Neale and Thanksgiving Monday

It is Thanksgiving Monday in Canada. This is my brother Neale’s birthday. Today I express my gratitude to God for Neale. He is the younger of my two brothers and he is eleven years younger than I am. It must be a rarity to have a father Edward who was six years younger than his middle brother Harry and eleven years younger than his eldest brother Neale (Cornelius). Then to have those same age intervals in the second generation of boys as well is an oddity that I have taken some pleasure in reciting occasionally. My brother was named after our Uncle Neale.

My brother was entering his teen years when I married Christine. On a Thanksgiving weekend when I first brought Christine home to meet my family over four decades ago, I received Neale’s approval of her. He liked her a lot and that served as solid validation to me. Neale was one of my groomsmen.

Neale has loved and lived for God since he was a young boy. He enrolled in a Bible College. He has a lovely tenor voice and did solo work for years. He began to sing with a travelling male trio singing Christian music and testifying to the value of a relationship with Jesus Christ. For a couple of years he and my brother Murray were together in the Messengers Quartet travelling across Canada and into the United States. I always envied their experience together. I was already engaged in pastoral work by that time and I was establishing a family as well as establishing myself as a preacher and local newspaper religion columnist. Neale and married Kathy. They were then and have always been, just right for one another. For several years he directed ministries of a Canadian international mission organization headquartered in Dorchester Ontario. Both and Neale and Kathy were needlework hobbyists doing beautiful work and following the conclusion of his mission involvement he and Kathy opened their own needlework retail outlet called Thread & Eye in London Ontario which they continue to operate. Located in London, Ontario, Thread & Eye is a treasure for those who love cross stitch, traditional needlepoint, hardanger, huck or swedish weaving and all the threads, beads, fabric, buttons and patterns that needleworkers are looking for. Neale took a picture framing course and for years now has operated framing facility in conjunction with the needlecraft. Just minutes from highway 401 midway between Toronto and Windsor, you'll find a warm and welcoming atmosphere. They have one lovely daughter named Amy who has gone Hollywood, that is, she married a man named Chris Hollywood. You will find Neale and Kathy's Thread & Eye website well maintained, easy to use and tremendously informative.

Neale reminds me of our father. He is a good and reliable man, with a servant spirit and a gentle manner. When Christine and I made our cross Canada relocation to work in B.C. we gave up so much in terms of family connection, and I miss proximity to my brothers very much.

Happy Birthday Neale.
Thread & Eye
699 Wilkins St
London, Ontario N6C 5C8
(519) 685-1444
(800) 608-7380 (for outside the local London area)
threadneye@bellnet.ca
Hours of business:
Tuesday-Wednesday 10 am - 5 pm
Thursday-Friday 10 am - 6 pm
Saturday 10 am - 4 pm

Obama and Nobel

Obama and Nobel

Almost no one outside the Committee itself was linking the two names before Friday morning.

Universal surprise best expresses the world’s reaction to the news that the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to President Barak Obama, eight months into his first term as president of the United States of America.

I am weary already of mean spirited people poking at Barak Obama, but…. As much as I applaud the good intentions and some values of this president, I too believe that the prize was not deserved, just yet. The truth is the award this time appears to have been bestowed as an encouragement for intentions rather than as a reward for achievement. This distinction according to Alfred Nobel himself should be conferred on "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses." And get this. The deadline for nominations for the prize was February 1st 2009 and Obama had just been inaugurated two weeks earlier. What presumptive group of strategists thought this nomination would be more than a joke when it nominated him so long ago. Obama was compelled to produce something resembling an international peace initiative. So he has reached out to adversaries, particularly Iran and with mixed results. He also delivered a commendable speech in Cairo in which he called for "a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world." Further, he has called for a world without nuclear weapons. But all this is mere ambition and hope and aspiration yet the Nobel awards Committee maintains that Obama’s contribution this year is more worthy of its honour than 204 other nominations for this year's peace prize. Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Chinese dissident Hu Jia were among the favourites. In fact the Nobel Committee’s choice of Obama was for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples." It also stated, "Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future." Further, "His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population." Nobel Committee head Thorbjoern Jagland said: "It was because we would like to support what he is trying to achieve."

Obama in his statement sees the prize to him for what it is by saying the he would accept the prize as a "call to action".

Buckley’s Medicines

I know, I know. My blog postings are all over the thematic spectrum. One day it’s theology, the next painting, and another day, today, it’s Buckley’s.

