​Though all through every year I move with great energy and devoted engagement from one event and one exhibition to the next, at these two times I really step up the pace, put the pedal-to-the-metal and go fast forward. When each big push is over I’m out of breath: my inner reserves and resources are depleted: I need a break. Work-Pause-Rest-Reset I go until my soul catches up with me.

I first understood this rhythm best when I was living in New York City. I was preparing to go on a solo hosteling adventure through Australia. In a dream I had seen silhouetted wild Brumby ponies of the Snowy Mountain highlands. They were running along the edge of the globe back-dropped by a gleaming full moon.

Determined to see the Brumbies running free on their native soil, I renewed my passport and got my visa and I read. I read up on Australia and the brumbies and hosteling. I especially loved Bruce Chatwin’s “The Songlines”—his 1987 book combining fiction and non-fiction, in which he tells of his trip to Australia for the express purpose of researching Aboriginal song and its connections to nomadic travel.

I drew up my itinerary and flew into Sydney and went into the mountains. Though I never found the Brumbies, I had adventures aplenty.

I fell in love with Australia and the ever friendly, helpful Australians. I drove as Aussies drive. I climbed Mount Kosciuszko, Australia’s highest peak. I feasted on scones and tea in the parks. I visited the Sydney Opera House. I sought out art in the museums of Canberra and Melbourne.

I saw the Little Penguins of Phillip Island on parade. Returning ashore after a full day of fishing at sea, they magically arrived at sunset and waddled across the beach to their sand dune burrows. No Brumbies. Just fairy penguins. I smiled. I felt happy. I came home to Manhattan.

So much newness, so much discovery, so much to process and take in. I had to lie down. I felt I had followed the songlines and like the Aborigines of whom Bruce Chatwin writes, I had to wait for my soul to catch up with me. I did. Work-Pause-Rest-Reset, and I was ready to paint what I’d seen and experienced—my downunder discoveries.

Again I’ve been waiting for my soul to catch up with me. Now I’m ready to paint a commission that first came to me some three or maybe four years ago. My patron has been ever so patient. Just when I was first ready to begin, my life led me to the entry of an exciting, new, fast-forward adventure.

While I kept on at artCentral I fell in love, got married, moved house three times, bought a home with my husband, added laying hens and gathered an Australian puppy into our blended family. Along the way I managed to make some art for exhibition (even took on and completed some not too-daunting commissions), but mostly, while starting up an entirely new life, in regard to painting, I had to practice Work-Pause-Rest-Reset. Finally my soul has caught up with me sufficiently to begin “La Pietà”.

My “La Pietà”, added to my “Madonna and Child”, the commission I painted for Father Steve Wilson not too long after I moved to Carthage, will belong in the small collection hanging at Grace Episcopal Church.

What a privilege to reflect upon and reference “La Pietà” (The Pity) painted by William-Adolphe Bouguereau in 1876 following soon after the death, in 1875, of his eldest son, Georges, who was only sixteen years old. This one will take all I have to give, for my emotions run deep as a mother with a beloved adult son. My husband says I can do this. I will. My soul has caught up with me. I am ready.
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The art of the Joplin Regional Artists Coalition will fill the galleries of Hyde House, upstairs and down, in February and March. The Opening Reception for HEART & SOUL is Friday, February 7, 2020, 6:00-8:00 p.m. The public is invited. Admission is free. For more information call (417) 358-4404 or visit www.artcentralcarthage.org online.

In Carthage neighborhoods and around the county, most all the colorfully twinkling holiday decorations have been taken down and packed away for the year. Though the days are waking sooner to lengthen longer, they are often sweetly subdued and sometimes rather gray.
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Our heartland world seems to be resting in the still of winter. In pastures outside of town large rolls of uncollected hay bales look like monoliths forgotten and left behind by time. Farmland fields lie serenely fallow. Ploughed under, they passively wait to be sown again in spring.

Earlier that day, moving through our pre-work morning rituals, over coffee we spoke of Nature’s signs and totems, especially those for which David feels an affinity—the owl and the crow—both being symbols for instinctual wisdom. After the hawks’ attention-getting visitation we questioned their possible meaning.

We learned that in Native American culture hawks are revered as protectors. They symbolize power, courage and strength. They represent the ability to use intuition and higher vision in order to complete tasks or make important decisions. Understood as messengers of the spirit world, seeing hawks means the universe wants you to learn powerful lessons or expand your knowledge and wisdom.

