Greetings from Ohio!
(more on that shortly)
Wanda and I have been a bit remiss in contributing to our Drawing Nearer blog lately – lately as
in almost a year! So I thought, since much
has changed in my life, that I would take a stab at catching the blog up to the
present (at least from my perspective).
OK – here goes. First
and foremost, I must say a heartfelt “Thank you” to all my dear friends and
family who have seen me through this transition of leaving my beloved labyrinth
and home in Pottstown, PA for new adventures in Berea, OH. Husband Gary received a call from a wonderful
church there and we felt the Spirit confirming that, “Yes” we did need to move
AGAIN and be in ministry on the west side of Cleveland.
What happened to the
9 Fruit of Spirit stain glass mosaics?
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| "Fruits of the Spirit" next to labyrinth |
They came with us of course!
But first we had a spirit-filled dedication for these beautifully
crafted word-art pieces as we walked the labyrinth with two-dozen artists and
friends on October 1, 2011. Artists
Margaret Almon, mosaics and Wayne Stratz, stain glass are know together as Nutmeg Designs and collaborated to
create the 9 “Fruits” with myself as mosaic border maker, grouter and sealer of
each piece. Joy, Love, Peace, Patients,
Kindness, Self-Control, Goodness, Gentleness, & Faithfulness graced our
Yarnall Road home & studio till January 2012 when we packed them up and
moved to our new Elmwood Drive home & studio.
What about the
ministry of Drawing Nearer?
Wanda Schwandt and I continue to maintain our website and to offer
our printed resources, retreats and workshops using our Drawing Nearer process of prayer experiences blended with creative
activities. Of course it is more
difficult to do our jointly led workshops & retreats since we are
now 7 hours apart! However this also gives us the opportunity to reach out to communities both in
southeast PA and northeast OH. We
are delighted that more and more folks are using our resources to delve deeper
into their personal spiritual journey and also with groups large &
small.
If you would like to learn more
about our process, please visit our website www.drawingnearer.com or email us at drawingnearercc@gmail.com. One or the other of us will respond as soon
as we are able.
What’s new in the way of
creative expression and artworks?
During the process of working together on the “Fruits” project,
Margaret Almon and I came up with the idea of creating new collaborative
artworks using my expressive oil pastels and her mosaic design expertise. This turned into a series of truly unique
artworks we call our Marzanne Collection(Margaret
+ Suzanne). To see more of these inspirational works like "Orange Nautilus" (on the banner), visit Margaret's Etsy
Shop where they can be seen and purchased: http://www.etsy.com/shop/nutmegdesigns
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| "Worship" by Suzanne Halstead |
The artwork used in our book, Drawing Nearer: Devotional Workbook of Creative Prayer continues to
be available on our website. Some of the
original oil pastels are already sold, however you may still purchase a quality
giclee print of any of the 48 images. If
you are interested in these pieces or the artwork in our Advent Angels booklet, please contact Suzanne directly: shalstead@wowway.com to purchase the artwork
or for any other information about the artwork.
To learn more about how my passion of art making came to be
and also the story of how it came to be used in the Drawing Nearer book, you
may be interested in reading this 2-part interview:
Well, I think that’s it for now,
Blessings, Suzanne
