Mary

If you love women in the scriptures, I must introduce you to my favorite BYU Religion professor, Camille Fronk Olson.  She has such a passion and shares her knowledge with a smile.  Here is a list of all her books she has published:  she has books on Eve, Mary and Martha, the Woman at the Well, plus a collection of all the women in the Old Testament.  Right now I am in the middle of reading Mary, the Mother of Jesus.

               I have always been drawn to Mary.  Here is some artwork for the Christmas season.

                           I couldn't find the name of the artist, but I think this picture is gorgeous!

                                  This is an interesting interpretation.  Artist: Steve Nethercott

                                                 "Kiss the Face of God" Artist: Morgan Weistling

                                                "Journey to Bethlehem"   Artist: Joesph Brickey

                                                    "A Light to the Gentiles" Artist: Greg Olsen

                                                        "Song of Angels" Artist: William Bouguereau

"Light of the World" Artist: Jay Bryant Ward 

Spoonflower

I noticed Spoonflower.com mentioned in my Good Houskeeping last spring, its a website where you can upload your designs and they will print it out on fabric.  I tore out the page and posted it on my bulletin board.  But it wasn't until I saw it mentioned again in Martha Stewart's Living later in the summer, that I was persuaded to finally log on and check it out.

 Kevin Sharkey had water-colored a monogram, printed it out with Spoonflower, and then used the fabric to upholster this chair.  His design was so simple it looked like a child could have done it.  Seeing how carefree he was with his design gave me the courage to say "I can do this".  I will share with you my design on another post, but once I visited this website I discovered tons of amazing designers.  I couldn't copy their images to show you, but I have some links below to give you a taste of what you can find.  Yeah!  Another source for when you are searching for the perfect fabric!

Yellow flowers

New York City

Red Flowers

Vintage Fashion

Norman Rockwell Inspiration

Though my personality is seen throughout my house with my chose of wall hangings and such, my little laundry room/sewing room is really all about me.  I have four bulletin boards hanging on the walls.

 Board #1 reminds me I am a daughter of God and a daughter of Ken & Sue Mortensen.
 Board #2 is filled with creative ideas I am in the middle of pursuing.
Board #3 contains my goals for my money and other responsibilities I need to remember.
Sarah suggested I needed one more board to inspire me of who I want to be, so
 Board #4 has four sections -Disciple of Christ, Wife of Daniel, Mother of Henry, Arthur, George, & Tedward, Artist of paint, fabric and music.

My bulletin boards make my happy with what I see, and I always need reminders of how I should be spending my time.

This year my local pharmacy gave out calendars with Norman Rockwell art and added meaningful sentiments to each painting.  There is no more room on my laundry walls, so I have hung these three pictures over the door frame.

Reflect on Daily Accomplishments

Pursue Your Passions and Dreams

Persist Until You Succeed 

Wide-Open Spaces

We had company in town over the weekend. While the men were skiing, I took the women to BYU's Art Museum. Everyone is so excited for the Carl Bloch Exhibit and it is very special. But save some time for the downstairs exhibit as well, "Wide-Open Spaces: Capturing the Grandeur of the Southwest". The colors and shapes are so invigorating. Arthur and George almost loved it as much as I did. The paintings will be there for your enjoyment until March 10th.

Happy Pioneer Day!

I am a sixth generation descendant from Morten Pedersen Mortensen, who joined the church with his family in Denmark during 1855. I have in recent years discovered how fun and interesting it is to study my family history.

Morten's son married the grand-daughter of Eliza Chapman Gadd. Eliza was born in England and immigranted to Utah with her eight children, which happens to include twin boys, Issac and Daniel. She settled in Nephi, a small town about thirty minutes from where I live now.

Here are a few paintings from the artist Julie Rogers. I enjoy the emotion that comes through her brush strokes.

Pittsburgh Arts Festival

I recently happened to be visiting in Pittsburgh during the city's ever popular Arts Festival. It's an event I never used to miss while I living there.

The two artists who caught my eye happen to be photographers. The first is Conny Dempsey who specializes in statues from old cemeteries. Her web address is angelphotographer.com

The second artist is Darrell Lane who captures daily life in foreign places like Africa, Asia and South America. I couldn't copy any of his photos to show you, but I found this portrait of hims with one of his photos in the background. I was attracted to the beauty, vitality and humanity of his subjects, in addition to the composition. I would really like to add one of his pieces to my walls; I am just thinking over the perfect spot. His web address is lanefineartphotography.com

One thing I noticed while browsing the festival, photography is a more affordable art. That's a good thing.