Come spring I will remember this awareness each time I see our pair-bond visitors in their home Park territory as they nest and brood in the high branches of a big old tree beside the Park’s sidewalk. I’ll appreciate them more than ever as they give flying lessons to new offspring winging from limb to far limb and swooping low over Lasyrenn and me as we amble along.

For now, in the still of winter, I will call upon Crow and Owl and Hawk to give me guidance as I move into “La Pietà”, my current painting commission; as I make 2020 plans with artCentral’s Board of Directors; and as together we make preparations for 2020’s first gallery exhibition HEART & SOUL.

​The art of the Joplin Regional Artists Coalition will fill the galleries of Hyde House, upstairs and down, in February and March. The Opening Reception for HEART & SOUL is Friday, February 7, 2020, 6:00-8:00 p.m. The public is invited. Admission is free. For more information call (417) 358-4404 or visit www.artcentralcarthage.org online.

The exhibit, beautifully themed HEART & SOUL for February, the month of love, will showcase a collection created by members of the Joplin Regional Artists Coalition (JRAC). I will be honored to share my painting, “In Love We Disappear”, among the mixed media works of such gifted artists.
The exhibition theme of HEART & SOUL has been an inspiration to me. The lyrics of Leonard Cohen’s “Boogie Street” have served as inspiration, as well:
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“So come, my friends, be not afraid. We are so lightly here.
It is in love that we are made; in love we disappear.”
I’ve pondered what heart and soul and love are for me. They all for me are Lasyrenn (“La-si-ren”), my siren. In Haiti she is the patron spirit of artists and musicians.
Many of you already know my husband David and I are training Lasyrenn, our Australian Shepherd, to be a therapy dog who will give emotional support. Eager to learn and acquire new skills, at two years old she is showing great promise and terrific progress.
Lasyrenn captured my heart and touched my soul the first moment I gathered her in my arms. She was lightly dappled with colors of amber and chestnut, as though softly stroked with a brush. Among her rowdy litter of nine blissfully tumbling and frolicking in a muddy enclosure, she was the only one sitting demurely apart, watching her sisters and brothers.
The still, pristine serenity of this tiny fluff ball of fur seemed to call out to me, “Take me home before I become all mud-covered, too.” I did. Picked her up. Took her home and fell deeply, deeply in love with my wee studio companion who’s growing up to be smart and sensitive, eager to learn, feisty and energetic, too.
Truly beautiful to behold, Lasyrenn is my favorite photographic subject. At last I have chosen an image from among so very many. This one especially honors her quiet, soft beauty. She’s resting in David’s reading chair waiting for him to come home at the end of the day. Light from a large salon window is falling softly across her back, highlighting one side of her face and the tufting above her ears. She is still and serene in her waiting as she looks directly at me.
First I make a sketch from Lasyrenn’s photograph. Then I explode the drawing to fill the 11”x13” picture plane of an acid-free, gesso-prepped museum board. I spread out the tubes of acrylic pigments I’ve chosen for my minimalist, muted palette of dusty hues. I lay down Lasyrenn’s contours with lightly painted lines of raw umber.
I begin to add pigment. First I paint her eyes, for they are the windows to her soul. They show her true feelings and reveal her emotions. As soon as I’ve painted her eyes, all else follows and flows gracefully, easily. I am pleased. I have practiced my art of seeing. I have found love and inspiration, truth and beauty.
Will you come see and celebrate my love and Lasyrenn, with me? Come enjoy your own art of seeing love and inspiration, truth and beauty in all the wonderful JRAC art that will fill the galleries of Hyde House, upstairs and down, in February and March. The Opening Reception for HEART & SOUL is Friday, February 7, 2019, 6:00-8:00 p.m. The public is invited. Admission is free. For more information call (417) 358-4404 or visit www.artcentralcarthage.org online.

We especially love the video of all the children singing and signing “Shalom” (Peace. Peace.) On the soundtrack we can hear one-year-old Alexandra sitting on her Mother’s lap and cooing-singing along with the big kids. We adore the photograph, where, having broken free of her Mother’s arms, Alexandra has toddled up to her big sister on the front row and is reaching up to her. A sweet, sweet connection. A sweet, sweet memory in the making.

