Easter

Alleluia... Christ is Risen !

If you read St John's Gospel Ch 20, it begins with Mary Magdalene upset and discombobulated to have found the tomb where she had watched Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus lay the body of Jesus, after the crucifixion, empty on the Sunday morning... she ran to tell Peter and he ran to investigate, along with another disciple...you can imagine her weeping oputside the tomb [ read on in ch 20 ] and at first thinking the person outside in the garden who asks her why she is weeping must be the gardener... but eventually she realises her mistake when she must have been completely taken by surprise to hear Jesus' familiar voice calling her by name "Mary" and turns around "Rabbouni"... I have always found this account very moving, and so a few years ago I began painting...if you wish to see some of the other paintings in this series, please look at my website and click on the heading "Easter Stations" : www.janetdriver.co.uk Hoping you have a joyful Easter

ART TRAIL : MAY 2nd 2025

Don't miss it ! Right at the beginning of May this year ...look on their website for more details and map of the venues... Last year I really enjoyed walking into an artist's garden and looking at hr paintings set out under a marquee...paintings expressing her joy and delight in the natural world...there will be a wide range of art-work on display around Wivenhoe : Do come and enjoy :}

I have no control over the order these images come up onto the blog ! Unfortunate or fortuitous ?? Well, in fact although I had hoped my painting of the beautiful magnolia blossom shining in the morning sunshine against a dark hedge would ome first... even so, I really like the Banksy painting of the child wishing she could fly up and over these awful imprisoning walls built all over Israel... and the photo of the young child praying at the "Wailing Wall " in Jerusalem (found on the internet / apologies to the unknown photographer )... they both remind me of news stories I have read recently of children suffering trauma... and my own childhood trauma, making me realise how many years this memory lives on in our minds : for I am now an octogenarian and still not only remember, but sadly have been affected all these years by early childhood memories :{ Maybe its a good thing to have these images in the order they have arrived on this page ? After all, the signs of hope are clearly there... and constantly noticing the beauty all around us at springtime always reminds me of the amazingly creative world we live in... just look at the next magnolia tree you come across... what do you see ? its buds like candles against a dark hedge or deep blue sky ? Or its magnificent blossoms opening to the sunlight ? or something else ? I have just been reading in more detail about Goma, D R Congo, and I find reading the news from places like the Sudan, Gaza, Ukraine and particularly of vulnerable children, very difficult... but then I constantly look for small signs of hope, remembering miraculous ways in which God has brought new life and hope to me... and being very thankful whenever I see daffodils, magnolia and cherry blossom... hold on to the joy and hope of springtime :} even when wanting to join that child crying at the wailing wall !