Bloom Where You're Planted

My last Hope Village composite-painting was finished this past Saturday, the day I picked up Sis at the airport for a nice, long visit.  I feel like I can breathe again; the pressure's off.  Mom used this "Bloom Where You're Planted" expression throughout our lives, i.e., make the best of your situation, and to me it sums up the 'mission' of the community.

This piece is primarily focused around the Garden, carefully tended by residents, some of whom are gardening for the first time.  They proudly show off their HUGE zucchini and abundance of strawberries to visitors.

Pastor Chad had originally asked me to somehow show the Before and After of the village but I couldn't figure out how to properly present that; so I painted the garden as if we 'ripped' off a bit of the top page to reveal the Before.  Not great, but let's give me an A for effort.

A tiny square in the center, Clean Sweep, represents the program in which residents volunteer to give back to the community by sweeping the sidewalks of Medford.  They perform an important P.R. role; letting the homeless know about services available, and the merchants in town appreciate their efforts.

I'd planned the graduate figure from the get-go, but as time went along I realized that not everyone would be completing their high school or college degrees; but we are ALL graduates of the School of Hard Knocks.

Then there's the dog park, can't forget that.  Resident's best friends are welcome in their tiny-homes, but there are times when their pet must be left alone.  Underneath I tried to pair two seemingly dissimilar personalities joined in friendship, which is the point.

So throughout this painting we have the growth of the garden and the cooking and consuming of their bounty; but my favorite snippet is Mustard Mountain.  You know the saying,

“For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ’Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Nothing.

P.S. The top of the mountain is Mt. McLoughlin. elev. 9500 feet; and the bottom is Table Rock. a local geological formation.  Only my imagination combined the two but the idea made me laugh, as I hope it does others.

And gee whiz, I never did post the largest painting:

This HAS to count if I ever meet St. Peter.