The Boles

I had the pleasure of photographing the kids of a long time friend, Lee Watkins Boles, last week. They were so cute and fun. This is one of the last shots I took--would you believe that they had just been jumping up and down and doing piggy back shots just prior to this shot? Amazing, huh? They were great and so much fun! Aren't they handsome and beautiful? Thanks, Rainer, Merrill and Catherine!

"Cool" in Christ

Today at church, I had the pleasure of listening to some our youth guys (16 year olds) talk about a mission trip they took to the Dominican Republic to play baseball to the glory of God. Their experiences were so uplifting to the people there as well as to them. You know--the way God works--He gets you to the point of "selling yourself out for Him" and when you do, He gives you so much more back in return. The 4 guys from our church talked about that very thing--well, in their own words. They loved visiting the orphanages and simply playing with the kids. They had a ball playing baseball and then sharing the gospel afterwards. I was so proud of them! They have an experience behind them that will provide memories that shape their faith experience for the rest of their lives! God is good!

Something that one of the Dads, Ronnie Chronister, said was that the guys put down their cool to minister to these people, and how awesome it was to watch that! Well, I think that they discovered the real "cool" in being "cool for Christ." Jonathan, Keith, Kyle & Drew--I'm happy for you!....Over 140 lives were changed and given over to Christ on that trip! I just had to share this. This group was led by Eric Pugh and Score International Missions.

Consumed with the Wet/Dry Vote

I apologize to my readers who don't live in Athens, Alabama for having to read this...My wonderful city of Athens, Alabama has been consumed the past several months with the topic of going BACK to a dry city since going wet 3 years ago? Being a business owner right uptown on the square, I am in disbelief that this has made it to the ballot yet again. Tell me what is so bad about the progress we've enjoyed the past 3 years:

• All the amazing energy and spirit going on around town?
• The drop in DUI's for the past 3 years?
• The increase in tax revenue STAYING in Athens instead of going to our neighboring cities?
  
• The increase in businesses locating here due to the hot spot that we are?
• The increase in funding for our schools? for our children--for our future?
  
• The available tax revenue that has gone toward paving so many of our streets, making our city look so awesome and inviting from its many gateways of Hwy. 72 east and west and I 65 north and south?
• The ordinances that have been well kept by city officials to control the way we live with alcohol in our city--our city will remain a classy, historical town because of this.
  
• The great opportunity to have a choice in having a glass of wine with that awesome spaghetti at Giovanni's--have you been THERE yet? They wouldn't have settled here, bringing a whole new life and buzz to the square, without the legalized sales of alcohol.

As an FYI, I personally don't drink that often--in fact, I check the box, "rarely" on my medical records. But doctors and all health officials tell us that a daily glass of wine can be beneficial to keeping our hearts healthy and stress levels down. The past 3 years I've loved having the choice to buy a drink in my town if I choose to. I don't want that chance taken away. Do you?

To all my Athens brothers and sisters, I urge you to think about this topic (read articles and letters from the News Courier) and

GET OUT THERE TUESDAY AND VOTE!

Come on out for a fun time!

Art on the Square

September 8, 2007

Held on the beautiful Athens Square and Courthouse lawn, this annual juried fine arts exhibit features local and regional artists. This one day exciting, outdoor event is family oriented offering beautiful art work, an art contest for all county and city school students, live entertainment spotlighting different styles of music, a variety of tasty food and a merchant’s sidewalk sale. This year’s event will offer more than 40 artists showing, including art events held at Carole Foret's Studio.

I was honored to have been asked to be a judge for the juried exhibit! Save the date and come on out to the square for a day of fun and celebrating the arts!

www.athensartonthesquare.com

Destination Workshop--Go with us!

Above is the flyer (click it to read it!) for the Destination Painting Workshop Weekend. I will be teaching with my sister Claire Kayser next month in beautiful Jackson, Tennessee (near Memphis) at Art Under a Hot Tin Roof Gallery. We are really fired up about getting together with a group of eager students who want to learn new skills in painting, learning some cool techniques that Claire and I want to share.

The weekend of September 13th-15th will be fun-filled as we meet & greet one another at Kat Semrau's awesome gallery Thursday night over a glass of wine and watch live painting. On Friday we will have a jam-packed painting workshop (full of demonstrations by Claire and me), with a Saturday morning finish/critique session. Then the grand finale of the weekend will be an Art Opening of my and Claire's recent work as well as our student's work (if they wish).

Oh well, "Sounds like a blast, but I live out of town," you say. Well--don't let that hold you back! We have a block of rooms reserved for those who want to come and enjoy the weekend with us--it's an unbelievable deal too! The Old English Inn in Jackson, a gorgeous hotel, has graciously lowered their rates for our students. Simply call them ( (731) 668-1571 ) and ask about that weekend of "Carole and Claire's painting workshop." They'll get you all set up!

So JOIN US! We look forward to meeting you and painting together!
Call me to enroll in the workshop (256.232.2521) We accept Visa & Mastercard as well as cash or a personal check (if received by Sept. 1)

My goodness!

Latest from my Easel

I really haven't been "monkey-ing around"--I have been painting some. I'm working on commissions as well as some new ones for my show in Jackson, Tennessee September 15th. What do ya think?

See my site for the latest workshops! I just scheduled a great one to kick off the beginning of fall and end of summer. It is going to be a 3-week one held on Tuesday mornings....See the workshops section of my site for all the info. I'll tell you that this workshop includes lunch with me the last Tuesday at Giovanni's!!--the Italian bistro that is right next door. You don't want to miss this! Email me if interested!