ONCE IN A WHILE...

 

I have long thought that many of us who create do so in part to make connections with others through our art. Recently, I have been blessed to make a few of those connections and I would like to share this one with you because it is so beautiful:

As I do when I can, I reached out to the purchaser of an original piece--Crow in the Snow--and the following is the reply, which I have permission to share. I think it is pretty special.

"Dear Cherril,

Thank you so much for reaching out to me and I am fascinated to know that you loved this picture so much that you did not want to let it fly!

Let me tell you why I wanted to buy it.

Firstly, it is a beautiful picture and I was attracted to it immediately due to its style and feel.

Beyond that, let me tell you a short story. A true one.

I am English but I live here in Orange County. My daughter was born here. We went to England in June. She had previously bought me a book called 'England's Most Beautiful Villages.' We decided to pick few local ones and make them the centerpiece of individual days.

One day we picked Heptonstall in Yorkshire. On the way there we drove through Mytholmroyd. I knew that Ted Hughes, a former Poet Laureate, had been born there and, according to our charter that all interruptions and segues were to be followed, we stopped and looked for some record of his existence. We found the house he grew up in (until age 8), did some pics, and then I made her listen to me read 'Hawk in the Rain.'

We moved on towards Heptonstall but, in case you didn't know, Ted Hughes' 'Crow:From the Life and Songs of the Crow' was considered his masterpiece.

In Heptonstall, quite unexpectedly, we came upon Ted Hughes' wife's grave. His wife was Sylvia Plath, an American, who was the author of The Bell Jar.

We had a wonderful day.

When I saw your Crow, I wanted it to remind me forever of that day during which we saw Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath but also ourselves and I knew that every time I looked at your Crow it would remind me of that day and my daughter forever.

So thank you for all that!

Keith

WOW! Right? Such a delightful connection for all of us. And now I find I see Crow in the Snow through different eyes and I am soooo glad that I decided I could part with it.

Connections are beautiful things and I thank Keith for sharing.

(I thought to shorten his letter, but found I could not leave out one word.)