We'll be including textile arts, too

We're happy to report a few donations of quilts to the auction.

This one arrived Express Mail and we opened it with great enthusiasm.

It's called "Flying Geese on the Lake" and is the creation of Jane Wheeler of Montana.

Some of the triangles are in wonderful flannel giving this quilt extra warmth and comfort.

What the photo doesn't show is the quilting detail of different nautical themes tying into the lake theme.

Just beautiful!

Exciting donations!

We have been busy organizing the donations we're getting for our auction on October 18th. It's quite exciting to see the creativity of our contributing artists.

Here is a sampling:Vera Cross, a fabulous watercolorist from Sharon, MA has contributed this wonderful framed piece and a detail without the frame:


Tony Donovan has contributed this oil painting, Four Chimneys. What wonderful trees he's captured in this piece.



Bruce Turner has donated this wonderful painting!

And here it is without the frame to show some detail

What a wonderful, luminous sky! I am especially fond of the shadows on the house. The blues are just beautiful.



And to conclude, here is a watercolor by Donna McClure. Just a perfect painting for the season.


Hope you enjoyed this preview. More to come!

All auction donations by October 10th

These past couple weeks have been filled with letters, emails, packages and pledges from Montana, Colorado, Texas, Chicago, New York, Indiana and Utah. Between my daughter's wedding and the auction, there has been plenty to do! We have had some surprise artist participants, like the monks at Spencer, and there's always room for more. We hope to receive
all donations by October 10th, so that we will have assessment and paperwork time.

We have some splendid donations of newly-made quilts. Wherever we display them at the auction, I hope you will pay special attention to their craftsmanship. The colors are gorgeous! We'll be posting these pictures soon.

Not auction, but art related, is an exhibit at the Norfolk Library beginning on October 4, 2008, featuring the work of four women artists. Sharon Carloni, Karen Pendleton, Pamela Ruby Russel and I hope you will join us for a reception at 4 pm that day!

A new donation!

It's nice to learn of our new donation promises. It's great when we get photos of what we can expect.

How about these photos!

Abbey Story

Recently we were talking about personal memories in connection with the abbey. Here's one of mine. When my daughter Amy was a tiny girl, our family went to see my sister , who is a member of the community. The sisters made a fuss over the baby, and it was a lovely visit.
Twenty-five years later, Amy again went with me to the abbey. An older nun took Amy's hand and told her that she remembered meeting her and included her in her prayers every day. I could see that my daughter was profoundly touched by her words and by the fact that a very casual acquaintance offered prayers on her behalf.
This week Amy and Kevin will be married . We are all looking forward to the event. Thanks to friends and family for all your support over the years. Bless you, Amo!

Going for 50

Gathering the artwork donated to the auction gives me a lot of satisfaction. Best of all, I like meeting the artists, who are some very interesting and thoughtful people. I enjoy seeing their creations. Right now we are past the half-way point in our drive to get fifty original, framed pieces of artwork, the goal our auctioneer has set for us. If you are an artist considering a donation to the auction, now is a good time to do it. We look forward to meeting you!

The Generosity of Siblings, In-laws and Neighbors

Every so often this summer we received a note from my brother who has faithfully solicited donations from co-workers and friends on behalf of the abbey. My octagenarian aunt insisted that her daughter keep an eye on the auction's progress for her, even as she approached the end of her long life of caring for and loving her whole family. Yesterday my sister-and brother-in-law generously donated their Notre Dame tickets to some lucky bidder for our raffle. Our neighbors have freely given their time and talents to assist the auction. I truly have been blown away by these and other demonstraions of kindness and support!