June 2015 series...

June is here...and with June comes the end of an AWESOME school year, some summer trips, MUCH time for art, and my new series...which also relates to a trip/event that will be happening at the end of the month...

So, here it is.  The new series for June 2015;

I have much to say about this...and I suspect that I will write on it throughout the month, but yeah, June's pieces will be inspired by the songs of the the Grateful Dead, Psychedelic Art, The Fillmore Rock posters of the late 60's-early 70's...all of that.  

Now, I know what folks might be thinkin'... 'Whatchoo know 'bout the Grateful Dead?'  I know that some of their songs got me through the toughest time in my life.  I know that their music is appreciated by some of my favorite folks in this world, that we are connected by these lyrics and rhythms.  I know that some of the folks I love most in this world share this love of music and I want to honor them this month, with this series.  That's what I know.

Top left...picture of my best friend,Amy, and I.  I believe this was the summer of our junior year.  We were really into music, all kinds, including the Grateful Dead. After she passed I found comfort in so many of their songs.  In many ways they are the soundtrack of our time together.

Top right...Brian (husband to Gin, lower left) and my husband, John on the right.  Both of these men are two of the best people I know.  As the saying goes...they've see some...ummm...stuff.  They have been through it.  They are warriors.  And they have great taste in music.  This series...yeah, it's for these boys.  I love folks that love music, and these two- they love music.  Love ya'll.

Bottom left...my heart, my muse.  There are no words. My friendship with Jen, forever 'Gin' to me, is one of my oldest and deepest.  I love this girl, she has seen me at my highest and lowest moments.  We have grown together.  This is a part of the soundtrack of her life, too.

...inspiration...some folks I love...that love the Grateful Dead...

...Last up, bottom right...John German, Amy's father.  I love this man like was my own dad, and in many ways he is like a second dad to me.  I am a product of a broken home, my own father...I don't know where he is now.  I haven't seen him since I was five or six I guess.  When I think about who has consistently been a father figure in my life- it's John.  He is one of the smartest people I know, and one of the strongest.  He has a pure, good heart and I love him for that.  He has a hippie heart and could teach even the most devout Dead Head a thang or two about the music.  The Grateful Dead are a part of his soundtrack, too.

And there are other folks that share this soundtrack...and I will mention them along the way.  But these are the main influences tied to this series. 

So there it is, the backstory behind the series...or random babbling and nostalgia, I am often guilty of both. 

The first piece in the new series is inspired by the song 'Sugar Magnolia' off the American Beauty album.  American Beauty and Workingman's Dead are the two albums that I listened to the most when I was younger, and for that reason I know those two albums better than most of the others. I am going to explore other albums this month, push myself to learn as much about the music and hear as much as I can.


I just love this song.  It makes my heart happy.