Lucky in Love

Lucky in Love - Originally posted - March 9, 2015

“Love one another and you will be happy; it is as simple and as difficult as that.” Michael Leunig

St Patricks Day is quickly approaching. With a name like Shannon Fitzgerald I sound pretty Irish, but I’m not…well maybe a smidgeon somewhere on my Dad’s side, but nothing of note – I came by the name Fitzgerald through marriage. On the other hand my husband’s family has Irish ancestors from Carrick-Au-Sur, County Tipperary, Ireland. From the papers I’ve seen they immigrated to the US around the time my ancestors were immigrating from Norway.  Some people love this holiday weather they are Irish or not; others could care less and let it pass without notice. My sister-in-law is one who always likes to do up St Patrick’s Day, she has been to celebrations in Savannah, New York, and Austin. I love celebrating holidays and enjoy the cheer of each one, although St Patrick’s Day has never been high on my list of favorites, your not going to catch me not wearing green! This year I will definitely be celebrating because our family has a very special event taking place. My sister in law, Brenda, will be marrying her partner of 18 years, Nancy, on the morning of St Pat’s Day. Since she has always loved this holiday its the perfect day for them to legally wed; she can pledge her love and commitment to her spouse in front of loving friends and family ~ weddings are a truly special time. Several weeks ago after I got the call about this special event I noticed lots of reds and greens popping up in a batch of canvases I was working on. Well, colors of love and luck of the Irish…exactly what was on my mind! One of these canvases will make its way to their wedding as a special gift.

Perfect love cannot be without equality. Scottish Proverb

Nancy’s mother passed away last year after a long and difficult illness, the passing of a parent is a deep loss so it has been a hard year for Nancy. She shared with me recently an Irish blessing that her mom always had hanging in her kitchen, I’ll share it with you here:

Irish Blessing

May love and laughter light your days and warm your heart and home,

May good and faithful friends be yours wherever you may roam, 

May peace and plenty bless your world with joy that long endures,

May all life’s passing seasons bring the best to you and yours.

These energies are all already in their painting, but somehow the words of this blessing needed to be incorporated as well. I chose to take some of the main words and nestle them in. I love being able to create special gifts like this that have deep sentiment and can be enjoyed for years and years. I hope that as they hang this painting in their home each time they pass by it reminds them of this special St. Patrick’s Day when friends and family gathered to help them celebrate their love for one another and show their support for these wonderful women. And for Nancy a reminder of her beloved mother who no doubt will be smiling down on this special ceremony on St. Patrick’s Day.

“If love is universal no one can be left out.” Deepak Chopra

If you follow my blog you will remember last month I talked about how much fun I had been having incorporating felted wool and stitching into my paintings. You’ll see more of that in this canvas and the other Irish pieces. But all of the sudden some of the canvases took a huge right turn, or maybe a left turn! If you look closely you may be able to see the connection or the parts the Irish pieces share with these new, and very fun, pieces. So today in my gallery you will see eight new pieces (only 7 for sale of course) three of them spreading Irish luck and love and the other five going in a whole new direction. I hope you take the time to visit my gallery and enjoy these new pieces, I had so much fun creating them!

“Art is when you hear a knocking from your soul…and you answer.” Guillemets

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Light, Love, and Laughter,

Shannon