This season is all about making sweet memories, being open to however they come and cherishing them.
My west coast son called and asked, “How is your schedule? I’m driving up from Alabama and can pass through Carthage and stay a couple of nights. I’m sorry this is so last minute. My trip came up suddenly.”
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I was in the midst of finishing a painting commission when his call came. I had to sit down. My surprise and my delight were equally immense. In my wildest imaginings I never considered the possibility of his coming. I was overjoyed with anticipation.

I am so very grateful for the gift of this unexpected visit. He and his wife live a long distance away. We all have very full lives and demanding day jobs. We love our family greatly, but time and geography make our visits few and far between. Our hours spent together always pass so very quickly. Every moment we get to share is precious.

Especially now, in this celebration season, I want to treasure every minute—the looks given, the words spoken, the thoughts and love and hugs exchanged. I want to make of them sweet memories to recall next year and the next. I want our sweet memories made together to last for ever and ever after.

I’m very aware that for many of you this season of celebration is filled with more than pleasing surprises and happy reunions. I realize there are those of you among us whose longings are creating tremendous heartaches—intensifying feelings of loss and aloneness.

I know the holidays can magnify all our emotions—joy and sorrow, too. I see your posts on Facebook. My eyes tear as I read, “Grief is like having broken ribs. On the outside you look fine, but with every breath you hurt.” I hear you. I care that you are hurting. I thank you for your honest sharing and telling us of your very real heartache and mourning—for the leaving of a precious child; a wife, husband, mother, father, sister or brother who has gone through the veil; a missed friend or lover; a pet who has crossed over the rainbow.

I wish for each heartache a candle, real or imagined, that whispers and burns ever so sweetly. I wish for you comfort. I wish for you peace. I wish for you a coming someday when your heartache lessens and becomes a soothing sweet gift—a sweet memory here and another there—sweet memories that mend your aching and cause you to smile with your recalling of dear loved ones who have departed.

There is an art to making sweet memories. Sometimes we must wait and weep to be ready for them to come. Come they always will like glittering stars in the winter night skies—like fireflies twinkling in summer’s dusk. Come they will. Come they will. I promise.

​For me Winter Solstice brings artCentral’s blessed Midwinter pause—a wee winter break—to reflect on the art-full, joy-filled highlights of the year we’re completing and to appreciate those who have supported artCentral’s many successes in 2019.

January - Artist and artCentral member Lowell Davis was named as the Chamber of Commerce “Artist of the Year”. Our local artist hero and artCentral member Andy Thomas presented his own original sculpture-enhanced oil painting honoring Lowell. Recently Lowell was inducted into the Hall of Carthage Heroes.

February-March - Hyde House galleries were filled with mixed media works created by a plethora of members of the Joplin Regional Artists Coalition for their exciting “Arti Gras” exhibition. KOKA Art Gallery and Cherry’s Custom Framing and Fine Art Gallery provided the exhibition underwriting.

April - The first Art.A.Fair Carthage took place on the historic square. Aspiring young artists painted plant-a-posie flower pots to take home with a set of complimentary paints.

April-May - Connie Miller’s bright, uplifting portraits were displayed at artCentral in “Conversations in Color” underwritten by Schmidt Associates, P.C.

May’s Give Carthage Day sponsored by The Carthage Community Foundation brought community online-giving support for artCentral’s GIVE4ART fund. Special recognition was given to artCentral with the Spirit Award from Revel Boutique for best use of social media.

June-July - With underwriting support by McCune-Brooks Healthcare Foundation, the Annual Membership Exhibition opened with an outdoor awards presentation on a perfect picnic evening. Member artist Andrew Batcheller of Joplin took top honors.

July brought the “All Creatures Great and Small” theme to artCamp attended by 70 youth with generous support by individual scholarship donors, as well as community supporters including the Helen S. Boylan Foundation, Carthage Council on the Arts, Carthage Rotary Club, Crackpot Pottery and Art Studio, Ruth I. Kolpin Foundation, Leggett & Platt, Incorporated, and S&S COMPUTERS.

August-September - “All Creatures Great and Small” was also the theme for the impressive exhibition presented by the Four State Photography Enthusiasts generously underwritten by Central Pet Care.
October-November - Jodie Sutton filled artCentral with 112 stunning “Encaustic Autumn Landscapes”. Sirloin Stockade provided the underwriting.