I am 67 years of age and until this week I had never tasted the medicine that advertises that it tastes terrible but it works. I suppose that the ads convinced me. But this week I became congested and Christine who had a bit of a cold starting last week purchased a bottle of Buckley’s and was soon over the cold symptoms. Of course she willingly ingests awful tasting stuff, such as liquid oil of Oregano for a sore throat. Then conversations with her for the rest of the day invoke memories of turkey stuffing. I still can’t do that but I did try Buckley’s.

Well I tried Buckley’s and true to the company word, I shuddered and shook when I swallowed it. Fortunately, Christine had a chaser of orange juice for me to wash down the lingering aftertaste. If you smell it first it will turn you off. Buckley’s website answers the question for us. What makes it taste so bad? It’s a blend of unique herbal ingredients. I recall my mother rubbing camphor on my chest as a child. That’s in there. Camphor is a mild expectorant and respiratory stimulant with some mild anesthetic and antiseptic properties. It contains Menthol which decreases nasal congestion through local anesthetic action and stimulation of cold receptors with resultant relief of symptoms of bronchitis, sinusitis, and nasal congestion. It has Balsam, yes liquid oleoresin from Abies Balsamea, a plant found in Canada and Northern U.S. from Virginia to Minnesota. Balsams have traditionally been used as an expectorant for coughs and sore throats. Then there is Pine Needle Oil. Who would have thunk it? It has historically been used as an expectorant for the treatment of coughs and chronic bronchitis. Finally Tincture of Capsicum which has been traditionally used as a counter-irritant to soothe conditions of the throat.
And that’s it. And Buckley’s have rubs and meds for kids as well.

By the end of the first day, Buckley’s not only removed the symptoms but I fully improved by mid second day. I love this stuff and it’s no sugar, no caffeine, no anything bad. It’s all good, and it tastes horrible. Get well.

New Painting - BICYCLE AT THE BEACH

As we move into autumn, it is so much fun to paint a scene reminiscent of an idyllic summer. I painted a small watercolour study of this scene earlier and it has already sold. This time I enlarge the format to 16X20 inches on canvas using acrylic paint. The format permitted me to include the distant shoreline. With this painting I listened to some counsel that I have recently received from well known artist Peter Etril Snyder. Customarily I anticipate what I will put on a surface by sketching the scene, making a plan. Then of course it becomes a fill in the blanks exercise - kind of a glorified colouring book. I haven't wanted my paintings to look like that. Snyder calls this front loading and he encouraged me to move away from this tendency. Here I painted in the sky and sea with solid colours which I mixed to suit my warm summer light. I decided not to detail the water at all. Then I scrubbled in the grasses that would be behind the fence. I covered the water with a towel and then shook a brush wet with paint on the grasses to create the impressions of flowers. I proceeded to paint in a solid sand colour for my path to the beach. I then again covered water and grasses with a towel and did what this inferior photo does not show. I covered the sand with tiny multi coloured spots of sand and stone drops of paint that I made by tapping a wet brush above the canvas sand. I scribbled a couple of bicycles on paper, cut them out and tried them on the canvas for size to see which size would look best in the frame. Then I pencilled in the rear wheel where I wanted to position the bike and I began to paint a bicycle. It's the kind of rusty handled old bike I saw at the beaches on the north coast of France, Normandy and Guernsey. Once the bike was completed I painted in the fence posts, the dark shade colour first for the entire post and followed that with a light colour to give the impression of sunlit sides. The last thing to be painted were the shadows of posts on the uneven sand - shadows cast from the posts on the opposite side of the path. It's a simple painting but the actual piece is compelling and hangable. Colours are vibrant. The online photo does not do it justice. In one of my gallery frames, 2 1/2 inch espresso colour with a 2 1/2 inch white liner, it will be impressive. I like it.

Murray Unruh is an Artist and My Brother

Murray is one of my two younger brothers. Murray was born in St. Catharines in 1947 five years my junior and when we were young I was the one who expressed himself artistically. He was almost an adolescent before he received corrective lenses to improve his sight. He considers that to be his emergence into a new appreciation of a world of light, colour and definition. He began to pay attention to the beauty around him. I could not have imagined that in Murray’s adult years not only would he develop an interest in painting but he would become a fine and versatile artist with a keen appreciation for what makes a good picture. He lives in a beautiful agricultural area, the fruit and wine country of the Niagara district of Ontario. He has watched this growing vineyard industry and recorded with his brushes and paint. He has practiced his craft like many of us as a hobbyist for twenty five years. Scenery, still life and now lately, a venture into some abstract expressionism of spiritual themes. On his website he mentions a current series entitled “Metaphors for Life” which he envisions as seven distinct pieces and as they are being developed he will describe the process and themes.

