I was so pleased to have participated in the Henderson County Art Show and received the "Best of Show" award for the portrait I painted. The portrait is taken from a family photo taken years ago of my mother and me when we lived in Athens, Greece. Upon seeing the portrait, my mother said I should title it "Two of a Kind" as my mother's name is also Davilla. It was her recollection of this photo in recent months that made her suggest that it would make an interesting painting. We had to scour all of the closets and boxes to find the old slides that comprised our family records.

It was a very special moment to share with my mother when I found out that this portrait of her had won the award. She is 93 years old and the photo had always lingered in her memory, despite the fact that it had been stored away for years!

Selection for Main Street Gallery

Glad news to share - my most recent painting, East Meets West, was just juried into the Main Street Gallery in Tyler, Texas this week. This painting reflects the influence that Japanese art has had on and in my life. My father was a career Air Force officer and we spent 2 years in Tokyo, Japan where he was a liaison officer with the American Embassy.

Far and Away

Have begun a series of paintings I will add to on occasion entitled "Far and Away". As the daughter of a military career officer (Air Force), our family traveled to and lived in many countries around the world that were far and away. I will be painting some of those places that have stood out as particularly memorable. For instance, when we lived in Athens, Greece, I remember standing high atop the Acropolis viewing many of the ancient ruins: the Caryatids, the Parthenon, etc. We lived for 4 years in Europe and 2 in Japan...so there are many wonderful memories to share!

Inspector GO-GO Helps Students

Wearing many "hats" - Before retiring to paint, I taught elementary school for 31 wonderful years. One of the other "hats" I wear in retirement is to serve as an educational consultant for a local school district. The district is currently using a writing program I developed for 4th grade students. The program is designed to provide students with a solid foundation for effective and successful writing. "Inspector GO-GO" is a puppet who accompanies me to the classroom to help students learn to organize their thoughts and ideas using graphic organizers, thus the acronym for his name "GO-GO" - Get Organized with Graphic Organizers. If you notice, Inspector GO-GO has a paintbrush in his hand. This is to remind students to expand and elaborate their writing by "painting a picture with words". I use art in many other ways as I demonstrate to students the effective traits of writing.

Using art to teach - One of the most effective lessons I taught this year was when I was trying to show students how important it is to organize their thoughts and ideas for their compositions. They are required as 4th graders to pass a written composition as part of the state's standardized testing. They know one of the requirements to "earn" a passing grade (or better) on their compositions is that there must be some system of organization of thought. I held up a painting I had done whose subject matter was "scattered", disjointed, disconnected, lacking of meaning/organization, etc. They commented that the painting didn't make sense and they had no idea what it was. Then I showed them the painting that was redone with organization, purpose, meaning, etc. and they loved it! I told them what I charge for a painting, and asked them if they thought anyone would pay me that much for the 1st painting, and of course they laughed at the thought of it. But they all agreed that the second painting was certainly worth that. So.....a "picture was worth 1,000 words". They really understood that just as I must "earn" the price I ask for a painting, they must "earn" their grade for their compositions.

Inspector GO-GO and I had many other great adventures with the students, incorporating art to "teach writing"!

FYI - I am wearing "ladders" hanging from my glasses. This is in reference to a wonderful children's book In the Attic by Hiawyn Oram. The main character finds a "ladder" to the attic in his home where he has many imaginative adventures. I encourage students to use their own "ladder" to their imagination as they are creating their wonderful narratives.

Spring Inspirations

Spring came to our lake in all of its glory. I wanted to catch the soft, almost transparent, leaves of the camellias which grow in our yard. They are the last of the camellias before spring bursts forth in our gardens. The bowls are from the collection of lacquer bowls collected by my mother when we lived in Japan. The cherries were a "tasteful" match for the composition.