60 Years of Ministry

Serendipity

Serendipity

Merriam-Webster dictionary 

Definition of serendipity

: the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for

also : an instance of this

the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.

I studied painting, not graphic design.

I assumed that one day someone would just want a nice pretty painting of a flower or maybe perhaps a portrait.

As I started to look back at my artwork under the subject, publications, I realize that many of these assignments are various and random. The projects ranged from computer art to photography. These unplanned opportunities came in assorted ways. A networking convention, a “can you do me a favor?” scenario, or a stranger viewing my work and has shown interested to publish my work. My goodness. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I will be involved in “Publishing”! I paint pretty pictures and I enjoy the process, but never did I imagine that my skills would be needed as a graphic designer. Then I thought about one of my favorite professors in college name Morton Kaish who was known as Professor Kaish. He always wore a tie, dress shirt, slacks, sometimes a shiny shoes with a white pressed smock. Always professional. He spoke with a monotone voice. His presence was calm and easy going. I am known to give people whom I’m fond of nicknames. Therefore, I code named him, Papa Kaish because he has this way of story telling that was smooth, comforting and reassuring whether the topic of discussion were art techniques or the art industry. As if he was telling you a bedtime story. I don’t know how all or most of my classmates felt at the time, but you could’ve either fell asleep, zone out or pay close attention. And if you paid attention to his stories, guess what?, He had real knowledge to share “to spit out!” You either caught the message for that moment or you missed out! 

I chose to listen very carefully. One of his favorite words was serendipity. He would remind us to look out for it, he would encourage us to embrace it. Sometimes I understood it when it came to art techniques, but I really began to understand the term more during my career as an artist. Believe me, If I haven’t embraced the wonderful serendipity of unusual opportunities, I wouldn’t even have a category called publications. I Consider them blessings and maybe one day someone will ask me to paint a pretty picture of a flower as well. For right now, I’ll just continue to embrace serendipity by following God‘s blessings and see where it takes me next!

"A fortunate stroke of serendipity"

Christmas decor

Quote for November

Autumn

Autumn Appreciation

The Wiggins

The Wiggins  

18” x 24” acrylics on canvas

These are my maternal grandparents, Norman and Harriet. Together they had 13 children, 1000 grandchildren, great grandchildren and great great grandchildren, too many to count.

I was about four years old when I met them at my mom’s childhood home at “Johnnie’s Farm”. They were kind, wonderful and loving. I found out from an early age why everyone was crazy about them. They were always welcoming, warm and friendly. As far as they were concerned, their home was your home.

I visited my grandparents again when I was six years old. They moved to a new home with an indoor toilet, I was excited! Yes, the first house had a outhouse! 

Their house was always loud with the sounds of conversations, laughter and music. 

The bonus was the house was filled with the scent of “Down home southern cooking!”

I loved to visit my grandparents.

My grandfather passed away when I was about eight years old. What I love the most about my grandfather, was no matter how many grandchildren were running around in the house, he always took the time out to talk to me and he understood my quiet ways.

My grandmother lived to to the age of 94. She passed away about three years ago. What I loved about her was she too understood my quiet ways. I enjoyed our conversations over the years. The things that she would say would make me laugh so hard. She had a very good sense of humor. You need a sense of humor when raising a house full of children!

This portrait I wanted to make for years, but just never got around to it. A few months before my grandmother passed away, I have this urge to create this portrait of my grandparents. It’s a nice picture of my grandparents, but a terrible reference for painting. The photo is a little blurry. I knew I wanted to use the photo they took together  when I was about six years old. I also wanted to incorporate the house into the painting and the North Carolina landscape. The road trips to my grandparents house was always epic for me because I knew we were getting closer to the house as we made that turn around the curve of the road and you can certainly see the house from a distance. That’s when I knew I was on my way home!

They represent, family.😃

Looking your Sunday best

Customized accessories!

Custom hat and shoe designs for any occasion.

My mom is a member of a ministry at her church called “family and friends” The theme color for their anniversary was pink,  therefore it was time to add pink to her wardrobe.  She purchased a pink hat and she had white shoes that were cute and comfortable. But she wanted to be jazzy, who can blame her, she’s a stylish woman who likes to stand out. She needed customize accessories in a short amount of time, so she asked for my help.  I enthusiastically accepted the challenge. I enjoy the process of problem-solving. It keeps me on my toes and it helps me to think outside the box. So her pink hat went from pretty to  glitter fabulous. Her white shoes transformed into gorgeous shining pink shoes with a jewelry trim.

So for this year‘s anniversary, she was decked out from head to toe in pink. What made her look fabulous was her accessories, but mostly her warm personality.  When she said that I have a gorgeous mom, I couldn’t agree with her more. The smile on her face when she was ready was priceless!

If you have a hat or a pair of shoes that you don’t mind transforming into a custom color and style, contact me at artbybondny@gmail.com.