He is a man of faith, Christian faith. Like me he too was a pastor for many years. Recently he has identified with a group of people seeking to launch an attractive Christian witness in downtown St. Catharines. It will be an open community with some appeal to friends in the art community. He is a facilitator now rather than a primary leader and he has been asked to establish an art gallery as an essential aspect of this gathering place. That interests me. I will look forward to hearing how the arts and Christian ministry cooperate.

During this new season of artistic ambition he is making his art available to others for viewing and purchase. I am proud of my brother. He is a friend to many people and a helper. In the last image that I display for you today Murray has recorded our father and Murray’s two sons when they were boys and the three of them visited the roaring water of the Niagara Gorge. Dad is gone now so this an evocative memory for our family.

His VINTAGE IMPRESSIONS Art by Murray Unruh website can show you his other work.

She Lives On - The Old Russian Woman

I have written about her before. This is the rest of the story. I left her behind. I couldn't take care of her. I didn't have room for her in my life. I hoped that someone else might take an interest in her and give her a home. But it was a faint hope, and frankly apart from looking at her picture in my computer files occasionally, I had forgotten her. I concluded that she was gone.

Before you castigate me for unfeeling cruelty to humanity and this woman in particular, permit me to hastily tell you that I am speaking about a 20X24 inch painting of an old Russian woman - a painting I painted forty years ago. I was twenty-two years of age and I needed a ride - wheels - transportation. My Uncle Les graciously swapped a 57 VW Beetle for this painting. The car took me to college, carried my new girlfriend on dates, and trips to my family to show her off - the girlfriend that is. Eventually I sold the car for $150 and accepted that both the car and the painting were history.

I graduated and began a career as a clergyman, pastoring four churches and CEO-ing one church denomination. Twenty years ago Christine and I made the move to British Columbia, leaving our extended families in Ontario and Quebec. In 1996 during one of my routine trips east, Uncle Les returned the painting to me, inscribing on its back that it should be passed on to my eldest son. Since I have only one son, Jeff was going to be the recipient. Considering that I had to fly back home and assuming that my son would have little interest in this large art piece, I left it with another Ontario family member who desired something that I had painted.

In 2007 the painting came into my hands once again, showing its age and some soiling. I didn't want to take her on my flight west and I was too nostalgic to give her up entirely so I tucked the painting behind my father's couch in his apartment - with his permission of course. When Dad died in May 2008 my brothers Murray and Neale, and I cleaned out the apartment. There was the Old Russian Woman. I made the difficult decision that I didn't want her. You might say I put her down - that is, I took her to the downstairs refuse room, propped her on the top of a garbage can and invited anyone who wanted her, to take her. If someone did, I hoped to receive a note letting me know, so I left my name, address, email, website and phone number. I heard nothing. She was gone.

Then this week, seventeen months after I turned the lights out behind me in the refuse room, I received an e-message from someone named Patrick in St. Catharines saying, "Hello, Mr. Unruh, Just wanted to let you know your painting, which you traded for a V.W. Beetle is at my home, won at the Christian Benefit Shop here in St. Catharines. Any possibility you may write some history regarding your painting for me? Have a Great Day, Pat."

So, someone saw her. Perhaps her happy, dancing eyes captured attention. Someone took her to a shop where she found a new caregiver. Imagine! I love this serendipity. It's the rest of the story. The Old Russian Woman lives on.

ALAN WYLIE AND JANICE ROBERTSON – artists of light

When I first saw his work, what impressed me was his understanding of light on any subject and his ability to express it on canvas and paper. I enjoyed his art so a few years ago I took a weekend workshop with him. Alan Wylie lives nearby in the quaint village of Fort Langley. Alan is an honoured artist, a graduate from the Glasgow School of Art in 1960 and beneficiary of a fine tradition of Scottish Realism. He immigrated to Canada in 1967, settling first in Nova Scotia and in 1973 moving to British Columbia. He is married to another renowned Canadian artist, Janice Robertson.

