Linking Creative Women Since 1897
“Madonna” by Renata Fackler, Central Ohio Branch
Two bronze sculptures by Renate Fackler, “Madonna and Baby Jesus” and “Mrs. Plank,” are featured in the Garden of Peace at St. Mary’s Church in German Village in Columbus, Ohio. The Kelley family, who are grandchildren of Mrs. Plank, are responsible for the beautiful garden and the sculptural additions that where installed in the summer of 2019.
Dr. Carmen Meadows
Atlanta Branch
Carefree days outside I played
Come cloud or sun I’d laugh and run
To see bugs crawl or scale a wall
I’d pick a flower build a tower
Something’s missing, something’s gone
We fell in love and made a promise
My heart’s desire to be your wife,
Bear your children, share my life
Our babies came and grew so fast
I thought it should forever last
Something’s missing, something’s gone
We built a business, watched it grow
Had to see it crumble though
Together we could bear it strong
Something’s missing, something’s gone
Time doesn’t seem to want to brake
I watch our parents bend and shake
They aren’t too sure they know our face
How sad to think they’ve left the race
Something’s missing, something’s gone
Today we have the moment sure
I look into your eyes and smile
Thankful for the time at hand
In love and loss we spend our days
Grateful we have passed this way
As I look back it’s plain to see
Something’s missing, something’s gone
If Grace is granted now as then
There’s still a bloom and call to hear
“Come play and run and laugh again”
All isn’t as it seems
The thing that’s missing’s yet to come
What seems a loss is part of all
A stone once hewn and set in place
All understood when face to face
“The Princess and the Unicorn” (22×18) by Patricia Lipe
Jacksonville Branch
This is a painting that literally came on its own. Surrealism, perhaps? I was painting landscapes in southern France and wiped the extra oil paint with a palette knife onto an empty canvas. Later, I looked at that canvas, turned it upside down, and there they were – the princess and the unicorn.
I had seen the original unicorn tapestry in Avignon, but this rendition was not planned. I did add the dragon, however. The painting depicts good (the unicorn who represents creativity) and evil (the dragon). The princess holds up the mirror so the unicorn cannot see the “evil” lurking in the woods.
I used this painting on the cover of my book “Myth, Magic and Metaphor: A Journey into the Heart of Creativity.”
Patricia J. Dennis
Santa Clara County Branch, California
A mansion set back
White pillars standing tall
Framed by trees guarding all
Luscious greens so alive
Glistening clean after the rain
Sweet aroma of flowers fill the air
There is a swing
Do we dare
Sit and stay for awhile
Remembering when as a child
We could swing forever
And get lost in the
Sky
Head thrown back
Air blowing through our hair
Letting go of the worries
Soaring through the air
Hearts full of promise
On our way to tomorrow
“Little Bear,” watercolor, 24h x 22w, by Geri McGriff Davis
Columbus Branch, Georgia
Geri McGriff Davis is a graduate of Auburn University with a degree in art and architecture. She also has a master’s degree in counseling and human development, focusing on art therapy. She has taught art for 45 years, from elementary to college level, as well as in her private art school.
Davis is an avid environmentalist and uses her art and lectures as means of informing the public about endangered floral species in Georgia. She has served as her branch’s president and vice president, as well as the Georgia state president and vice president.
“Beach Glass,” textile, 44h x 39w, by Bonnie J. Smith
Santa Clara Branch
“As a textile artist, I concentrate on what I see and know. Most important to me is the terrain that surrounds me.
In the last few years, I have been concentrating on the Pacific Ocean. After taking many photographs of the ocean in its many stages, I am sometimes overwhelmed with what is hiding beneath its waves.
I was awed with an almost aerial city view when I took a photograph from a bluff at Moss Beach. After studying the image on my computer, I wondered if I could create artwork imaging beach glass lying on the ocean floor. This became the idea for Beach Glass. I have since used a similar pattern to recreate other locations that I have come upon in my photographic journey near my home. I have now created a series of four textiles using this image, altering it to accommodate the type of fabrics and the story I tell with the finished artwork.”
Nancy Haskett
Modesto Branch, California
On our way to shop at the sutlers’ tents,
we pass through the artillery camp,
horses lined up on our left,
each one almost identical to the next,
dark brown glossy coats,
long black manes and tails.
Not so long ago,
these Standardbred horses
trotted and paced in harness races,
pulled carts in front of grandstands, noisy crowds,
until their stride and winnings slowed,
their futures expendable.
Today,
they pull limbers, caissons, cannons
in teams of four and six
at this historical reenactment;
like synchronized dancers
they move as one,
joined in harnesses that clang and rattle
as they respond to reins and commands,
rush supply wagons, Civil War ambulances,
then stand calmly when artillery concussions
shake the ground.
Some wait their turn
as we walk by,
watch with alert brown eyes
focused on the wagon and four-horse team
circling the field without them;
others stand with knees locked,
sleeping in the sun,
and now, they dream
of brave gallops into battle chaos,
smoke that fills the field,
shouts of men in blue uniforms
who have rescued them,
provided a second chance,
a new beginning
in the Union “Army.”
NLAPW Letters members: As our 2020 Biennial deadline approaches for letters entries, we notice an imbalance in a few categories. If you want a higher percentage opportunity to win, you might consider entering one of the following categories in which we do not have many entries: Category C: writing on wildlife or sports; Category E: sonnet; Category I: sestina; Category L: memoir excerpt; Category P: journalism. Consider sending something out today and good luck.
—Nancy Dafoe, NLAPW Letters Chair
P.S. See instructions in the fall edition of the Pen Woman, or follow the links to your entry category here for instructions.
“Rebirth,” watercolor 19 (by 24) by Janine Wilson
Yucca Branch, New Mexico
Janine Wilson wants the world to know that the Yucca Pen Women branch in New Mexico is alive, well and growing.
Wilson started painting after retirement in 2007. After painting realistic watercolors for years, she is exploring abstract watercolor.
“Dancing with the paint is very freeing. You follow what it wants to do,” she says.
She painted “Rebirth” after the death of her painting mentor. The woman appeared, reaffirming the creative spirit.