December - Eighteen talented artists created a beautiful Holiday Boutique shopping experience; Sixty-six artCentral artists donated their original 5x7 canvases for the fundraising Silent Auction; and the Board of Directors were honored at their Annual Christmas Luncheon.

Throughout the year artCentral’s satellite galleries at The Carthage Public Library and The Atrium at Sirloin Stockade were filled with works from JRAC’s “Arti Gras”, “Conversations in Color” and Membership exhibits, as well as two cameo exhibitions of florals and trains presented by artCentral board of directors secretary and photographer-artist Jane Ballard of Joplin.
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After our Exhibition and Event packed year working full steam on behalf of art and artists, I am ready for a rest! Winter Solstice is the perfect beginning! I’m going to paint, swim laps, train and play with our puppies and spend evenings by our yule fire with artCentral’s hardworking prepitor, my dear artist husband David.

Accompanied by his wife, Rose, and family members, Lowell was celebrated at the Fair Acres Family Y along with five other members of the eighth class of heroines and heroes.

With great appreciation for his contributions to the cultural life of our community and that of the far reaches he has touched, artCentral salutes Lowell. “Congratulations! Well done!”

The plaque presented to Lowell, a replica of the one now displayed in the Hall of Carthage Heroes, tells his story and celebrates his life as an “Artist and Citizen of Distinction”.

Lowell Davis, son of Berton Clayton Davis and Nell Marie Davis, was born in Lawrence County, Missouri, on June 8, 1937, and grew up in Red Oak, Missouri. He attended Mark Twain grade school and Carthage High School. Lowell married Rose Castillo Davis in 2003. He has three daughters and three sons from previous marriages: April Davis Brunner, also an artist, Heather Davis, Wren Davis, Phillip Davis, Jeb Davis and Aaron Davis.

Ironically, after failing English and art his sophomore year at Carthage High School in the 1950’s, Lowell dropped out to join the Air Force. As a part of a four-member crew, he flew prop planes during the Algerian War. After one particularly rough landing in Algiers, Lowell received a medical discharge. Following his military service, Lowell moved to Dallas-Fort Worth to be an Art Director for a large advertising agency. He explains his experience, “All those fourteen years, all I could think about was getting back to Missouri and getting a farm.” Fulfilling that wish, Lowell returned to a farm outside Carthage to farm and pursue his own art full time.

Well known for his art depicting farm life in America, most especially in Jasper County, Lowell is often referred to as the “Norman Rockwell of Rural Art”. His artistic works include paintings, figurines, bronzes, metal sculptures and art storybooks that reflect small town life in rural Missouri, giving a glimpse into simpler and often sweeter times.

Among Lowell’s greatest contributions to the Carthage area is his recreation of his childhood hometown of Red Oak, the original now vanished. Red Oak II is a charming step back into a small rural town, complete with the original Phillips 66 gas station, general store, school house, blacksmith shop and the Belle Starr home he preserved, moved and restored on the property. Thousands of visitors traveling Route 66 make a special stop to visit Red Oak II and sometimes have the pleasure to run into Lowell at his home there.

Lowell has created numerous metal sculptures and signs around Carthage, highlighting various businesses, schools and activities in our community. In 1978, he was one of the founding members of The Midwest Gathering of the Artists a juried art exhibit and sale held in Carthage for more than thirty years to showcase Midwestern and Western paintings and sculptures. In 2019 Lowell was recognized as the Chamber of Commerce “Artist of the Year”.
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The members of artCentral and the citizens of Carthage extend to you, Lowell Davis, our deepest gratitude. You have put Carthage on the cultural map of the world. Lowell Davis you make a difference! We honor you, a true Carthage Hero!

​#GivingTuesday and the HOLIDAY BOUTIQUE are two more grand artCentral successes. I stand, applaud and celebrate all those who participate and do their part to support and sustain our small town nonprofit arts center. To all these heroines and heroes I say “Thank you!”

Thank you to all artCentral supporters and friends, heroines and heroes who hit the online “donate” button and made contributions for #GivingTuesday. The success of this Facebook fundraiser goes far to insure the sustainable vitality of artCentral’s work on behalf of art and artists.