He is a remarkably versatile artist using various mediums and painting varied subjects, landscapes, figures, still life. If you watch his minute strokes on an 8X10 inch canvas you might not imagine his capacity for murals that measure 100 feet by 20 feet. Yet he is celebrated for his grand murals in public and private institutions around North America and Europe. A link on his website recites some of the many murals he has painted through his career. He has exhibited across Canada and the United States and he is represented in the collections of the Nova Scotia Museum of Fine Arts, the Lt. Governor of Nova Scotia, Prudential Assurance Company, Hiram Walker & Sons, Shell Oil Resources, the Lt. Governor of British Columbia and many other collections.

He is a Senior Signature Member of the Federation of Canadian Artists, the Canadian Institute of Portrait Artists, the Northwest Watercolor Society, the California Watercolor Association, the Louisiana Watercolor Society, and the first Canadian to be awarded the distinction of being a Dolphin Fellow of the American Watercolor Society.

Like her husband, Janice Robertson works in watercolor, acrylics and oil. Janice was born on Vancouver Island, into a family with a long history of female artists. Her professional artistic career has flourished rapidly since it began in 1989. She became a member of the Federation of Canadian Artists in 1987 and in 1993 she was awarded the FCA’s highest status- Senior Signature member [SFCA]. In 1999 she was elected as President of the Federation. In 1999, she was awarded signature status in the Northwest Watercolor Society. She has acquired many awards among which is the Bronze Medal in the Federation of Canadian Artists 2000 Signature Members show, the Margaret and William Foley Award at the 2001 Adirondacks National Exhibition of Watercolors in New York and the Foreign Award at the Houston Watercolor Society's exhibition in Texas in 2004.

Janice too cherishes the importance of light and is quoted here. "Quality of light is important to me", says Janice. "It gives me energy and inspiration and I hope something of that quality is what I give to people in my paintings."

Alan Wylie Personal website
*Birthplace of BC Gallery, Wylie Page
Janice Robertson Personal website
*Birthplace of BC Gallery, Robertson Page


Wylie Mural above "World in Motion" located in Chemainus on Vancouver Island.

Growing Older, Remembering More Keenly, Waiting for Eternity.

One week ago I injured myself and I am recovering with my leg up. Immobility makes me vulnerable to reflection. Then last night in the company of friends we discussed someone who was eighty years old. Christine unapologetically reminded me that in 13 years I would also be 80. Sweet! Furthermore some close friends have lost loved ones recently and the frivolous nature of so much of life becomes pale. Mortality dominates.

Among my considerations during this reflective disposition are the remembered joys of my boyhood days sixty years ago. It’s a long way back in time now that I am 67 years old. I am an old guy yet my spirit still owns some youthful ambitions among which is my art. Great art speaks to some superior life lessons.

Winslow Homer is a celebrated American painter and was a glorious watercolourist and master of oils who himself captured for us winsome moments in life, sometimes of childhood. In his ‘Boys in a Pasture’ painted when he was an older man, the artist nostalgically records an innocence of youth, a tranquility and pleasure of a time when a child’s day without farm duties could stretch to the horizon beyond the picture’s frame. From our viewpoint close to the ground we study with interest the gaze of the boys into the limitless distance. My boyhood enjoyed such buoyancy.

Rembrandt painted many self portraits over his lifetime and this featured portrait which I saw in the Musee Louvre this year depicts his frailty when as art historian Jeff Dugan informs me, Rembrandt had “suffered the loss of his fortune, his reputation, his family and his health. It is remarkable that Rembrandt had the psychological strength to create such a brutally and uncomplimentary self-portrait.” Dugan continues, “But in this portrait, there’s a hint of something that I think can be seen in most old men and women. In the eyes of this old man burns the same flame of genius, of optimism, and of freedom that we see in his self portraits as a young man. Inside the frail shell is a soul that in many respects is still as young and alive and energetic as it has ever been. Time has imprisoned this soul in responsibilities and infirmities, and Rembrandt has the courage to show us this without flinching. But if we look into his eyes, we can also see the man that he feels himself to be, despite all the external decay.”

GPS Application:

Rather than terminating, life is a continuum. Just as you might disagree with Dugan’s interpretation of Rembrandt’s self portrait you may dispute my opinion that God acquits us by virtue of our faith in Jesus Christ and that he has prepared a life and home for us beyond the death of these bodies. I find irresistible the enduring promise from Revelation …”and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” (Rev. 21:4)

Jeff Dugan's website is titled Art to Heart

Homer's painting 'Boys in a Pasture" is housed at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Rembrandt's 'Portrait of the Artist at the Easel' is displayed at the Louvre.

