Creative Play

FAMILY THROUGH THE EYES OF AN ARTIST AND WRITER : Shirley A. Blair Keller ©2022 From left to right: Levi, Skye and Ford Jones, and Granny. The event is to celebrate the marriage of Skye and Molly Jones, Long Beach, CA.   I sat at a table with their grandfather Buddy, step-grandmother Lori, daughter-in-law Carla, and granddaughter Annie Mae. The grandsons grabbed both hands and pulled me up a step to a chair, sat me down, and posed behind me for the official photographer.  JOY! That is the only word that comes close to what I was feeling.  ARTS WITH ELDERS As the pandemic became a reality of life in isolation, I was contacted by family who lived in the Bay Area. Some of them lived in a retirement community that held art classes for elders. Artists taught classes in not only retirement communities but in hospitals and full time care homes.The organization that sponsors these classes is Arts With Elders.   The fear of the contagious virus was every where. The ...

The Donkey Song                                                               A Novella Inspired by a True Story By Shirley A. Blair Keller, Author and Artist Illustrated by Gary Williams amazon.com in paperback and Kindle 2021 Derrick Johnson has dreamed about traveling for years. Finally, he was on his way. Before he left the mainland for Hawaii, Derrick stops in San Francisco to visit a childhood friend, Julia Chaplin. Torn between their new found love and his desire to travel, they make a decision. If their love is real, it will endure the separation. What neither of them could know, the universe has other plans… Shirley Keller's favorite place to be: Spirit Hill Meditation Garden and Art Studio, where the creative energies have the day. Keller's art work grew out of her love of writing, which she doe...

The last of the FBI files for my stepfather, and mother, arrived. As I went through the papers, I remembered how my parents thought communism would solve the social inequities they fought so hard against. But, when discovering the horrors of the real Stalin, they were disturbed. Their focus always had been on ending segregation in America, so they joined Civil Rights groups and were activists for the remainder of their lives. Most of the FBI paperwork reflected that change.      The FBI wasted tons of money, year after year, following my folks. A form appeared on top of each year. The manager of their cases filled out this form requesting funds for the coming year, or termination of the case. To quote him, "The Mosley's do not show behavior that would over throw the government of the United States, therefore I recommend ending these cases."  Hoover ignored the recommendation and signed off on one more year anyway - 42 years against my pop and 32 years against my moth...

 If you see anything described below, give me a call at 559-561-3463 and if it is still available, we can discuss price and how to get it to you. I ask customers to pay for shipping, if needed. And if you are within reach I have been known to deliver in person. HEART TABLE  Jim Zeissler made this table with repurposed wood. He gave to me to paint dots. I used the heart theme he used as design for table. Took around two weeks to paint. It is the first piece to be finished in our new year of 2021. As I painted I thought of LOVE and HOPE for this new year to end pandemic. I thought of LOVE and HOPE that the new administration will be able to address so many problems they face all at once, with grace and competency. My husband grabbed this piece to display his plant in our living room. I smile. PIANO STOOL - SOLD The piano stool was the first piece Jim brought to me to paint. It sold within minutes of being posted on Facebook. I didn't even get to appreciate it. :)  BLACK BOX...

    https://www.facebook.com/CentralValleyTalk.tv/videos/2737111779869317/?t=2494 September, 2020 KVPR Talk Radio did another interview for my art and writing. See link above.

APRIl 2020  Chapter One:  The Beginning Back in the 1980's I attended an exhibit at the Oakland Museum. There was a woman who painted in oil, adding words to her pieces. But you could not read her words because she scribbled them. I liked the overall paintings but wished I could read her words. Later, I attended College of the Sequoia's to take a Calligraphy class. I did not think of myself as an artist, but I did write in journals every morning, and out of those writings came stories of my growing up. I dreamt of a quilt. At close range, I realized it was not made of cloth, but of collages, each illustrating chapters that I'd been writing. The next morning I began to make what I call Ink Quilts. I was doing art, just not thinking of myself as an artist.  At some point I re-married, and we bought a home in Three Rivers. A studio was built in what as a garage type room outside of our house. It became my home away from home. Eventually, I made friends with l...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIoCk-pFbt4&feature=youtu.be I went to Fresno and did another podcast. The link is above to see it. This time I talked about my artwork and how I became an artist. I mentioned newly published book, too. But mostly talked art and 1st Saturday.  Since this coming month, July 6th, we have a Fresno foodie joining 1st Saturday, and this podcast shows mostly to Fresno residence I thought talking about her made sense. Thu Duong-Pace specializes in Vietnam food taught to her by her mother. She and her daughter dedicate their food business to her: Lotus Blossom. You can see a picture of her and her daughter ready to feed anyone who shows up. She describes herself and family in poetic terms. I think you will her part on our blog. Her location and times and more images of her food can be found on our blog:  www.1stsaturdaytr.com I cannot wait to taste her food. I admit to being tired of the American and Mexican food ONLY in Three Rivers....

Interviewing for my book "But What About The Children?" is a new experience. One venue was a podcast which is an audio interview. The Interviewer also has an Instagram page that is linked from podcast to Instagram and linked back to podcast. I sent her photos of the book, ink quilts and other artwork I have done, and she posted those on Instagram. That forced me to join Instagram if I was to see what she did. Confusing but I did it, or at least I think I did. So many have told me Facebook is out of interest to young people. They only like Instagram. I will bet by the time I feel comfortable using Instagram, the young will find another venue to love. I  can barely keep up!!! HA! Jessica Delgado was the young woman who interviewed me. I met her at the mechanics shop of her husband, Emmanuel Delgado. They have three children, two boys and a girl, lovely kids. Emmanuel took the kids to the Children's Museum while Jessica interviewed me. What a dear heart she is. She is ...

Farewell to Spring May 11, 2019 Celebration of Life for Eileen Marie Gavin Gates Brilliant February 8, 1934-March 18, 2019 Spirit Hill - Home of Bruce and Shirley Keller in Three Rivers, CA 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM The Celebration was planned by Veronika Kelley, Eileen's most wonderful daughter. Her two children Trevor and Chloe were present, as were cousins, family of the heart, and friends. Buddy Jones Welcomed everyone, and of course, had his butt drum and played along with the bubbling pond and wind chimes, and rustling of leaves in the trees. One of the guests remarked later that the chimes stopped when Buddy played, then he'd slow and listen, and the chimes returned, then he played and they stopped, and so on.  Shirley Keller and Carol Jean James told stories of their friendships with Eileen. Carol Jean lived in the same neighborhood as Eileen, babysat for Veronika, and was Mentored and then later became an adult friend with Eileen. Shirley began frie...