Thank you to all seventeen artCentral artists, heroines and heroes who brought their unique creations to fill the galleries and turn Hyde House into a beautifully elegant shopping venue: Linda Brown (Sgraffito clay giftables), Alexandra Burnside (whimsical pillows), April Davis-Brunner (paintings, wind chimes, mugs and coasters), Teri Diggs (garden art), Jerry Ellis (framed prints), Judith Fowler (angel journals and pillows),  Kristin Gerard (jewelry), Alice Lynn Greenwood-Mathé (prints and cards), Becky Golubski (paintings, mugs and pillows), Brenda Hayes (fiber creations), Helen Kunze (paintings), Koral Martin (porcelain, wood and metal ornaments), Jane McCaulley (glass ornaments), Mary Parks (cutting boards, coasters, small paintings), Marty Ann Petersen (whimsical ornaments), Priscilla Pettie (jewelry) and Dana Reed (Owl and Willow artisan candles).

Thank you to artCentral’s board of directors heroines—Betsy Flanigan (president), Jackie Boyer and Wendi Douglas—the phenomenal Holiday Boutique committee who worked with me for a year to create our splendid Holiday Boutique showcase and enlist the assistance of volunteers.

Especially thank you to hero David Greenwood-Mathé, artCentral’s hardworking and always willing prepitor, who prepared gallery walls, distributed banners and event flags, toted tables and chairs and graciously took care of many, many other tasks that made for smooth and easy set-up, shopping and reset of Hyde House.

Thank you to the all the other cheerful volunteers—those heroines and heroes who gave their time and happy spirits to staff the Boutique: Jane Ballard, Jackie Boyer, Aurelia Burr, Maddie Capps, Teri Diggs, Wendi Douglas, Betsy Flanigan, David Greenwood-Mathé, Jason Shelfer and Jane Van Den Berg. The Holiday Boutique couldn’t happen without you!

Thank you to former board member and heroine Gail White who originally brought to the board table the idea to plant and offer Amaryllis bulbs as a Holiday Boutique fundraiser. Each year the limited edition sale has brought more and more interest and success as Amaryllis have been purchased to be given as gifts and to decorate homes and offices.

A grateful thank you to heroine Wendy Verbeek of Bella Flora Nurseries for providing the space for planting and caring for the Amaryllis during their cultivation. Our Holiday Boutique patrons are carrying away stunning blooming plants that will give vibrant color and great joy all through the holiday season and well beyond.

To the artCentral artist heroines and heroes who have created and donated original 5”x7” creations for the Silent Auction fundraiser, I say “Thank you for graciously sharing your gifts and talents! Namaste." Your beautiful contributions individually and collectively attract patrons who generously support artCentral as they choose your creations to enhance homes and offices locally and far away. Our beloved artCentral is enriched by your artistic giving! You are heroines and heroes, one and all.

What a joy for me to work with and among all the artists of artCentral—those just emerging to find their creative voices; those well-established and continuing to find their ever broader audiences; and those special heroines and heroes who are being recognized for the outstanding artistic achievements of their lifetimes. In my next Art Notes I will celebrate with you the exceptional homegrown artist, Lowell Davis, who has very recently been inducted into the Hall of Carthage Heroes.

To all the heroines and heroes who support the life and work of artCentral I offer my deepest gratitude. You make a difference! I honor you!

​Set for the Tuesday following our traditional Thursday of Thanksgiving, Giving Tuesday is a global, once-a-year opportunity to support the organizations and causes you love…like artCentral. Please support artCentral and the artists of our community. Give4ART and artCentral on #Giving Tuesday, December 3, 2019. 

​While the Louvre, the Met, the National Gallery and Crystal Bridges claim deep and broad sources for funding, the sustainability of artCentral as our hometown, non-profit arts center is built on the memberships and donations of our local community—folks just like you. Your generosity makes artCentral possible.
 
Give Give4ART on #Giving Tuesdayand…

Please mark your calendar today for #Giving Tuesday. On December 3 go to artCentral’s Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/ArtcentralCarthage) and click on the blue DONATE button. Easily, securely make your donation. When matched by Facebook your donation is worth two times as much!
 
Beginning at 7:00 a.m. CST on #Giving Tuesday, Facebook will match donations on a first-come, first served basis until $7 million are matched.
 
The allotted $7 million dollars sounds like a huge fund, but those dollars will be distributed globally to all eligible nonprofit organizations. There are many, many causes like artCentral hoping to receive a piece of Facebook’s $7 million pie.
 
Set your alarm for 6:50 a.m. Be ready early to click DONATE. Double your money! Your contribution made early in the day, has the best chance of being matched for the benefit of artCentral. Of course you can give later, too.
 