These Intersex Fish Are Further Reason for All of Creation to Want Humanity to Be Redeemed

U.S. Geological Survey results of intersex fish in America were disclosed this week indicating that one out of five male black bass in American river basins have egg cells growing inside their sexual organs. It is a confirmation of widespread fish feminization that has been reported in recent years. The finding is linked to women's birth control pills and other hormone treatments that seep into rivers.

Before I offer further details I will shine an incomparable light on this news story. I need your momentary indulgence. The Bible provides the wattage with a fascinating statement.

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” Romans 8:18-27 (New International Version)

Humanity is frequently arrogant or inconsiderate with respect to treatment of creation. The 6% of 1500 male freshwater fish that have become feminized is just the latest evidence of our carelessness in creation. Endocrine-disrupting hormones such as estrogen from medicines are he current link to intersex fish which is a general warning about what some experts see as a wider problem of endocrine disruptors in the environment.

Aboriginal spirituality often demonstrates greater reverence for what God has made than do Christian faiths. The redemption spoken of earlier assumes that character and attitudes and actions change when God recreates a person through faith. Creation is frustrated by the blunders and faults of humanity, and the greatest expectation is that this redemption will one day be completed and then creation too will be liberated.

The apostle Paul writing to the Christians in first century Rome reminded them that their lives were not all about survival here. In fact their lives were future oriented and in order to posses that prospect each of them would experience the fulfillment of the spiritual transition that had already begun inside them by their faith. The word used for this process is ‘redemption.’ This redemption upon completion will include believers’ physical bodies and that event will be an indescribable liberation. That human emancipation will affect the welfare of all creatures and toward that hope all of creation yearns.

HST or VAT - Harmonized Sales Tax

People who hate the HST honk their car horns in Vancouver. HST requires some clarification.

The Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) is more commonly known globally as a “value-added tax” (VAT) and Canada is one of the last countries in the world to comprehensively adopt a VAT system.

Over 130 countries already have shifted to a VAT system including 29 of 30 OECD countries. Countries that have not embraced a VAT tax system have been shown to have higher prices (before VAT) at the domestic consumer level and higher prices at the export level. Okay, right there is where the HST must deliver for the consumer. If we have to pay it, we should see product prices drop.

The rest of this article with the exception of the GPS Application is our BC Government line. The premise is that with a value-added tax system (VAT) goods become less expensive to produce, and those savings are passed on to consumers. It appears already to have been verified by the experience of Canada’s three Atlantic Provinces which since adopting an HST, have witnessed consumer prices falling, according to a 2007 study by University of Toronto professor Michael Smart. In May the province of Ontario adopted HST and that was the necessary inducement to seriously consider this application in BC.

Economists, politicians and business people supportive of HST claim that in B.C. where the economy is driven by exports, we would create jobs and improve competitive pricing by adopting the same VAT system owned by other countries. Our government has needed to answer the question. Does British Columbia want to compete to attract investment and job-creation through lower costs and higher productivity? If YES is the response, then implementation of the HST is argued as the most direct and most effective way to do that.

That seems prudent. But I am a BC consumer and now I am a retired consumer on a fixed income and on behalf of all consumers I want to know whether I am going to carry the burden of this economy stimulus strategy. Will this initiative mean that I pay more taxes? The answer is an unequivocal YES. HST will apply to some goods and services where previously PST did not. The countering argument is that the long term benefit of lower prices will offset the tax increase. Moreover, for those working, higher wages are part of the promise outcomes. Initial thought is being given to a government approved BC HST credit of $230 to individuals with incomes up to $20,000 and to family members with incomes up to $25,000 as an offset to the impact of HST.

If true to its word, the BC Government will implement a point-of-sale rebate on numerous products including: gasoline or diesel; marine diesel or aviation fuel including biofuels; components used in a motor vehicle, boat or aircraft; books; children’s-sized clothing and footwear; children’s car seats and car booster seats; diapers and feminine hygiene products; all existing GST exemptions will continue to apply (i.e.; basic groceries). Further the promise has been made to offset the incremental cost of the HST on new homes by providing an HST rebate for new homes to a maximum rebate of $20,000. That means taxes remain essentially unchanged for new homes valued up to $400,000. HST only applies to new homes, not to previously-owned homes being re-sold.

GPS Application:

Christ’s opponents frequently sought to trap him in his words. If he would contradict the ruling Roman authority, they might condemn him. Matthew recounted how the Pharisees asked him a question about taxation. Was it right to pay taxes to Caesar was the question to which Jesus replied. Holding the Roman currency on which Caesar’s likeness was stamped and by which the tax would be paid he advised that they give to Caesar what belonged to him and give to god what belongs to him. In Matthew 22:15-22.

