Guest Artist: Ellie Dowdy

Today I want to introduce to you a friend and talented writer/poet.. the beautiful and soulful Ellie Dowdy. She is a Phoenix, rising from the ashes. She is a kind, gentle person who also has Momma Bear strength in defending those she loves. 

© 2010 Dale Fox Photography

She writes from the heart, and uses ripe, powerful imagery to quicken your pulse and leave indelible footprints all over your mind. I am so lucky to know her, that I couldn't resist sharing.


On February 1st, she'll be performing spoken word at Dandelion Communitea Cafe's Diverse Word from 8-10pm. It's in Orlando, click here for directions.


I have to say - it takes guts to pour yourself out on paper and then to share it face to face with an unknown crowd with nothing but your own voice! I'll be there to cheer her on, won't you join us?


While you think about the logistics of getting to Thornton Avenue.. I will leave you with a little of Ellie's poetry:

Remind Me

In the darkest moments of my history

In the time of heartbreak and agony

remind me of what I love.

Remind me that once

she was my baby girl,

a tiny mermaid who

swam beneath my heart

and did somersaults

in that dark water-filled space

that was formed with love.

Remind me of the tender

feeling of her tiny fingers

softly grasping my thumb

and the sound her voice

made as she looked into

my eyes and cooed

in her soft, wee voice.

Remind me of the wave

of love I felt when she

said her first words and

toddled her first steps

from one loving pair

of outstretched arms

and hearts to another.

Remind me of the time

she came to me with her

arms filled with bright orange

tiger lilies - her nose and

cheeks lightly dusted

with the pumpkin-colored pollen.

Remind me of her love of

bangles, bells, and rings,

her funky way of dressing

in colorful swirling skirts

her hair cascading in tendrils

around her face…hair that

changed colors on a whim

from sun-bleached blond

to burnished auburn and finally

black as a moonless night.

Remind me that once

she walked the beach

and looked for shells

and other treasure,

that she danced and twirled

beneath the silver moon

that her eyes sparkled

with inner light like water

wearing diamonds as she

dreamed of swimming

beneath the waves.

Remind me of the times

we sat in the darkened theater

elbows and fingers touching

heads tilted together as we

marveled at the spectacle

being acted out before us.

Remind me of the taste of the

words and ideas we shared

as we tried to extract all the

meaning we could from

what we had just witnessed.

Remind me of her brilliant

words dancing across the

torn piece of paper that she

found to quickly store the

word picture that her mind

had just created and

the way her voice sounded

across the miles when she

would call and say,

“Momma, do you want to

hear a poem I just wrote?”,

as if I would ever say, ‘no’.

Remind me of her thoughtfulness

and her gentle spirit that came

to me as her body lay broken

on the rain-soaked street so

many hundreds of miles from home

her sweet voice telling me for

all time that, ‘it’s okay, Momma,

it’s okay’ - those words that I

would need to hear echo again

and again in the darkness – those

words that I so desperately needed

to believe – that she is okay.

Remind me of the loving energy

I felt as your words came to me

from another place, words that

enabled me to let go of you and

believe that the bond we have

is stronger and the place you

dwell closer than I can imagine -

the loving energy that gave me

the strength to let you go and

to say to you for all time –

“I’m okay, Emily, I’m okay”.

In the darkest moments of my history

In the times of heartbreak and agony

remind me of what I love.

Ellie Dowdy

© 2010  All rights reserved.  

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Pen Sketch and MLK Day

Today had us rained out for the most part.. in the early afternoon we escaped to McDonald's with our daughter. She got some quality kid time in on their playground equipment. My husband and I enjoyed each other's company in between welcomed interruptions of high pitched laughter, squealing and quick stories. 




I was able to get in a quick pen sketch of him, in between a few of these sessions as he sat reading Time magazine. I like sketching in pen and that you can't erase! No fretting, or covering up. It will take me awhile to figure out cross hatching skills and techniques though. It feels good to flex the drawing muscles again.


Later, when the rain let up my daughter and I took a long walk with one of our dogs. In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. day, as our service project we picked up all the recyclables that lay strewn in front of our development and along our walk. It was her idea and I'm proud of my little girl! I promised her that we would always take an extra bag. 


We heard a few car beeps, so if that was you - drop me a line or leave a comment!



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Central Florida Watercolor Society 2011 Annual Members Juried Exhibit

If you are in the area, come by and see all the exciting work at the Maitland Art Center starting tonight through March 6th. 

Reception and awards will be Feb 5th from 2 to 5 pm.

I'll be there for the reception - come out and say hi!

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Art Tribute to Haiti Earthquake Anniversary

Happy Anniversary, Haiti. 

You have survived a devastating Jan 12, 2010 earthquake and subsequent floods. Battled cholera. Your people are determined not to just extend a hand, but to look for real solutions like technology and education. They don't want to be the world's poor! They want to find a lasting way out of the mud and the tents.  

The indomitable spirit in the face of horror and tedium is beautiful. 

©2010 VP Miller, "Rebuilding Haiti: Tender Moment between Soldier and Orphan"
24" x 18", Watercolor on Paper

I was inspired to paint a watercolor that shows that spirit and tells a story. My source material was a photo taken by Army Specialist (SPC) Krista Payne, who was recording images from Operation Unified Response. The 11th Transportation Battalion (Bn), 71st Sustainment Brigade visited a local orphanage in Port-au-Prince on March 15, 2010. The Bn's Executive Officer (XO), Major (MAJ) Marci Miller encountered this young boy during that goodwill visit.  

While working on the painting, I was able to see several things clearly. The sharp lines in the boy's shirt indicated that it was new, and just taken out of the bag. MAJ Miller's fingers and fingernails were caked with dirt. The easy way she held him in her arms. The way they were looking at each other while he smooshed her cheeks. The connection they shared. 

I hope this boy is doing well. I pray the people of Haiti continue to heal as a nation. I know that Haiti itself has not been orphaned by the world. 

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Brave New Year, 2011

Happy 2011! 


New Year's brings a flurry of resolutions, goals and promises to ourselves and others. 
Rather than get swept up in this activity, let us take a moment to regroup.


I like Zen Habit's blog article on achieving, without goals. The gist is that without hardline goals we can be excited about getting many things done, and flexible enough to recognize when we need to change course. The excitement creates the energy or momentum to get the projects done. The flexibility is key. Many people, when locked in on a goal, will continue along just to check that item off their list. Even if it no longer serves them. Or, even if the fear or shame of not meeting their goal, is debilitating. 


Instead, why not set an intention? Intentions are a way of stating with purpose what you wish to accomplish. But they take in a global picture. They allow for creative solutions during the course of action, rather than a pre-defined program where failure is built into every step not taken. It is the middle ground between the wishy-washy, "I need to lose weight" and the rigid, "I will lose 2 pounds every week". It is a firm, well-placed target, "I will lose x pounds this year". 

What intentions do you have? We may have many that in our heart of secret hearts we cannot share. Find someone that will support you, to share your intentions with and keep you accountable. I am so blessed to have an actively supportive husband and group of artists that I meet with almost weekly. They are all "believing mirrors" or people who actively affirm me back as positive and that my dreams and actions are worthwhile. 

My creative intentions for 2011 include:

1. I will announce the new series that I am committed to working on.
2. I will collaborate with people who can help me on the new series.
3. I will have an exhibit for the series.
4. A portion of the sales will go to a related charitable organization.

Stating them here holds me accountable and it's exciting to share my purpose! Writing is a binding contract, so if it interests you, put your intentions in writing to "seal the deal".

Happy New Year, 2011!

VP Miller

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