettin' by That's the thing about survival Who the hell-, who the hell likes livin' just to die? You told me you would make a difference Well, I got drunk and shut you down It won't be by your own volition If you step foot outside this town But it's all we've had For always So, pack up your car, put a hand on your heart Say whatever you feel, be wherever you are We ain't angry at you, love You're the greatest thing we've lost The birds will still sing, your folks will still fight The boards will still creak, the leaves will still die We ain't angry at you, love We'll be waitin' for you, love And we'll all be here forever And we'll all be here forever You're gonna go far You're gonna go far You're gonna go far You're gonna go far Yes, you are, ooh-ooh If you wanna go (go) far Then you gotta go (go) far Source: Musixmatch Songwriters: Noah Kahan You’re Gonna Go Far lyrics © Sony/atv Allegro, Secret Meadow Songs
Life is an affair of mystery; shared with companions of music, dance and poetry. Shah Asad Rizvi ARTWORK Tango Oil and Acrylic on Canvas Available #tango #live #free #art #artwork #artist #abstract #design #appearance #character #stars #trees #individuality #inspection #midwestern #sensitive #sensitivity #shell #erinmcgrath #erinrieke #erinmcgrathrieke #justeproductions #journey #divinemoirastudio
Some people are born with tornadoes in their lives, but constellations in their eyes. Other people are born with stars at their feet, but their souls are lost at sea. Nikita Gill ARTWORK Indiana Dreams Acrylic on Canvas Available #indiana #dreams #live #free #art #artwork #artist #abstract #design #appearance #character #stars #trees #individuality #inspection #midwestern #sensitive #sensitivity #shell #erinmcgrath #erinrieke #erinmcgrathrieke #justeproductions #journey #divinemoirastudio
Life isn’t meant to be lived perfectly…but merely to be LIVED. Boldly, wildly, beautifully, uncertainly, imperfectly, magically LIVED. Mandy Hale, The Single Woman: Life, Love, and a Dash of Sass ARTWORK You’ve Got A Lot of Living To Do Mixed Media on Paper Available #youvegotalotoflivingtodo #live #free #art #artwork #artist #abstract #design #interiordesign #appearance #bullshit #character #dislike #imperfect #imperfection #individuality #inspection #regret #sensitive #sensitivity #shell #trait #traits #unlovable #erinmcgrath #erinrieke #erinmcgrathrieke #justeproductions #journey #divinemoirastudio
A thorough inspection of someone you believed to be loveable will send you back into your shell if all you saw in their life was all bullshit. Michael Bassey Johnson Artwork: ABSOLUT BULL pastel on paper Available #absolutbull #absolut #bull #art #artwork #artist #abstract #design #interiordesign #appearance #bullshit #character #dislike #imperfect #imperfection #individuality #inspection #irritation #regret #sensitive #sensitivity #shell #trait #traits #unlovable #erinmcgrath #erinrieke #erinmcgrathrieke #justeproductions #divinemoirastudio
Darkness is just light turned inside out. Brand new!! ARTWORK: Inside 20x20 Available #inside #acrylicpainting #paint #acrylic #acryliconcanvas #canvas #erinmcgrath #erinmcgrathrieke #erinrieke #justeproductions #darkness #internalreflection #introspection #belief #stlouis-artist #stlouisartist #stlouis-based
“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.” – Frederick Douglass ARTWORK: 1964 Acrylic on Canvas AVAILABLE #1964 #abstraction #abstract #abstractpainting #power #concedes #nothing #demand #politics #fredrickdouglass #artwork #artist #erinmcgrathrieke #justeproductions #divinemoirastudio #faithinyourself #demand #seeking #whatmatters #erinrieke #erinmcgrath #trustingyourjourney #universal #insidemysoul #stlouis-based #stlouisartist #stlouis-artist #stlouisart
Music, uniquely among the arts, is both completely abstract and profoundly emotional. It has no power to represent anything particular or external, but it has a unique power to express inner states or feelings. Music can pierce the heart directly; it needs no mediation. -Oliver Sacks, Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain ARTWORK: Abstraction 072123 Pastel on Paper Available #abstractart #artwork #abstractpainting #abstract #abstraction #emotional #creative #creativity #pastelonpaper #artbyerinmcgrathrieke #justeproductions #artforsale
