You may have seen the piece I submitted to the auction I mentioned earlier. I called it "Returning Friendship", inspired by the gift Japan gave us – 3000 cherry trees which were planted along the river in Washington D.C. It's an interesting story. Did you know the first plantings died and were later replaced? Read about it HERE.
This piece has been sold and is already in the home of it's new owner, a friend of mine.
When Jenny invited me to particpate in a fundraising effort for Japan I wanted to create a piece that reflected on the country or culture. The first thing that rose to the surface was cherry blossoms. It was while living in northern Michigan that I learned about Japan's cherry tree gift to our country. You are probably familiar with the National Cherry Blossom Festival held annually every April in Washington, D.C., but you may not know that Traverse City also hosts a National Cherry Festival each July. At the capitol it is all about the blossom, and in Michigan it's all about the full grown fruit. When you live in Traverse City you can't escape the ever present cherry, so I got curious about them and stumbled upon the connection between the U.S., Japan, and the glorious blossoms our nation enjoys.
Before we moved to New Jersey I entered the contest for the Cherry Festival poster. I dug it up to show you….circa 1998. Still working on craft paper…when I like something I stick with it 😉
On a different subject, raise your hand if you are disappointed (and annoyed) James did not make the top three on American Idol. I watched his curtain call interview…what a guy. He called his fans Durbinators. Oh yeah, I'm one. We'll be watching for you James. Like many other vote-offs, you will rise.