“At the end of the day, your hands should be dirty, your hair should be messy, and your eyes sparkling.”
-Shanti
Okay. That’s not exactly how Shanti’s quote originally went. The quote actually says “your feet should be dirty”, but I think our hands should to get into something messy/new/thrilling/meaningful every day too, don’t you?
Y’all, I went to the most glorious place this past Monday afternoon, and I have been so excited to tell you about it!
There were oodles of BEAUTY-FULL paintings stacked in wooden crates, leaning up against the walls, and hung on just about every open spot of wall space. It was AMAZING!!!
But let me rewind a bit…
Several weeks ago, I was visiting a friend from church (Ann-Allen) and she was telling me about this “incredible artist friend” of hers named Ruthie Carlson. Ann-Allen had a couple of her paintings, and I was totally smitten with them. When I got home from Ann-Allen’s house that afternoon, I looked Ruthie up on Instagram and immediately started following her feed. (RuthieCarlsonArt)
Fast forward to two Sundays ago. Another friend from church (Carol) invites me to have lunch with her and her friend, Ruthie Carlson.
Fast forward to this past Monday. It was just after 1 o’clock when the three of us climbed up to the studio on the 3rd floor of Ruthie’s charming, country home, and man did we have a great time getting to know each other and making art together!
(That’s Carol on the right)
Ruthie nicknamed her studio “The Holiday Studio” because she “loves a holiday!” and her motto for the place is, “…where every day is a holiday!“. My jaw almost hit the floor when I walked through the door and saw all her heART!
Ruthie walked us through a fun mixed media project that involved covering a chunk of pine lumber in old book pages, scrapbook paper, acrylic paint, stamps and doodles. All that chatting and gluing and painting and stamping was like chicken soup for my soul. I added my Word of the Year and the number 23 to mine…
23 is our house number and our Sweet P’s birthday number, so it always conjures up the warm fuzzies. 🙂
When Ruthie was done sealing her block, she finished the bottom of the painting she was so sweet to send me home with that day.
She applies the paint with a palette knife- isn’t that neat?
She wrote a special message on the back of the painting for Sweet P. It included the first line of Psalm 23: The Lord is my shepherd. It made me smile not only because I had just stamped “23” on the front of my wood block, but also because I discovered that Carol had included the same verse in the card she gave me when she arrived at Ruthie’s that day. I didn’t read it until I got home that night, so you can imagine how my heart swelled when I saw it pop up again!
So thankful for those gals and their Encouragement…and sparkling eyes! 🙂
And Carol was so kind to send me home with a loaf of her home baked bread and two tiny sheep to remind me that I am never alone…
Ruthie’s email address is [email protected] and she has a website called RuthieCarlson.com if you’d like to see more of her work and read her blog. Her Facebook page is Ruthie Carlson Art, and if you live in the area, don’t have plans Thursday night, and would like to see her paint live and in-person, she’ll be at an event called Art Splash. Carol said there will be lots of local artists there painting, and there will be both a silent auction during the event, and a live auction at the end of the night. Fundraising will support Montgomery Christian School- the only non-profit school in the River Region. For more information, check out the Art Splash Facebook page. Here’s a sneak peek at a couple of the paintings Ruthie will be bringing to work on/auction off at the event:
My favorite. 🙂
Oh my goodness! I LOVE Ruthie’s art! I visited her shop on her website but there are only notecards for sale. Is there someway to purchase her art if I don’t live in the area?
It’s so great! Thx! : )
How fun!! I can barely imagine anything more fun than sitting around a table with encouraging friends, painting and creating something beautiful. I love that line from the 23rd Psalm. He really is our Shepard – caring for us and guiding us with so much love!
Love your posts, Layla!
Her work is just gorgeous and I am so excited to hear about your next step in the adoption process.
What gorgeous work. You can just “feel” her heart thru her work. I also loved your pine piece. How precious. BTW, I will never look at 23 without thinking of you and “our” Sweet P.
Did you see any crows???? 🙂
WOW! Absolutely beautiful! I especially love the cardinal….
Thanks for sharing!
23 everywhere is glorious!! squeeeeeeeeeeee!
ruthie’s work is lovely. thanks for sharing.
Wow, what a cool studio! I just love all of her art. It is really wonderful. The colors are just beautiful. It just speaks to my heart. Do you know if she sells any of her work online? I don’t live in the area, but would love to be able to purchase a piece or two!
Beautiful work! So vibrant and moving I can see why you love it 🙂
Thanks for sharing
Lauren
LB Designs
xx
Layla,
Everything about this blog is beauty-full..what a blessing. God is wonderous, and wonderful.. thanks for sharing…so happy to hear about it.
You are so fortunate to have days filled like this. I think it has a bit to do with what you give out, and how it comes back to you. What a wonderful day! Thanks for sharing.
Beautiful! What you said about 23 and Psalm 23 showing up multiple times gave me goosebumps! 🙂
You make me smile. I hope to meet you someday.
Love the little lambs. They remind me of the lamb lid lifters.
http://www.amazon.com/Tovolo-Pot-Lid-Lifts-Sheep/dp/B00JQN1SNU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1424301140&sr=8-2&keywords=lid+lifters+sheep
What a wonderful sounding day and experience! I love her art!
This art is spectacular. So good to have “chicken soup” kind of days.
Very cute. Can you actually buy her art? All I see is notecards for sale on her site.
Yep! If you send her an email, I’m sure she’d be so happy to hear from you, Shila! 😀
I love your opening quote today, I couldn’t agree more!
I squealed when I saw Rutie Carlson!!! I use to work for her husband ….. about 16 years ago….the Christmas before I “retired” to have my daughter (at age 36)….. Ruthie was going to go downtown to visit Mose T…..I asked her to see if he had any Manger Scenes in his inventory…..sadly she came back and said no…BUT she surprised me with something so much better!!! She had painted “Mose T” style the sweetest manger scene ever as a Christmas Gift! I cherish it…and put it out each year…and think back to that gift! Priceless!!!
Hello there, I wonder if you’ve seen art by another artist with the name of Ruth. Her website is ruthmeharg.com.