The southeastern portion of the island of Newfoundland, as may be seen by a glance at the map, may be well described by that expressive epithet of “nook-shotten,” which in Shakspeare is applied to the mother-island of which it is a dependent. The land is indented by bays and estuaries, so that it bears the same relation to the water that the parted fingers of an outstretched hand do to the spaces of air that are between them. One of these inlets bears the name of Conception Bay; and it is around the shores of this bay that the scene of this novel is laid. Everything in it suffers a sea-change; everything is set to the music of the winds and the waves. We find ourselves among a people with whom the sea is all, and the land only an appendage to the sea,-a place to dry fish, and mend nets, and haul up boats, and caulk ships. ARTWORK: Seeking Conception Bay “The Lotus Project” Pastel on Paper #seeking_conception_bay #seeking #conception #bay #conception-bay #conceptionbaynewfoundland #newfoundland #colliers #art #artist #artwork #erinmcgrathrieke #erinmcgrath #erinrieke #justeproductions #dms #divinemoira #divinemoirastudio #artforacause
Well, we all like things to be predictable, don't we? We expect things to be safe and to keep on happening just the way they always have. We expect the sun to rise in the morning. We expect to get up, survive the day and finish up back in bed at the end of it, ready to start all over again the next day. But maybe that's just a trick we play on ourselves, our way of making life seem ordinary. Because the truth is, life is so extraordinary that for most of hte time we can't bring ourselves to look at it. It's too bright and it hurts our eyes. The fact of the matter is that nothing is ever certain. But most people never find that out until the ground suddenly disappears from beneath their feet. Steve Voake, The Dreamwalker's Child ARTWORK: SURPRISE “The Lotus Project “ Pastel on Paper Available #surprise #lotus #absence #existence #fear #hurt #love #art #abstractart #pastel #pastelonpaper #erinmcgrathrieke #art #artist #stlouis-artist #stlouisartist #stlouis-based #justeproductions #journey #abstractart #beautiful #experience #truth #therapy #ptsd #destination #faithinyourself
Of course I’ll hurt you. Of course you’ll hurt me. Of course we will hurt each other. But this is the very condition of existence. To become spring, means accepting the risk of winter. To become presence, means accepting the risk of absence. -Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPERY - MAN ARTWORK: Risk “The Lotus Project “ Pastel on Paper Available #risk #absence #existence #fear #hurt #love #art #abstractart #pastel #pastelonpaper #erinmcgrathrieke #art #artist #stlouis-artist #stlouisartist #stlouis-based #justeproductions #journey #abstractart #beautiful #experience #truth #therapy #ptsd #destination #faithinyourself
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01/19/24 - St. Louis, MO Set II: Thought Sausage Conrad Sharon Jack Impossible > Slippin’ Into Darkness Good People > Dark Bar > Good People > Action Man Encore: Bird On A Wire Chilly Water 📸 Noble Visions | Josh Timmermans
I want to take a moment to say thank you to my dear friends, family, colleagues and followers for your support of the organizations I work with each year: REDBIKE OUTREACH, The Angel Band Project, NAMISTL, and UNWOMEN. I truly believe that we can be the catalyst for the change we want to see in this world…thank you for taking time and energy to take action to do what you can to help make this world a better place. Thank you for your time, service, and donations: @petermanion_art @abcart23 @bryan.pease @stlhollybutler @jeremyrabus Sue Harper @harper2057 @covenanthousemo @ddaslanian @derekrieke @wearealldms @dunnekathleen @mj_dmstudio @seanebeling @emilyrieke28 @rachel.ebeling @ericschoolcraftart @globalfundwomen @jrabpaintings @kintandkiln @lailamerz17 @rafrieke @petermanion_art @mama_deepy @johnt.mcgrath @rachel.ebeling @optionsforjustice @fr3qu3nci @cassidy.roser @c.c.rieke @derekrieke @redbikestl @unitednations @viventhealth @rosemerello Heather Sharpe Elizabeth Schnitzler Ernst Sue Dusold Rakers Un-Kevin A. Merello Anita Sendziol Miller Ronald BensonBill MurphyChris KayRachel Bender BoxdorferThe Angel Band Project Heather Barth Manley Brett Kosanovich Rebecca Malone Bickel Maddie BarqueroOscar Barquero RedBike NAMI NAMI St. LouisBrita Kuhrmeier Schumacher Beverly Tronicek Cristina Fleener McGroarty Devon CahillCharisma Ibarrola CommUnity Arts STL @
