It is a privilege to write about the quintessential woman who has given me life, literally.

Bobbie Jean is a conqueror of multitudes; she is a business owner, leader, pilot, entrepreneur, community service advocate, graduate student, daughter, sister, cousin, motivator, cherished friend, and heir of the most high God. Additionally, me and Joseph Robert Harth have been blessed with the honor of having her has our mother.

One of my favorite memories from my early childhood was when she was teaching me how to spell words and there was one word that she had me constantly practice:

“Danielle, how do you spell excellence?”
“E-X-C-E-L-L-E-N-C-E”

Bobbie Jean is the essence of excellence, and excellence is what she always models in any place, with any interaction, and whatever work that she does. Because of who she is, I have always had a great role model in my life.

She continues to amaze me daily with her innovate ideas, compassion for every person, elegant style, honorable morals, impregnable perseverance and emotional strength, modesty, and incessant support.

Bobbie Jean has managed to blow my mind with revealing another one of her abilities from her Pandora’s box of excellence, that she is a poet! Read this great poem of affirmation composed by Bobbie Jean, the quintessential woman of excellence.

In my Basic Skills in Adlerian Psychology course, my class was asked to compile all of the artwork that we created individually during class this Spring 2014 semester, and then use the images to inspire a Lifestyle Self Assessment.

While the instructor played soft music in the background, we were encouraged to start thinking of how we would analyze our lives using diving board phrases such as:

• I am...
• In my family I am/I was the...
• I found my place/made my place by...
• I decided...
• The values in my family emphasized...

I selected "I am" and started using objects within my collage of images to stimulate the discussion of how I would assess myself. All of the images were made with the purpose of representing my feelings, interactions, and how I perceived my environment in that moment. So I looked at the images and sought consistent symbols that revealed something about myself.

This is what I wrote within the 3 minutes that I had in class:

"I am in a disguise through hats, shadows, and silhouettes. My hands are open and reaching towards the right direction, because this is where I should be. There are elements of time and movement, because these things wait for no one, time is always constant and movement is a constant progression. If I were to hop off this moving train of life then I would miss the opportunity. So, I will not lose focus and I will not remove my gaze. Others cannot see where I am looking, but I know, which creates the areas of misunderstanding because they do not know. It may appear selfish at times but this is a time for investment so that my crop will be overflowing in harvest season so that I have plenty to provide for others who depend on me."

The following are the images within the collage of this semester's drawings that I used to inspire the previous passage:

#Hats

#Shadows #Silhouettes

#OpenHands #RightDirection #WhereIShouldBe

#Time #TrainOfLife

#Movement

#Gaze

I certainly encourage anyone to engage in this activity and see what they come up with for their own Lifestyle Self Assessment. I will be writing a more extensive self assessment for the course, but this was a fun way to start.

We were also asked to take one of the drawings and create a changed version of it. I went back to my horse drawing that was based on a horse in my dream, I will call the horse David.

David is now more radiant, physically stronger, wiser, more masculine, and his gaze has shifted direction....I will reveal in more detail at a later time. So make sure you continue checking the blog!

Richard MacDonald is a renowned sculptor known for his bronze figurative sculptures of athletes and dancers. When I was in Las Vegas, Nevada, I visited The Art of Richard MacDonald: Fine Art Gallery located within the Bellagio which is presented by the courtesy of Cirque du Soleil. I became fascinated and inspired with his style of figurative art, the realism of the acrobat and dancer bodies, the way the light hit the sculptures, and also the passion behind his vision for his Cirque du Soleil themed sculptures.

He graduated cum laude in 1971 from the Art Center College of Design. He was originally an illustrator and painter with relative success. Until the most tragic but greatest thing happened to him, a fire took place in California that completely destroyed his studio and all of his artwork. As an artist, I can imagine the loss and the pain that would result from having the items that you’ve poured your time, heart, and soul into completely obliterated.

What inspires me the most about his story, is that he was resilient, despite the great loss he continued to make art and dared to experiment and immerse himself into even greater work. After that incident, he began to explore new mediums in art and subsequently began working with ceramics and bronze sculpting which has led him to even greater success.

Resilience and human triumph are themes that are constantly related throughout his artwork which is the main reason why I find him to be so inspirational. All people experience trauma, grief, depression, devastation, but it is important for us to push through and endure until the end. The difficult seasons do come to an end and victory will be there to greet you.

He is an artist that believes beauty connects people and lifts their spirits to a higher level. He has dedicated his career to making a difference by creating passionate works of art that enrich the lives of others. His artwork is inspired by the human form which is used to make expressive statements about the many dimensions of being a human which include triumph, resiliency, discipline, spiritual realities, and emotions. Below are a few photos of Richard in his artistic process and his final creations:

For more information on Richard MacDonald you may go to www.richardmacdonald.com.

Stephen Wiltshire is an artist from London who draws and paints realistic, detailed cityscapes. He has a gift of photographic memory where he is able to complete entirely accurate representations of a city with only briefly observing it. At age three, Stephen was diagnosed with Autism. In his childhood he was completely mute until the age of five, but he used art as his language to communicate with the world. The first word that he spoke was “paper”.

He realized that the only thing that he enjoyed was creating art, and he became dedicated to creating. Stephen studied Fine Art at City & Guilds Art College in London. His artwork has become popular all over the world, and owned by many influential art collectors.

You may view his artwork at http://www.stephenwiltshire.co.uk/. Check out this video to learn more about Stephen Wiltshire:

“Do the best you can, and never stop.” -Stephen Wiltshire