Pardon me while I brag just a little...

This past Saturday I was having a horribly busy day on top of what had been an equally hectic week (or two, or three) leading up to it. What with meetings, project deadlines, another project undergoing complications, and a variety of obligations both personal and otherwise, I felt like I was being run positively ragged! Something had to give - it was not humanly possible to accomplish everything on my list that day.

To preserve my sanity, I decided that the opening of the "Just Birds" exhibition at the Newton Cultural Centre in Surrey, while something I was very much looking forward to attending, was the one thing I could forego that day. The exhibition runs till the end of the month so there would be other times to see it. I knew my silk painting Quiet Reflection: Sandhill Crane, pictured below, had been juried into the show, and a little bird (no pun intended) had informed me that it had won a prize. However, given my seemingly insurmountable task list and factoring the time it would take to drive to and from the gallery, I didn't attend the opening of "Just Birds". Instead I chose to hunker down in my studio.

I was immensely relieved to come to that decision. I made good headway on all the many things I had on my plate without the stress of feeling completely overwhelmed. It was glorious! I felt I had made a wonderful choice.

Then... late that evening... I received a congratulatory email from another artist: my painting had won Best of Show! Wow!! In order to save my sanity that day I had missed my moment in the spotlight. However, I'm beyond pleased to receive this honour and am looking forward to seeing the exhibition later in the month. I invite you to view "Just Birds" at the Newton Cultural Centre, 13530 - 72nd Avenue, Surrey. The gallery is open 10am-3:30pm daily and the show runs till June 30th.

And for those of you who would like to see a sandhill crane in person, visit the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Ladner. I stopped there recently and was delighted to see two adults with two youngsters roaming the grounds near the entrance.