PS - (OECD stands for Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and is comprised of 30 countries that accept the principles of representative democracy and free-market economy. Most OECD members are high-income economies with a high HDI {Human Development Index}and are regarded as developed countries.)

Noted BC Economist, Jock Finlayson and his colleague, Ken Peacock, wrote one of the best explanations of the benefits of HST recently.

A Return on Investment that is out of this world

Milowe Allen Brost, 55, of Chestermere AB has been arrested while his alleged white collar crime partner and now RCMP fugitive Gary Allen Sorenson, 66, of Calgary, is believed to be comfortably resident in Honduras which does not have an extradition treaty with Canada. In fact Merendon Mining Corporation Ltd., of which Sorenson is CEO has its headquarters in Honduras. From his company website Sorenson disclaims any connection to companies in the USA bearing the Merendon name.

Both men are charged with fraud over $5,000 (Section 380(1)(a) of the Criminal Code of Canada) and theft over $5,000 (Section 334(a) of the Criminal Code of Canada). In fact unsuspecting (gullible) investors in Canada and the USA may have been defrauded of well over one million dollars by the Ponzi scheme designed by this pair. A Ponzi scheme is an investment swindle in which high profits are promised & early investors are paid off from funds raised from later ones. It was named after Italian speculator Charles Ponzi, who organized such a scheme in 1919-1920.

You can read more about this investigation at CBC news.
Return on investment is something we seldom consider outside the monetary arena yet it is relevant. My parents worked at common laborious vocations in order to provide for their family of three sons. Each of us sons received post high school education, and since faith in God was central to our lives each of us also independent from one another chose to work in an area of Christian service. My parents never ceased to derive deep satisfaction from what they considered a priceless return on their investment.

GPS Application

When I think of the squandered years and the distress that each of these men will face in the years ahead, I conclude that their alleged investment in deceit will be valueless and destructive. Spiritual principles direct us to invest in an economy with the highest rate of return rather than running the risk of losing everything of real value. In fact we do not have the faculties now to fully appreciate what God is preparing to deliver to those of us who love him exclusively now. That’s the way I see it.
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also… You cannot serve both God and Money” Matthew 6:19- 21, 24
"None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:8-9
"Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless." Ecclesiastes 5:10

MERENDON MINING CORPORATION LTD.
Registered Office: 35 New Road, Belize City, Belize, C.A.
Head Office: xAldea Las Casitas, Carretera al Batallon, Kilometro 9,
Tegucigalpa, Honduras, C.A. Tel: & Fax: (504)234-7055

Top Photo: Gary Sorenson
Second Photo: Charles Ponzi

Artists Anne-Marie Ruggeri and Philippe Janin

People from around the world have touched down on this June 2009 posting. I am repeating it because of its popularity and the recognition that these two wonderful artists have garnered. Christine and I enjoyed meeting them while we were in France this year.

Anne-Marie Ruggeri and Philippe Janin are a gifted and accomplished artistic husband and wife who own a studio/gallery in the town of Bonnieux in the foothills of Mount Luberon in Provence. During a day trip Christine and I spotted the gallery and stopped in Bonnieux. I was very impressed by the oils that Philippe paints and the pastels by Anne-Marie. Extraordinary work and priced to reflect their success. Pastel is a medium I simply cannot understand. Never tried it and am amazed at its beauty. We purchased some gorgeous cards as mementos. The first picture is by Philippe and shows Bonnieux with its church prominently in the picture. These communities always had a church central to its community and life. How things change. While the buildings remain physically central, they are tourist stops and sparsely attended by the locals. Only occasionally did we see a church alive with activity and people enthusiastic about their faiths.

You see some of the Ruggeri and Janin work by going to this linked website but I believe this is an old site. There are more of Janin’s recent works here at this other link.

I noticed that so many French artists produce postcards and posters and prints and many of them also have printed books of their art. It is clever marketing as it provides pieces at prices suitable to a range of buyers. This pair has several books.




Ruggeri has even had some of her art incorporated into fashion, and this site shows a scarf imprinted with her work. Tap the photo to enlarge it for a better view.

It was inspiring to look at their work but also to process what is required by marketing to become an established artist.