“One of the marvelous things about community is that it enables us to welcome and help people in a way we couldn't as individuals.” – Jean Vanier Dear Ones, Each of the original works of art I list as available this week have been priced to sell. These pieces can be easily picked up if you are based in the STL area(although shipping is always an option ☺️) The proceeds of any sales will help support the efforts of REDBIKE OUTREACH. RedBike Outreach is a St. Louis based nonprofit comprised of artists and creatives. Each Monday we head out, rain or shine, bitter cold or oppressive heat, and do what we can to provide emergency services to the unhoused population of St. Louis. But like so many other organizations supporting our neighbors, we often find ourselves underfunded and overextended. It has always been my belief that we receive more when we give, so it is my hope that friends, family, neighbors and longtime supporters of the community service efforts might be intrigued by the prospect of a little art in your life knowing it’s purchase will help the population we at REDBIKE serve. Sending you love and light this holiday season. e
The true meaning of your words is not what you say, but what you do. -Frank Sonnenberg, Listen to Your Conscience: That's Why You Have One Art: Things That You Say #meaning #whatyousay #words #wordsmatter #speak #howyouspeak #whatmatters #actions #actionsspeaklouderthanwords #listentoyourconscience #conscience #erinmcgrathrieke #justeproductions #art #collageart #mixedmedia #artcollage
Make humanity your religion.
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“All of us play a role in both perpetuating the causes of- and preventing suicide. Every year on National Suicide Prevention Month in September, mental health advocates, survivors, friends and family, and mental health organizations across the country and around the world share their experiences and work towards eradicating this most tragic act. Suicidal thoughts can plague anyone regardless of age, gender, or social status. Commonly linked to depression, there is no foolproof indicator of suicidal tendencies. Many people suffering from depression or suicidal thoughts cover them up quite well. Such was the case with beloved comedian Robin Williams, who committed suicide at the age of 63 in August 2014. Originally established in 1979 as a support group by family members of individuals diagnosed with mental illness, the National Alliance On Mental Illness is a United States-based organization that serves as a resource on this highly taboo topic. NAMI helps those affected by suicide, assists with sourcing effective treatment services, and raises awareness for educating others on its prevention. If you or someone you know is in an emergency, call The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or call 911 immediately.”
Gunnison Inspired Pastel on paper 2023
“No one tells you it's all about to change, to be taken away. There's no proximity alert, no indication that you're standing on the precipice. And maybe that's what makes tragedy so tragic. Not just what happens, but how it happens: a sucker punch that comes at you out of nowhere, when you're least expecting it.” Dark Matter, Lost in Translation Series Oil on Canvas 8x10 2020 Available Proceeds directly benefit the Art for a Cause Campaign. The Beneficiary of the Lost in Translation digital presentation is the St. Louis based nonprofit RedBike Outreach. This organization provides emergency assistance to the unhoused and recently housed neighbors in St. Louis City. You can provide direct financial support and/or provide materials for our neighbors by directly contacting RedBike Outreach.
Let healing energy flow through your body. The healing energy of your God, the Universe, life, and recovery surrounds you. Healing energy is in the sun, the wind, and the rain, in all that is good. Let healing energy come. Attract it. Accept it. Let it soak in. Breathe in the golden light. Exhale. Let go of fear, anger, hurt, and doubt. Let healing energy flow to you, through you. It is yours for the asking, for the believing. Today, I will ask for, and accept, the healing energy from my God and the Universe. I will let it flow to me, through me, and back out to others. I am part of, and at one with, the continuous cycle of healing.
