Cathy's Gardens..an artist with a spade

Scrape the paint off of a the works of Michaelangelo, erase the ink and lead from the pages of Shakespeare and Mozart, you'll have canvass and paper. Clean and clear, it is the artist who makes the slate say art. Art will inspire emotions for as long as we can hold the image or idea in our brain. Cathy writes and paints with a spade, Wolf tools, and her hands. She makes the hard, dry, almost sunless yard say, Peace and tranquility.

There is no house, building, or bridge designed and constructed by man which ads one bit of perfection to earth. Every man made object seperates man from man and God. Every garden uses God's grace to invite man closer to God and others. Cathy does God's work by mixing his colors and life into pictures, stories, and songs. The stories Cathy tells about where the plants came from, who's life they touched and who touched them, where they came from, how she got there, how the plants came to be here, and what the plants need to surivive, are mysteries, novels, romance, and tragedy. The music is from the birds who live in the paintings and stories. Cathy knows their names, their habits, their voices.

Through the summer of 2005 Cathy watched her gardens suffer with her. The pain of her broken heart was felt by her friends in the gardens. They cried with her. They cried for her. The gardens cared for themselves and waited. Cathy watered her gardens with tears that summer. Maybe 2006 was worse. The shock had worn off, and the reality cut deep. Painting a garden takes strength. The garden gives back in energy but the first action is picking up the tool. When the work appeared to great, Cathy collected herself and started over by lending a hand to Patrick as he took over for me on the pond garden I started in '05. I'm an earth mover, Patrick is a fine tuner, Cathy is the artist. She has the heart and compassion to give life and encourage mercy.

Spring of '07 brought Cathy back to her art. She started over by cleaning the weeds and debris. On her knees, by hand, in the dirt, she sorted through the good and evil. Devil mosquitoes where waiting for her. Tiny swords and knives, summer heat, humidity drained her. But, Cathy did not quit. Little by little she did what she could. The gardens responded with gratitude. They gave energy to Cathy. Vibrant lives of God's creation have power. Plants listen. They never give advice or condemnation. Flowers only smile and give hugs.

What once was dull,broken, sad and gray is now bright red, yellow, deep purple, brilliant green, sun burnt orange, perfectly formed by God. All in the image of God...The art and the artist.