Come and See The SHOW!!

 

Godbeams by Jessica Novak

Sometimes we have the good fortune to witness something reeeeeeally beautiful, and if we have our camera in our hands we can capture it and share it, this moment in time. My daughter did just that, ALL THE TIME! She was a professional photographer, and when she passed in 2015, I inherited her legacy. It was several months before I knew it. I'd inherited her computer and several external hard drives and I was so in shock over her passing that I couldn't look at them until many months after she'd gone back to True Home. When I did look, I found myself absolutely mesmerized by the beauty of her photos, thousands of them. 

The beautiful Andes mountains from above.

Jess traveled all over the world, first on long, long hiking and camping trips here in beautiful Pennsylvania, then all across the U.S. on a road trip, with a couple of trips to Brazil and Mendoza, in Argentina, South America, and wherever she went, her camera was like an extension of her body. She was never without it.

Sullivan Run, PA.

Nothing was too big or too small to capture her attention. She was an observer. And a teacher. A lover, and a seeker. A free spirit, not to be confined, always moving, always dancing, always celebrating the beauties of life, and sometimes a witness to the tragedies, but never capturing them without hope.

Desiderata

This photo that she took is a great example of her observance of humanity's violence surrounded by the peace and promise of sweet Nature. She got very deep sometimes, with just one single, simple image. This one speaks volumes to me. I can hear the gunshots, and feel the crazed drunkenness of the shooter(s) protesting the limitations of their lives. I can also feel the steady, innocent, sweet growth of the soft ferns, one of Earth's oldest plants, surrounding it. Embracing it. Eventually they'll cover it. Eventually the sign and its violence will deteriorate and Earth will win with her beauty and her growth.

The Promise of Life Unfolding

So I sat, looking through her photos and thought to myself, Wow, these should not be left hidden, never to be seen. They're way too beautiful. And I wasn't sure what I would do, but that is when the desire to do an exhibit of her photos was born. Welp, we're there! It's happening! WOOT!!!! Some of my favorite people where I live are the ones who are connected to art. And recently I received an invitation from John McQueary, the owner of The State College Framing Company and Gallery, to host an exhibit of my late daughter's photos.

His timing couldn't have been more PERFECT. So I jumped at the chance to share some of the beauty my daughter captured so that you can enjoy it too.

Welp, WOW, I had no idea WHAT I was getting into. I've done shows of my own work, beadwork, artwork, etc. but I'd never done anything FOR someone else, especially when they're not here in person to say yea or nay to decisions made. Soon after I accepted his invitation, I began to look through her photos to choose which to frame and display, which to enlarge, and made the first appointment to see John to start planning. In between the time of the appointment and the planning stages of this show, I sat up until dawn several times looking through thousands of her photos, trying to choose which ones to share. Oh my gosh! It was hard to whittle it down to just a few! She had pop-art, she had graffiti, she had waterfalls, landscapes, plants, sky, animals, birds, just EVERYTHING! WOW! 

 

We can go anywhere!

So the first hardest thing about getting ready for this show was c h o o s i n g. I hope I've done a good job and it'll be fun for you to see. I've chosen close to 30 of her photos that will be framed or enlarged as canvas wraps (you can pop a frame on those if you choose or hang them as they are), and will have a portfolio of additional images you can choose to have prints made from, any size you like, PLUS we'll have a digital photo frame showing about 200 of her gorgeous images for your entertainment. If you're not familiar with digital photo frames check them out, they're a true delight in your home. Also make a great Christmas present if you load them up with family photos and such.

The second hardest thing was choosing the titles for the photos. I listened, as I always do, to the guidance that comes when I'm feeling quiet and peaceful, and I felt nudged to go open the books I've written about our experience - life with Jess, her sickness and passing, which was totally DEVASTATING to me for a number of years and my RECOVERY, which DID happen and continues to happen each and every day and night, along with her guidance and love and abiding presence, though it's different now. Softer. But the love that comes with her presence is intense, and so, so beautiful. Wonder if she'll show up on show night and mess with the lights, I'd laugh right out loud if she did!! She just might, she's still quite spunky and has quite the sense of humor. But she'd never do anything to frighten anyone. They play with our technologies you know, the spirits, because electricity runs on a very high vibration, like they do, so they can easily connect. There are hundreds of stories from bereaved people about how their lights flicker, and by my troth, I SWEAR, JUST NOW, my light started flickering in my studio (where I'm writing this) like mad crazy. Welp, I got up and got a new light bulb and changed it, but, isn't it just a bit curious that it would flicker now, while I'm writing about her show? Giggles on that.

So with the titles I felt compelled to go to the books I've written - Coming Alive After Death, Recovery from Grief and Letters from Celestial Jess, Afterlife Messages from My Daughter, and choose some quotes, either directly from Jess or from what I've learned from her during this journey of life, and I matched the quotes with her images. I think we pretty much did this together. I truly feel we still work together, though it's not quite as I might have imagined had she not passed when she did.

We go up and we go down, up and down, like life.

Jess has been nothing but purely inspirational in all she's taught me both during her life here on Earth and afterwards. I hope the show will reflect that for you too. Inspiration and celebration of all good things and appreciation and insight and trust that the bad things are but stepping stones to the good ones.

My girl doing some of her favorite things, phone, wine, cigs, writing.

I do nothing by myself, and am so appreciative of the guidance of John McQueary, Jeffrey Muthersbaugh, and Kevin Reilly at The State College Framing Company and Gallery, as well as Peggy and Mark at M&M Copy Services in Bellefonte, who helped me design the bookmarks and takeaway cards that will be available for free!

Setting up a show is a process, as Kevin explained to me, and I'm so excited to see it come to fruition and for you to experience it. Several other beloved artists will also be in the spotlight, including:

Jennifer Tucker and Gerry Lang - photography
Lena Thynell - Watercolor
Susan Nicholas Gephart - Pastels and Oils
Elli Groninger - sculpture
Laveta Piemme - author and jeweler - 
Jennifer Berghage - author and jeweler
Jess Novak - photography

Come and see us April 22nd (Earth Day!), from 4-7 to enjoy wine and snacks and hugs or air-hugs, and soak up a wonderful experience. Exhibits run through June 24th if you have other plans or are feeling a bit Covid-ish.

Note: Laveta's book is one that EVERYONE can benefit from HUGELY! It's called The Peaceful Eye of the Hurricane, and I for one, am loving it and CAN'T WAIT TO MEET HER! 

All the loves to you! Thank you for your patience with my absence from social media as I set all this up! Stay in touch XO!

Namaste