An Abundant Life - True Abundance

I've written about the beautiful 107 Bowers Gallery & ArtSpace, and the lovely owner Kristin DeAngelis in these pages before, and I have attended events and openings there over the past few months that have all been very special. But the other day when I received an invitation to For Thought: JC Arts Senior Show Reception I knew it would be important for me to be there. Even though the weather has been colder than feels comfortable in Spring, and I don't like being cold at all, especially not in May, I headed over to the gallery, thinking that I would be there for only a short time and then would head back home again. I think it's so important to encourage artists of all ages, and encouraging up and coming artists who are just starting out in their professional life is something that I have always felt is needed. Being an artist is hard enough - seeing the world through your own eyes that sometimes see things in such vastly different ways than everyone else does is not an easy way to live, and often I think that artists can spend time wondering if they are talented or visionary enough rather than focusing on doing the work they feel in their hearts they must do. So even though it was cold and gray outside, I made my way over to the gallery, thinking that I would be doing something very important by giving some encouraging words about the work that I'd see there. What I wasn't prepared for was the beauty and vision and extraordinary talent I'd find, so much that it warmed me right up and made me forget that I had anything to say to anyone, except that their work was lovely and that it was an honor to be there. Breathtaking, yes, lovely, yes, powerful, yes and yes and yes. I look forward to the day when their names are in lights, and I'll be able to say I saw their work one cold May day at a lovely neighborhood gallery.

Franyelly Rodriguez, Jina Alhenawi, Shawna Reid

For Thought: JC Arts Senior Show Reception

107 Bowers Gallery & ArtSpace

107 Bowers Street, Jersey City, New Jersey

www.107bowersgallery.com

Blessings,

Jannie Susan