An Abundant Life - Holiday Cheer

This past week on December 12 was the anniversary of the day that I was born again in 2005.  It's been nineteen years and while I can say that the time has gone by quickly, there has also been so much that has happened in these many years that's it's hard to grasp and think back to who I was before and all the many changes and adventures, joys, heartaches, moments filled with wonder and times when I have wondered. On the day of the anniversary I posted a video walk through of YES Gallery with the Christmas decorations that I had just been putting up, and when I posted it Instagram tagged my post and said it looked like a sponsored partnership post. It made me laugh because it was just me doing my thing at YES Gallery and I have no sponsored partnerships there. But then when I thought about it as I began to write this blog post, I realized that Jesus is the best sponsored partnership there is, so in a way I could have tagged Him and thinking about that made me laugh again.

There is so much joy and beauty in life when we follow God's path. There are hard times too, and sometimes bewildering ones, and there is pain and there are challenges, but then when we ask for help in the storm, when we cry out and say I don't know what to do or ask for guidance and peace, the calm arrives, our spirit is renewed and we are able to look around us and breathe and take in the fact that although we may be going through something difficult, we are not going through it alone and this difficult time will pass as we are brought through it with grace.

As I walked around YES Gallery listening to a Beethoven Violin Concerto and looking at the Christmas ornaments and lights, it was with so much gratitude for all that I have been blessed with there. So many beautiful people have walked through the doors, bringing art and gifts and sharing their beauty and blessings with me. I have found so many lovely things to bring there, and have had so many beautiful events with beautiful Artists and Performers, Chefs and Artisans and community friends and neighbors. Nineteen years ago I went through a dark night of the soul, the darkest time I had known. As God brought me into the light I had no idea where my life would be heading. Finding myself at YES Gallery is a dream come true that I didn't even know was possible, and I say thank you to God for the many beautiful gifts I have received as I look forward to more beautiful days to come.

Admiring Christmas Decorations

While Listening To Beethoven

And Feeling So Grateful

At YES Gallery

408 6th Street

Hoboken, New Jersey

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Family Heritage

A few years ago when I was looking up something I found information about an uncle of mine, one of my Father's brothers. His name was Garwood Rowan Wolff, and he had been my Father's favorite brother. I may have met him once, and I think it's possible that I did when I was very young because there is a vague memory that I have of him visiting the house where we lived and where I grew up. He lived in New York City and when I was a young teenager I remember coming home from after school one day to hear that my Father needed to go to New York because Garwood had died. Over the years I heard little bits of information about him, but there was nothing really outstanding that I was told. At one point when I was working in the McGraw Hill building my Mother said that he had worked in the publishing business at McGraw Hill, at another time when I lived in the West Village she told me that he'd had an apartment there with a rent of $7 that he'd stopped paying and that he'd lost the apartment. It always seemed when people spoke about Garwood that his life had not been extraordinary in any way and that he had in some ways not done anything of merit at all. But my Father had loved him dearly, and it made me wonder more about him and who this uncle of mine really was.

When I found the information about him a few yeas ago, it was in reference to a text book that he'd written on sustainability and conservation of natural resources during a time when no one was really talking about those things. To me because of the things that I am passionate about, that seemed like something of note and of merit that I was surprised that no one had ever mentioned to me. I started to think about this uncle more, and about my own life, and I began to think that maybe he and I had more in common than might be seen at first glance, and that if he were still alive we would have gotten along and enjoyed each other's company and inspiration.

Recently when I was at YES Gallery, thinking about a project for an art, design and sustainability educational center that is near and dear to my heart that I am in the process of developing, I felt as if there was a presence in the gallery. It was just a moment of a shadow in the glass of a framed piece, but I had the unmistakable feeling that someone from my family was there and wanted me to know something. I've had experiences like that before, and usually I know right away who it is, but this time I was unsure and at first I thought it might be my Grandfather, my Father's Father. But then it came into my consciousness that it was Garwood and I couldn't understand what he would want to share with me, so when I went home I started to research him more again.