The G10 Group of Artists

The G10 Group of Artists

I mentioned earlier the benefits of collegial arts activity and here is a group of artists, nineteen of them, who meet weekly as individual schedules permit. Their gatherings take place at the waterfront at Crescent Beach each Tuesday. During a three hour session the group does sketches of a hired model who does brief poses, some one to two minutes in length, others from five to ten minutes or longer. The value of these sessions for these artists is manifold but certainly it provides a regular invigorating atmosphere for developing or fine-tuning drawing skills. One can imagine how inspiring such meetings are to an artist’s creative imagination and motivation when in the company of friends and peers. This ritual exercise is followed by a lunch at the Beecher Street Café. Christine and I celebrated our forty-second anniversary at this quaint dining facility last Wednesday. Can you imagine the stimulating conversations over lunch when that many artists converge? The G10 holds occasional group shows.

I don’t know the names of the entire group of local artist but among them are Maryanne Kamphuis, Kim Pollard, Robert McMurray, Bette Laughy, Kathy Johnson, and Susan Falk. You can check their web links to their names.

Perhaps you can even write to one of them to inquire what is the derivation of the G10 nomenclature. I can’t – I am off to a Golf game.

An Affinity Group of Local Artists, Perkins, Turpin and Haddock

A NEW LEARNING
We have so many local artists who excel at their work. Most of these artists, like me, have worked at other professions while painting on the side and then in retirement, occupied their time with this pursuit.

Some time ago I enjoyed conversation with Darren Perkins, a Langley artist. We spoke about art, our lives and other artists and their painting. Darren is a retired school teacher and he and his wife also operated a successful pottery business. Darren is an admired landscape painter and it was a treat for me to become acquainted with him. (Paintings: above Perkins 'White Rock at Dusk2' and right 'Still Point', Gabriola)

Two of his close artist friends Jack Turpin and Perry Haddock are former school teachers as well. Each Thursday the three of them paint together. They share life, critique each other’s work occasionally, and encourage one another in this shared creativity. I have noticed that artists often form affinity groups for mutual benefit.

I know that you will enjoy their website displays.


Darren Perkins
Jack Turpin (Painting: 'Pender Island', left)
Perry Haddock (Painting: 'Shore Grasses')


These images are used with permission of each atist. Downloading is conditioned upon permission by respective artists. Their names are links to their sites.

GPS Application

Proverbs 27:17 observes that, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." That speaks to the value of the network or community of people with a shared interest, whether it is art or cuisine or spirituality.

Bernard Major

You should visit Bernie Major’s art website. He is a productive and admired painter living in Langley, B.C. As a retired pastor and given my fascination with things celestial and beyond through all these previous decades, I found his introductory quotation from Sir Winston Churchill of interest. Churchill, a hobbyist painter and a good one, wrote, “When I get to heaven I mean to spend a considerable portion of my first million years in painting, and so get to the bottom of the subject.”

Anyone who applies paint to a surface over an extended time appreciates that this discipline is a constant learning experience. Advisors frequently encourage artists to paint every day. The gain comes from doing it more than by reading about it. A million years with brush in hand might make a few of us good at this. Bernie is good at it already.

Bernie’s interesting personal story includes service with the British military and the London Metropolitan Police Force as well as the Scotland Yard detective branch. After emigrating to Canada in 1969 he opened a private investigation company from which he retired in 1999. He then devoted himself to his painting. While he enjoyed watercolour, he transitioned to oils and thus emerged a distinctive colourful and textured recognizable style. Bernie is an active member of the Federation of Canadian Artists with numerous juried competitions to his credit. He also belongs to the G10 Group of Artists, who meet every week for life drawing sessions at Crescent Beach.

Take a look at Bernie’s enjoyable work.

GPS Application

Back to Churchill’s comment. I have certainly explored biblical data to answer the question of what we will do in heaven. Some information comes from the apostle John who envisioned three heavenly activities in Revelation 22:1-5. They are serving, seeing and reigning. That has some appeal. The service will be for God and we may as C. S. Lewis suggests, govern a distant star, or do you think as Churchill surmised, we may paint God a picture. We will have all the equipment and skill equal to the task. As to seeing, we will see God and in seeing him we will be like him. Finally we reign together with God over the majesty of a universe outside of time and without parameters.

Let's keep painting. Johann Sebastian Bach wrote every composition to the glory of God. I should be able to paint my work to his glory too.

The painting image is copyright of the painter and not to be downloaded without permission of the artist.

Loneliness, Art, and Understanding Myself

Robert Genn, while explaining artistic creativity yesterday, provided me with an insight that helps me to understand the way I think and behave. Robert is a successful fine artist known internationally to collectors for his landscapes and to artists for his free weekly encouragement. Twice weekly an e-note, 'The Painter's Keys' comes to my mailbox. You can subscribe. Here is an excerpt from yesterday’s piece entitled, ‘Are you lonely this morning?’

