happens with a lil' dab of paint and a great big smile.

I love everything I do. From painting and pyrography (professional burning technique) spirit bowls, painted rocks for a whimsical flare, to humorous small and large canvases, to serious works of art. My unique photography and paintings have won numerous awards and I am honored that people thought enough of my work for it to merit the awards received. I still don't see what they see in it, as it is simply a part of who I am.

Each item has a warm and spiritual light to it, or at least I create it with that warm light.

Yes the locals here have seen a bit here or there of my works. Those few things seen locally are merely appetizers for what I produce.

But I also love other artist's works. It is through viewing other artist's works and spirits that one grows and touches on an extended network of creative juice.

My daughter took me to Chattanooga for a variety of artistic energies that exist only on a creative pallet that most people have no clue exists.
It is because we are artist's that we crave such mind food and creative culture. Let me share with you our events of that day.

It's a warm Saturday with a light breeze. We arrive in the Art District and stand in awe of the sculptures in the gardens. Life like swimmers floating endlessly as if we were in the water with them. You can feel their presence as if you became a part of their very creation of the sense of being.

Everywhere you looked there were figures of bodies and faces that only a deep centered soul would truly understand, the display bringing to life the artists that created them, the very reason to stand in awe.

We then went for breakfast at a small coffee shop, a wonderful place for bagels and croissants and latte. We explored a few little shops for curious seekers. We had discovered there was a Studio / Gallery Hop going on. That's where selected galleries and artist's studios were

having open house for the public to visit and enjoy the mega amounts of various arts on display.

Let me introduce you to a few that I visited.

These artists were all located at the Southern Saddlery Building on South Broad Street.
First was Laura Cleary, a very nice young lady who  is now branching out. Her works

are very earthy, and no doubt that she shall grow beyond her perimeters and very soon.

Michael Field won my heart with his oil portraiture and very impressionable conversation. His greeting you into the door was very warm and energy filled. He used to teach clay sculpting, but as the human form, you better know your skeletal body for without it, you would not pass his anatomy course.

I really enjoyed speaking to a gal named Annie from the Yarn Works Inc. shop. Very creative women own this business and I believe there are nine of them altogether. This is a place that creativity flows beyond the doorway, beautiful scarves and handbags and much more. They have classes as well.

There is one more I want to mention. She is an artist in her own right. Lilan Laishley, Ph.D. She is a Holistic Counselor and Life Coach. My daughter enjoys speaking with her.

Lilan is an inspiring soul for those who speak with her. A friendly and compassionate person who is a great listener. Perhaps she will write her book soon, as I am sure many would love to read it.

I understand Lilan's work as we both work with the mind, body and spirits of others.
Along my travels I also do my spiritual lightwork, counseling and therapy for clients, in venues pre-scheduled by businesses through out the year. It is a task not many are willing to take on, but there are people in the country that want spiritual guidance from people who care.

I for one will sign up for a lecture by Lilan Laishley if she schedules one. For wisdom is like a flavor so palatable you seemingly cannot get enough of it.

I must sum this one up to get my editor on the run to the press ……

Today is really yesterday and it has become tomarrow, take a chance on any given day to see and feel what others have to share. You may not like everyone's cup of tea, but you at least had the invitation to try it.

For every different artist in any given area, there is a difference. Because of this individual difference, they too in life make a great difference.

An elder once told me, "You may never become famous to the world but you may only become famous among your family and peers, fame is not what the world sees, but it is in the spirit being and knowing that you were you."

I feel the wind, and soak up the sun, taste of tomarrow and dance naked under the moon, and I spell tomarrow with an "A," why …. Because I can.

Come visit us at Knights Park in Athens on October 13^th for Pumkintown Festival.

Happy Fall, Autumn or Mabon or whatever you choose to celebrate.

You can e-mail Toneeke at:
feedback@toneeke.com
or you can also write to Toneeke at PO box 247, Calhoun, TN. 37309.
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