We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another. Veronica Roth, Divergent (Divergent, #1) you give me strength, the lotus project mixed media on paper framed and matted available with proceeds benefiting the art for a cause campaign
Stop giving other people the power to control your happiness, your mind, and your life. If you don't take control of yourself and your own life, someone else is bound to try. Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart INSIDE MY MIND acrylic on canvas 2011
Here we go again Life's a dream 'Cause it's never what it seems But you'd rather love and lost with tears Than never love at all So here we go again
Stolen Moments • Acrylic on Canvas
Let the bough break, let it come down crashing Let the sun fade out to a dark sky I can't say I'd even notice it was absent 'Cause I could live by the light in your eyes Unfold before you Would have strung together The very first words of a lifelong love letter Tell the world that we finally got it all right I choose you I will become yours and you will become mine I choose you I choose you oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh Oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh There was a time when I would have believed them If they told me, you could not come true Just love's illusion But then you found me and everything changed And I believe in something again My whole heart will be yours forever This is a beautiful start to a lifelong love letter Tell the world that we finally got it all right I choose you (I choose you, I do) I will become yours and you will become mine I choose you (I choose you, I do) I choose you (I choose you) We are not perfect We'll learn from our mistakes And as long as it takes I will prove my love to you I am not scared of the elements I am under-prepared, but I am willing And even better I get to be the other half of you Tell the world that we finally got it all right I choose you, yeah (I choose you, I do) I will become yours and you will become mine I choose you (I choose you, I do) I choose you (I choose you, I do) I choose you (I choose you) Source: Musixmatch Songwriters: Sara Bareilles / Jason Blynn / Pete Harper I Choose You lyrics © Sony/atv Tunes Llc, Tiny Bear Music, Gorilla Man, Earl The Squirrel #choose #choosewisely #ichooseyou #youandmeforever #wewillbetogether #forever #dog #dogs #dogstagram #dogslife #dogphotoshoot #puppymodeling #modelpup #modelpuppy #modelpups #modelpupper #cassidyrose #justeproductions #erinmcgrathrieke
“If it is important to you, you will find a way. If not, you’ll find an excuse.” — Ryan Blair Rhapsody• acrylic on canvas • 2014 • available now
When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it--always. Mahatma Gandhi “Truth” Mixed Media on Canvas 2018 justeproductions.org/erinmcgrathriekeinventory/p/truth-1
I am apart of the group of wild ones, us women who speak to the moon. We crave passion, live with wide open hearts and we wear our hearts on our sleeves too. Often told we are too much, but taming our spirit isn’t something we’ll ever do. Love us as we are, we create our own rules. -Nikki Rowe
Don't raise your girls to be porcelain roses protected behind a cabinet's glass sliding doors. Raise your girls to be wild roses growing on mountaintops, exposed to the sunlight and to bees. I give you this guarantee: that life requires the latter and the prior is a myth. -C. JoyBell C.
It’s always an honor to be a featured artist ❤️ In this little exhibit, a selection of paintings from the original Still I Rise Series line walls through Chesterfield City Hall. October 1st, 2022-January 31st,2023. Opening Reception tonight!
Road tripping leaf peepers. #newyork #connecticut #newhampshire #vermont #pennsylvania #massachusetts #maine #ohio
You expected to be sad in the fall. Part of you died each year when the leaves fell from the trees and their branches were bare against the wind and the cold, wintery light. But you knew there would always be the spring, as you knew the river would flow again after it was frozen. When the cold rains kept on and killed the spring, it was as though a young person died for no reason. Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast Hudson River, NY
She sells sea shells by the sea shore.
I I've been going down Down into the river baby Listen to the sound It's something only god knows You figure it out, I can't stay Water's in the clouds Is my life about to change? Who knows, who cares -local natives Who Knows, Who Cares (Still I Rise Series) Acrylic on Canvas 12x12 2018 On exhibit October-December,2022 Chesterfield City Hall
Creative meditation is about connecting with our highest self. We do this by grounding ourselves in the present by anchoring ourselves with the breath. Breath unites the mind and body. It helps us relax and drives focus. As we cultivate this skill, we are better able to access our flow state. The present moment is a beautiful and creative place to be. As Lao Tzu once said, “If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present.” When the mind is at peace, creative thinking can flow, happiness can grow, and challenges are easier to overcome.
Break on through to the other side.
On top of the world.
Look up.