“… With the exception of various forms of team art, most of the functioning professional artists I know have come to terms with the strengths and weaknesses of keeping their own company. Although less of a problem for introverts, this art can be learned. The art of effective aloneness includes the understanding that solitude is necessary for creative gain. "Most progress," said self-improvement guru Bruce Barton, "comes out of loneliness." Creative people need to dream and contrive on their own. "Dreams," said Erma Bombeck, "have only one owner at a time. That's why dreamers are lonely."

I spent an entire working career in service to God, Christ, and his church. No apology. No regret. All of that was very public. For half of that time we lived in parsonages owned by the church. One was located beside the church. It was the proverbial goldfish bowl. I did all of the public duties and did them effectively. I was a diligent and creative pastor, crafting words that developed a reputation for predictably good ministry. That required concentration and private time. I received some criticism for the amount of time that required yet I relished such time.

Now as I try to paint, I love being alone. I need to be alone. This is the true me. I train myself to tolerate intrusions. I have struggled to be like most people I know who live to be with people. I have been self critical. Now I understand that innately, my creative DNA has shaped me for loneliness and that’s OK.

GPS Application

Apostle Paul advised, "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31). The counsel is to include God rather than leaving him out of something as ordinary as putting paint on canvas. Then even an artistic endeavour is a sanctified activity.

Tour de France, Lance Armstrong and Coming Back

The Tour de France has begun once again.

Today is a rest day. Eight stages have already been completed.

We love watching the Tour de France. The telecast comes to us VERY early in the morning. Channel 49 OLN here in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. Of course OLN shows it at night as well. While we lived in France for two months I picked up a 2009 Tour de France T shirt which I wear each morning as I watch a stage. It has the logo on the front and the map of the route for the entire Tour on the back. I am like a little kid.

For several years Christine and I have followed these twenty-one days of time trials, sprints and mountain climbs. Christine and I enjoy this athletic event because of the magnitude and majesty of the course, designed differently each year to give riders every riding experience. We admire the team strategies as much as individual performances. We envy the stamina and endurance.In April and May we saw many riders throughout France handling mountains as though they were small knolls.


Certainly Lance Armstrong was a draw during his robust seven Tour de France victories and NO, we never believed that he took performance enhancing drugs even though the sport has been riddled with violations in recent years. Then this year, learning that Armstrong was attempting a comeback we were thrilled but admittedly not expecting him to be more than a team support player. He is thirty-seven years old and he has had a five year hiatus from racing. How could we know that he is something so special that as we have watched these past few stages, Lance has been in second and third place overall and may yet wear the yellow jersey. What a Comeback! It’s incredible, and of course he will pee in a bottle regularly for dope monitoring.

GPS Application:

I ask myself, "Am I in need of a comeback?" “Am I ready for a comeback?” Perhaps I am. Not a return to my former career. Life has changed for me, ??? pounds too heavy, drinking too much coffee, teeth worn with age, corrective lenses and my granddaughter plays with my wisps of hair on top of my head. Life's purpose is a bit confused. Spiritual slippage is a concern. God says, “Now, therefore, (because of all that has happened) return to me with all your heart... ” (Joel 2:12)

Lance Armstrong's Official site
Livestrong Website - The Lance Armstrong Foundation
The Livestrong Blog
On Tour with Lance
YouTube video of the Tour's Itinerary

Perry Haddock has a Show in White Rock through July

Perry Haddock, an artist acquaintance, opened a one person show in White Rock on Friday evening at the White Rock Community Arts Council Gallery at 90-1959 152 Street.

Perry’s subject matter may consist of the luminous whites of a waterfall, or an intense purple shade within a forest, or the happy jaunes of tropical light on a coconut cluster, or an aged burgundy awning of a Paris Café rendered with delightfully free and vivid strokes. Attractively framed this show of Perry's work is a visual treat.

If you live locally stop in at the gallery. Click the link on Perry's name and see his online gallery.(This Painting is called 'Nooksack Tapestry')


GPS Application

Creativity is intrinsic to our humanity. Made by the Creator himself and fashioned in his image we have the capacity to create. Creativity has value in God’s economy and it deserves value in ours. Art is one of the products of this invested creativity. Throughout the world and in every culture people produce art. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1).

Names above are links to websites.