Creative Play

Looking through Facebook I noticed a photograph, Nora Lago in Puerto Rico. Leaning against a wall on a stone lined street, one foot up on the wall, and no people as far as you could see. Dark glasses hid her eyes.  She smiled ear-to-ear. I thought, How happy she looks, relaxed, at home in her parent's birth place. I asked Nora if I could have a copy of the photo to paint. She emailed it to me.      After I painted Nora, I sent her a photo of it. If she liked it my plan was to send to her. She loved it and when she received it she found a beautiful corner to display and sent me a photo and asked if I approved. Of course, I did.       A friend back in the Synanon days that I helped raise her daughter in a boarding school, asked if she could use the painting for the cover a book she was putting together. I asked Nora if she minded. It is her image on the painting, and I gave her the original painting so I felt permission from her was needed. She said...

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...