Thank you for every gift you give! Whether you donate $5 or $400, every dollar you give makes a difference, especially when your gift is doubled. Please help artCentral raise our goal of $2,000.00 for Give4ART #Giving Tuesday. With your help $2,000.00 will double into $4,000.00 for the benefit of art and artists!
 
Facebook covers all processing fees, so 100% of all funds donated to artCentral go directly to artCentral’s support.
 
artCentral is a nonprofit organization with the mission to promote, exhibit, teach and foster the appreciation of fine arts in our community. Visit www.artcentralcarthage.org to learn more.
 
Just after #Giving Tuesday artCentral’s green door of hospitality will open for the HOLIDAY BOUTIQUE where you can see and enjoy the benefits of being an artCentral supporter of talented artists who offer their creations at Hyde House.
 
December 5th, Thursday, 5-8 p.m.—HOLIDAY BOUTIQUE preview, shopping and SILENT AUCTION launch.
December 6th, Friday evening, 5-8 p.m.—Shopping and SILENT AUCTION bidding times continue.
December 7th, Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.—Morning and afternoon shopping with the SILENT AUCTION bidding concluding at 3:00 p.m.
 
For more information please call (417) 358-4404.

​In this season when we pause to give gratitude I am thankful for art—the beauty of art and the comfort of art; the passion and the inspiration of art; the power and the challenge of art. I am thankful I wake into each new day to enjoy sharing art with my artist husband, David, my arty family, my art-loving friends and the artists and patrons of artCentral.
 
I am thankful art makes my world go round. I live and breathe art. I dream of art. I make art. I celebrate art. I work for my love of art and artists. I am thankful for the privilege of serving as Executive Director-Curator of artCentral, our hometown non-profit arts center.

​I am thankful for artCentral’s rotating exhibitions throughout each year that showcase local, regional and even international art and artists.  I am thankful for artCentral’s seasonal HOLIDAY BOUTIQUE where we all can practice thanksgiving by shopping locally, supporting artists and choosing art for our holiday gift-giving.
 
Please mark your calendar for December 5, 6 and 7 and come to artCentral’s HOLIDAY BOUTIQUE in festively decorated Hyde House at 1110 East Thirteenth Street. Admission is free for all three days.
 
You’ll find Hyde House full of amazing pocket friendly art created for you by many of our regions most talented artists including Linda Brown (Sgraffito clay giftables), Alexandra Burnside (whimsical pillows), April Davis-Brunner (paintings, wind chimes, mugs and coasters), Teri Diggs (garden art), Jerry Ellis (framed prints), Judith Fowler (angel journals and pillows),  Kristin Gerard (jewelry), Alice Lynn Greenwood-Mathé (prints and cards), Becky Golubski (paintings, mugs and pillows), Brenda Hayes (fiber creations), Helen Kunze (paintings), Koral Martin (porcelain, wood and medal ornaments), Jane McCaulley (glass ornaments), Mary Parks (cutting boards, coasters, small paintings), Marty Ann Petersen (whimsical ornaments), Priscilla Pettie(jewelry) and Dana Reed (Owl and Willow artisan candles).

When you shop at artCentral’s HOLIDAY BOUTIQUE, you will make a difference in the cultural life of our community by supporting these talented artists.
 
December 5th, Thursday, 5-8 pm—HOLIDAY BOUTIQUE preview, shopping and SILENT AUCTION launch.

December 6th, Friday evening, 5-8 pm—shopping and SILENT AUCTION bidding times continue.

December 7th, Saturday, 10 am-4 pm—morning and afternoon shopping with the SILENT AUCTION bidding concluding at 3:00 pm.
 
Featured again this year, in addition to artCentral artist creations, are artCentral’s signature fundraising, modestly priced Amaryllis in chic, vintage-styled galvanized planters ($25 for a single and $30 for two bulbs). Perfect for your own home, these limited edition beauties, planted to bloom at the peak of the holiday festivities, make lovely gifts for everyone on your list. Reserve several and prepay by calling (417) 358-4404 in advance of the HOLIDAY BOUTIQUE.
 
Give yourself the gift of HOLIDAY BOUTIQUE shopping, Amaryllis selecting and SILENT AUCTION bidding all for the love of art and artists!
 
I am thankful as I anticipate your visit during this season of Thanksgiving, celebrating and gifting! 
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