This time I found out that he had lived in Sutton Place, somewhere that I have alway had a deep feeling of connection to, and I found the building where he had lived. It is one that I often used to walk by on lunch breaks when I was working midtown and wanted to explore the neighborhood. I found a mention that he had indeed worked at McGraw Hill for many years, but he had also started his own publishing company, and that he had been one of the publishers of an architecture and design magazine that was one of the forerunners of the art and design magazines that are preeminent today. 

As I read about my Uncle Garwood, I realized that everything that I do and everything that I am passionate about stems directly from work that he did and loved. I realized that the project that I am developing that is so deeply rooted in my being is one that is part of my own family heritage. As I continue to plan this project and envision the future of it, it is Garwood and his legacy that will be part of what I am celebrating there. Far from being forgotten and unmerited, his extraordinary life and vision will live on through me and mine. What I create in the community will honor his heritage and the dreams he began when my own were just beginning to awaken.

Garwood Rowan Wolff

A Cherished Uncle

With A Vision

For Creating A More Beautiful And Sustainable World

jannie_wolff Art And Life - I’ve Been Thinking About My Uncle Garwood Quite A Bit This Past Week. I Think About Him Often, But He Felt Very Near To Me Somehow And I Remembered This Photograph. He Was Awarded Bronze And Silver Stars, Admirable In The Navy, But What I Remember Most Is That He Was My Father’s Favorite Brother, And He And I, Though Many Years And Lifetimes Apart, Share So Many Echoes. He Had His Own Publishing Company And Wrote Books About Sustainability, And He Was A Co-Publisher Of A Design And Architecture Magazine. I Realized In Thinking About Him That So Many Of My Influences Are In A Direct Line To Him. There Are Other Veterans In My Family, But Today I Wanted To Honor Him Especially, As Give Gratitude To All Who Serve

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

     

An Abundant Life - The Eyes Of Gratitude

It was Thanksgiving last week and I found myself feeling so grateful for the time of this very long holiday weekend. There has been so much going on for so many months now and some of the holidays have been so busy sometimes that in a way they haven't felt like times of relaxation.  I'm used to going every day for long hours and working over the weekends too, but sometimes we need time to just be and just enjoy peace and quiet, long walks, doing something different or doing something just for fun. Sometimes we need time for ourselves without feeling like we have to do something else right now.

This past week when the holiday arrived, a few things happened that gave me a chance to just enjoy the days and to feel gratitude for the time that I had. As I began to look with the eyes of gratitude and to remember that Thanksgiving is a time for being grateful for the provision of God, I could feel myself relaxing into the enjoyment of life in a way that I wish I could do every day. It's something that is available to us, but so often the world crowds out that feeling, with people and things calling for our attention and telling us that their schedule is more important than anything else. Over this past Thanksgiving weekend I've been so grateful to feel the presence of God in my life and to know that God's timing is always best and that though I may not understand how or when or what is going on from moment to moment, when I can surrender and allow God to be God everything works out in a way that I could not have understood how to arrange myself, because God knows the end from the beginning and has orchestrated everything perfectly.

A number of years ago I wrote a blog post about how God brings everything around to be more than fine and over these past few days I've allowed God to speak that to my heart and keep me calm as I walk through this time. It was time for a holiday makeover for YES Gallery, and just before I began to put up the ornaments and rearrange things to create some glowing vignettes, I took a walk through the gallery to create a video while I was playing Chuck Mangione's "Chase The Clouds Away" on my vintage stereo. It had been a while since I'd recorded the experience of the gallery in this way and it seemed so beautifully perfect as a way to usher in the new season and give gratitude to God for the beautiful place and space and peace surrounding me. There was a feeling of joy as there always is in the gallery, and along with some very special visitors and conversations about future projects this time of relaxation and reflection filled me with renewed hope for the beautiful days to come.

A Walk Through The Gallery

With Thanksgiving And Gratitude

Listening To Chuck Mangione's

"Chase The Clouds Away"

YES Gallery

408 6th Street

Hoboken, New Jersey

Blessings,

Jannie Susan