A visit to the MAM

Charles had an errand in the city on Tuesday and afterwards he took a bit of time to take in the current offerings at the MAM (Missoula Art Museum).

Monday morning

Spring flowers

 Spring continues to show itself at the parsonage and we are blessed to enjoy it every day!

Recovery mode

Patch recovers on the back deck

Wesley is still in recovery mode!

First tomatoes of the season

First bell peppers!

Wesley is still in recovery mode following his mid-week foray outdoors but is slowly showing signs of life! Patch is likewise coming down from the stress of having an unexpected visitor (Wesley) in the back yard!

We noticed today that the first stirrings of veggies in our plot can be seen with some cherry tomatoes and bell peppers making an appearance.

Wesley's big adventure

Wesley finds some shade in the hops vines

Belinda tries to entice Wesley with twine

Close to getting him, but no luck

Wednesday night back in the house!

Thursday and the recovery continues

We're not sure how, but Wesley snuck outside Tuesday and spent the night and much of Wednesday roaming outdoors. Fortunately he knows where he lives and we were eventually able to coax him back inside. He'll be spending quite a bit of time recovering from his adventure!

A visitor from back east!

Big brother loves his little brother!

Belinda shares a moment with Enzo

Charles shares a moment with Bentley

We had a delightful visit on Sunday with Charles' cousin, Marti Bogdon, who came to Montana to visit her niece (Rose Watts) who lives in Billings with her husband, David and sons Bentley and Enzo.

After welcoming the visitors at the church in the morning followed by a tour of the parsonage, we all went to the Lolo Steakhouse for a fab meal.

It was nice catching up on family stories from that side of the family!!

A surprise on the way home

As Charles was making his way home from Kalispell, he made time to stop by the "Garden of 1,000 Buddhas" just north of Arlee. Well worth the stop to see this tranquil spot.

Charles in Kalispell

Charles was in Kalispell this week while attending a seminar at Epworth UMC. While there he took in the famous Sykes Diner (wonderful corned beef hash!) and the Hockaday Museum. On the way home, he stopped at an overlook to take in part of the herd of the National Bison Range.

Belinda in the city

Bishop Oliveto speaking to the gathering

Bishop Oliveto is in the middle

This morning @ First

Belinda spent part of yesterday and this morning in Missoula where she took part in two events with our bishop. 

Last night she was at Grace UMC for a potluck and then this morning was at First UMC to hear the bishop preach the morning's sermon.

A nice touch

Thanks to the United Methodist Men for this recognition!  

 

The painting is: Lemminkäinen in Tuonela 

(Oil on canvas, 48x60)

(the bottom shows Charles' name and the Magnum Cum Laude notation)

It's official!

We went to Missoula this evening for the commencement celebration tonight for the College of Visual & Performing Arts where Charles was recognized as part of the students receiving the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

The program showed that Charles was graduating with "High honors" (3.75 avg.).

The program had on the cover had one of Charles' paintings,  Lemminkäinen in Tuonela (Oil on canvas, 48x60)

That's a wrap!

Final critique in ceramics

A chapter ends

A year's worth of paintings

A treat to end the term

Charles cleaned out his studio today and with it a chapter has come to a close.

He began the morning with a final critique in sculpture. He got wonderful comments including high praise from the professor who said his piece was 'sophisticated and imaginative!'

Charles' final meeting with his painting professor who said Charles had done exceptionally well and had found a voice that is certainly worth being shared in shows and galleries.

The finish line is in sight

A wet hike on "the M" 

The last painting

The last sculpture piece

Waiting for the glaze kiln

The final regular class sessions were held this week and with them came projects being completed.

The sculpture Charles has been working on had patina placed on Thursday with a satisfactory outcome. "Taipiola" (Realm of Taipio) is based on a tone poem by Sibelius. The class critique will come next Thursday morning during finals.

In the painting studio, Charles completed a one-day painting using a layering of interference whites and swirls of black in projecting a Sibelius score, " Pohjolan Tytär (Pohjola's Daughter).

The final ceramic piece is in the queue for the glaze kiln.