Rachel Smith Maher ~ Artist and Poet

Meet "Red", our resident Cardinal.  This painting was inspired by a photograph I took of him finding food for his young 'uns this Spring.  I discovered that the male cardinal feeds the hatchlings while the mama cardinal moves on to build a new nest for the next brood.  He's tilting his head to listen for worms.  Can you imagine having to listen to a worm crawl to get fed?  How quiet you would have to get to allow that to happen.  Quiet in the mind, heart, and soul.  And if you took the opportunity to get THAT quiet, what would you hear?

Five years ago a young mother passed away from a terrible blood cancer.   Her friends and neighbors loved her so much they wanted to honor her memory in some quiet way.   They approached her widower to inquire about how best to accomplish their mission and ask his blessing.     He recalled how compassionate the nurses and staff at the hospital had been toward him and his 6 year old son.   “Something that reminds them of Liesel, her journey, and how they helped us through” was his best suggestion.   “Maybe a painting to hang at the hospital that was Liesel’s ‘home’ for so many months”, he offered.    The neighbors went away puzzled, as they were not personally familiar with any artists, nor did they think they could raise the funds to purchase such a memorial.   However, they prayed, and trusted that if it was meant to be, it would come about.   And it did.   The daughter of one of the neighbors had a friend who was just getting sta...