“In the desert, I had found a freedom unattainable in civilization; a life unhampered by possessions, since everything that was not a necessity was an encumbrance. I had found too, a comradeship inherent in the circumstances, and the belief that tranquility was to be found there.” ― Wilfred Thesiger
Stop wearing that mask that is trying to be a match for everybody, and realise that you have to have more of a 1s and 10s model. A 1s and 10s model means that if you want to be a 10 for somebody you have to risk being a 1 for somebody else. [...] You wanna express who you really are. -Steve Pavlina
It feels good to be lost in the right direction
The moment where you consider giving in, or do give in, that's the moment you torture yourself about for the rest of your life. That's the moment where you think it happened to you because you are a bad and weak person, who wanted it really. When in fact, it's about survival. And whichever choice you make, it wasn't really a choice at all. Mhairi McFarlane, Don't You Forget About Me “don’t forget about me” - erin mcgrath rieke about the artwork original created: 2021 subjects: abstract materials: canvas styles: abstract mediums: acrylic, oil, pastel details & dimensions artwork: mixed media on canvas original: one-of-a-kind artwork size: 16w x 20h x 1.5 d in frame: not framed studio sale available through 8/30/22 $250
There was a sort of innocence to him, I thought. I do not mean this as the poets mean it: a virtue to be broken by the story’s end, or else upheld at greatest cost. Nor do I mean that he was foolish or guileless. I mean that he was made only of himself, without the dregs that clog the rest of us. -Madeline Miller, Circe Turner Mill, Eleven Point River, Missouri #turnermill #elevenpoint #elevenpointriver #river #nationalscenicriverways #national #scenic #riverways #ozark #ozarksnationalscenicriverways #ozarks #ozarkhills #riverrats #mill #climbing #boysbeingboys #blackandwhite #bnw #bnwphotography #photo #photography #friends #travelingwithfriends #erinmcgrathrieke #justeproductions
Every great leader once fell down from a tall ladder. You don't become a star until you get the scar. Take that risk now. Israelmore Ayivor, Leaders' Ladder -Lake of the Ozarks
"We must not only obtain Wisdom: we must enjoy her." -Marcus Tullius Cicero
your taste, and therefore the taste buds of your soul, have grown accustomed to the flavor of bitterness—and consuming it to the last drop, your playful spirit has run completely dry—do this, and you’ll discover the highly sought but rarely found fountain of youth. Push far out from the populated shore, then stretch out over the side of your canoe, and peer down into the deep deep waters. When the shark begins to emerge within your reflection, don’t be afraid, let it completely devour your big head, as you have also taught the beast to consume others. Fear not! You will no longer need it on your odyssey. The humiliating disfiguration will kill you but it won’t hurt you. Rather, it will make space for your heart to turtlehead as an old, wise, and happy sage with an insatiable thirst for the drunkenness of good spirits, that can be found in every home, temple, and tavern that litters the shore, and brings cheer and love of life to the rigid bitter bones. Curtis Tyrone Jones, Giants At Play: Finding Wisdom, Courage, And Acceptance To Encounter Your Destiny
“Once again he could hear the planet’s joints and lifeblood. Stirrings in the stone. Ancient events. Here, time was like water. The tiniest creatures were his fathers and mothers. The fossils were his children. It made him into remembrance itself. He let his bare palms ricochet upon the walls, drawing in the heat and the cold, the sharp and the smooth. Plunging, galloping, he pawed at the flesh of God. This magnificent rock. This fortress of their being. This was the Word. Earth. Moment by moment, step by step, he felt himself becoming prehistoric. It was a blessed release from human habits. In this vast, capillaried monastery, through these openings and fretted spillways and yawning chthonic fistulae, drinking from pools of water older than mammal life altogether, memory was simply memory. It was not something to be marked on calendars or stored in books or labeled in graphs or drawn on maps. You did not memorize memory any more than you memorized existence. He remembered his way deeper by the taste of the soil and by the drag of air currents that had no cardinal direction. He left behind the cartography of the Holy Land and its entry caves through Jebel el Lawz in the elusive Midian. He forgot the name of the Indian Ocean as he passed beneath it. He felt gold, soft and serpentine, standing from the walls, but no longer recognized it as gold. Time passed, but he gave up counting it. Days? Weeks? He lost his memory even as he gained it.” ― Jeff Long, The Descent
Take me to the river. -The Eleven Point
is face in my dreams, seizing my guts, he floods me with dread. Soaked in soul, he swims in my eyes by the bed. Pour myself over him, moon spilling in And I wake up alone. Amy Winehouse Face in My Dreams Acrylic on Paper This piece is from my "Reflection Series" created for the Turbulence Behind Tranquility Project in 2019. This work and many others are currently available for purchase through the end of the summer at justeproductions.org. Starting at $40 through August 31st. Proceeds help support NAMI St. Louis.
