Meet Lord Blakely

Meet Blakely Dadson. He is a Portland artist extraordinaire, an amazing creator, a musician, and an integral part of our church family at Hope. Last week Blakely had an art opening at a gallery downtown that Jason and I were able to attend. Under the glow of downtown and through the gazes of strangers and friends alike we were able to see Blakely's new work.

As I left the card announcing Blakely's art opening on the kitchen counter that night, I thought it, like most pieces of scrap paper in our house, would be discovered by our children and rapidly consumed by scissors and tape. But this postcard did not succumb to the usual fate. Walking into the kitchen the following morning I found Rynn spellbound and speechless as she stared at the colorful image on the front. She looked up at me with great sincerity and said, "Mommy, where is this painting?."

To which I replied, "That is from Blakely's art show. You know Blakely...from church."

With incredulity Rynn said, "Why, Mommy, did you not take me? I want to see this painting."

Four days later Blakely met our family at the gallery for a personal tour with Eleanor and Rynn. It was such a joy to see our children find wonder at new images and to see Blakely with his art. I feel so blessed to share in the creative life of others in our church and to see my children enjoy sharing in it with them too.

You can see more of Blakely's art at www.lordblakely.com.

a little sushi snack after all that hard art critique

And, check out this image of the Steele Bridge and the blooming cherry trees...the contrasting image of this bridge with all of its stark, efficient engineering next to the soft, pink blooming cherry trees of Waterfront Park.