Motherhood is a choice you make everyday, to put someone else's happiness and well-being ahead of your own, to teach the hard lessons, to do the right thing even when you're not sure what the right thing is...and to forgive yourself, over and over again, for doing everything wrong. Donna Ball, At Home on Ladybug Farm (Ladybug Farm #2) // Mother Carries The Burden • Acrylic on Paper • 2021 • SOLD
“The pessimist resembles a man who observes with fear and sadness that his wall calendar, from which he daily tears a sheet, grows thinner with each passing day. On the other hand, the person who attacks the problems of life actively is like a man who removes each successive leaf from his calendar and files it neatly and carefully away with its predecessors, after first having jotted down a few diary notes on the back. He can reflect with pride and joy on all the richness set down in these notes, on all the life he has already lived to the fullest. What will it matter to him if he notices that he is growing old? Has he any reason to envy the young people whom he sees, or wax nostalgic over his own lost youth? What reasons has he to envy a young person? For the possibilities that a young person has, the future which is in store for him? No, thank you,' he will think. 'Instead of possibilities, I have realities in my past, not only the reality of work done and of love loved, but of sufferings bravely suffered. These sufferings are even the things of which I am most proud, although these are things which cannot inspire envy.” ― Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning This is from my "Reflection Series" created for the Turbulence Behind Tranquility Project in 2019. It’s currently available for purchase through the end of the summer at justeproductions.org. Starting at $40 through August 31st. Proceeds help support NAMI St. Louis.
"There is no normal life that is free of pain. It's the very wrestling with our problems that can be the impetus for our growth." — Fred Rogers TURBULENCE BEHIND TRANQUILITY a rotating installation and exhibition that engages the public through visual, musical, and written creative expression that aims to help destigmatize mental health within our communities SHOP WORKS at justeproductions.org and help support the work of NAMI (national alliance for the mentally ill) a grassroots, non-profit organization that helps empower and enrich the lives of those living with mental health issues within our community.
I have never seen battles quite as terrifyingly beautiful as the ones I fight when my mind splinters and races, to swallow me into my own madness, again. -Nicole Lyons, Hush Inside My Mind (Turbulence Behind Tranquility) Acrylic on Canvas 2011
To shine your brightest light is to be who you truly are. -Roy T. Bennett
There is no combination of words I could put on the back of a postcard No song that I could sing but I can try for your heart Our dreams and they are made out of real things Like a shoebox of photographs with sepia-toned loving Love is the answer, at least for most of the questions in my heart Like why are we here? And where do we go? And how come it's so hard? It's not always easy and sometimes life can be deceiving I'll tell you one thing, it's always better when we're together
We leave something of ourselves behind when we leave a place, we stay there, even though we go away. And there are things in us that we can find again only by going back there. Pascal Mercier, Night Train to Lisbon Chicago, forever my home❤️
It's up to the artist to use language that can be understood, not hide it in some private code. Most of these jokers don't even want to use language you and I know or can learn . . . they would rather sneer at us and be smug, because we 'fail' to see what they are driving at. If indeed they are driving at anything--obscurity is usually the refuge of incompetence. Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land artwork: kiss, let it be painting: acrylic and oil on canvas original: one-of-a-kind artwork size: 12 w x 12 h x 1.5 d in frame: not framed packaging: ships in a box #collectivelycreate #justgoshoot #justeproductions #erinmcgrathrieke #acrylicpainting #bigpicture #beautiful #experience #faithinyourself #gettinglost #happy #i #journey #lifejourney #Positivethinking #stlouisartist #trustingyourjourney
Have you also learned that secret from the river; that there is no such thing as time?" That the river is everywhere at the same time, at the source and at the mouth, at the waterfall, at the ferry, at the current, in the ocean and in the mountains, everywhere and that the present only exists for it, not the shadow of the past nor the shadow of the future -Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha Current River, Father’s Day 06.19.22 #photographyislifee #photographyislife #photographysouls #photographyeveryday #photographylover #erinmcgrathrieke #iglobal_photographers #ig_great_pics #ig_myshot #shotwithlove #justgoshoot #icatching #collectivelycreate #wanderlust #justeproductions