Healing Ceilings, a story of love by Carol Schiff

I recently came in contact with a wonderful woman in Raleigh, North Carolina.  Amy Jo was a fan of my facebook page and sent me a link to her wonderful page called Healing Ceilings.  Amy Jo's husband just came through his second brush with cancer.  She and her husband were spending lots of time in the Cancer Care Center of North Carolina, he, getting treatment and she, waiting and observing. Observing the same people day after day, as they came in for their chemo or radiation treatments.  She decided to do something to brighten their lives and encourage them in their fight.

BlueBird of Happiness by Kathy Garvey

Amy Jo believes in the healing power of art.  She decided to brighten the days of these patients by giving them something inspiring to look at while they receive their treatments.  Out came those old, white, boring ceiling tiles to be replaced with individual tiles turned into creative art.  How she did this, I do not know, but she has single handedly installed hundreds of tiles in cancer care centers in the Raleigh area.

Peaceful Beach by Denette Schweikert

She contacted artists through Facebook and asked them to donate their work on ceiling tiles that she somehow supplies.  Nothing stops her.  When I saw her posts and decided to donate, she arranged for me to go to my local Lowes (in Florida) where I picked up a box of the proper tiles at no cost to me.  Naturally, I involved my painting group, Pieces of 8 and gathered additional volunteers from them. One of the group, Cindy Michaud, who summers out of town, was following the journey on Facebook. Being a person who does not let grass grow under her feet, she contacted Amy Jo and so far, has painted 6 tiles for the project.

Road to Sunshine by Cindy Michaud (2 tiles)

Garden of Inspiration by Cindy Michaud (4 tiles)

Everyone wanted to do peaceful scenes filled with inspiration.

Sailing the Bay by Mary Warnick

Ocean Sunrise by Carmen Beecher

I decided to do 3 typical scenes of North Carolina:

Abstracted Sea by Carol Schiff

Carolina Marsh by Carol Schiff

Mountain Mist by Carol Schiff

Did I tell you each tile is 24x24"?

Now that the tiles are complete, Amy Jo has done a "shout out" on Facebook to bring them home to Raleigh.  In her words, "The Love Train is leaving the station".  She will find volunteers who will transfer the tiles from place to place until eventually, they will be delivered to her hands for installation.

A story of love and compassion and determination.  The next time you think "What difference can I make"?

Think of Amy Jo.

Healing Ceilings, a story of love by Carol Schiff

I recently came in contact with a wonderful woman in Raleigh, North Carolina.  Amy Jo was a fan of my facebook page and sent me a link to her wonderful page called Healing Ceilings.  Amy Jo's husband just came through his second brush with cancer.  She and her husband were spending lots of time in the Cancer Care Center of North Carolina, he, getting treatment and she, waiting and observing. Observing the same people day after day, as they came in for their chemo or radiation treatments.  She decided to do something to brighten their lives and encourage them in their fight.

BlueBird of Happiness by Kathy Garvey

Amy Jo believes in the healing power of art.  She decided to brighten the days of these patients by giving them something inspiring to look at while they receive their treatments.  Out came those old, white, boring ceiling tiles to be replaced with individual tiles turned into creative art.  How she did this, I do not know, but she has single handedly installed hundreds of tiles in cancer care centers in the Raleigh area.

Peaceful Beach by Denette Schweikert

She contacted artists through Facebook and asked them to donate their work on ceiling tiles that she somehow supplies.  Nothing stops her.  When I saw her posts and decided to donate, she arranged for me to go to my local Lowes (in Florida) where I picked up a box of the proper tiles at no cost to me.  Naturally, I involved my painting group, Pieces of 8 and gathered additional volunteers from them. One of the group, Cindy Michaud, who summers out of town, was following the journey on Facebook. Being a person who does not let grass grow under her feet, she contacted Amy Jo and so far, has painted 6 tiles for the project.

Road to Sunshine by Cindy Michaud (2 tiles)

Garden of Inspiration by Cindy Michaud (4 tiles)

Everyone wanted to do peaceful scenes filled with inspiration.

Sailing the Bay by Mary Warnick

Ocean Sunrise by Carmen Beecher

I decided to do 3 typical scenes of North Carolina:

Abstracted Sea by Carol Schiff

Carolina Marsh by Carol Schiff

Mountain Mist by Carol Schiff

Did I tell you each tile is 24x24"?

Now that the tiles are complete, Amy Jo has done a "shout out" on Facebook to bring them home to Raleigh.  In her words, "The Love Train is leaving the station".  She will find volunteers who will transfer the tiles from place to place until eventually, they will be delivered to her hands for installation.

A story of love and compassion and determination.  The next time you think "What difference can I make"?

Think of Amy Jo.

Sunshiny Day, 10x8 Oil Painting on Canvas Panel,Landscape with Clouds and River

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This was the kind of day that just lifts your mood, and I hope I got that in my painting. It was sunny and bright, with nice fluffy clouds in a bright blue sky. It's hard to feel like a curmudgeon when you get to live in an environment like this. Makes me feel like going kayaking, which is on my bucket list. After all, the water is all around us here, what am I waiting for? It's got to be a lot easier than that whitewater rafting adventure that threw four of us women out on the rocks in North Carolina. My friend Donna said at the time that we bonded over a near-death experience--and I think she was right!

Carmen

Teacup, 6x6 Oil on Canvas, Small Still Life, Tea Party Art

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This little teacup represents a happy memory at a tea party in a cute little teahouse in Washington state. I miss my Pacific Northwestern relatives, but it is such a long way from Florida. There is so much out there that is exciting to see: big mountains, big trees, big rocks (I happen to love rocks). The towns are adorned by big baskets of flowers hanging from poles. It's a beautiful place.

Carm

Copper Pot with Apple, 10x8 Original Oil Still Life Daily Painting by Carmen Beecher

$99, Click to Purchase

Taking a break from my San Miguel series to post a still life. This one was started in the Qiang Huang workshop in Melbourne. I have been so pleased to get thank-you notes from some of the people attending the class. Learning from Qiang is a very enriching experience, and some people came from a long distance and were glad they did. It's so gratifying when all the effort to put on a workshop is appreciated.

Blue Pots, 8x6 Original Oil Painting by Carmen Beecher

$99, Click to Purchase

I love the colors of Mexico. This is Number Five in my series of paintings of San Miguel de Allende, and it almost has a Florida Gators orange-and-blue look (but not quite). Spanish style houses are my favorites, especially if they have beautiful courtyards. In San Miguel there are no front yards or sweeping lawns, but the casas' openness and courtyards make it feel as if you are very comfortably living outdoors.

Tiny Dancer, 8x10 Oil on Canvas, Figurative Painting by Carmen Beecher

$199.00, Click to Purchase

While in San Miguel de Allende I got to witness a big Aztec festival, with scores of people in bright costumes and huge feather headdresses. They were dancing in the streets, celebrating their conversion to Christianity. So many people dancing in unison, wearing bright colors and glittering outfits presented quite a wonderful sight, but this little girl was my favorite, trying to keep up with the grownups.

Here are some of the adults in their costumes. I was so lucky to be town that day!

Bouquet, 7x5 Oil on Canvas by Carmen Beecher

$89, Click to Purchase

If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind? Even though I live in Florida, my yard is so bedraggled right now. A tree is dying of a mysterious disease, my huge frangipani tree has not a leaf on it, but a little cluster of pink blossoms sits at the end of one branch, embarrassed at arriving early to the party. Oh, how I want that TV guy who comes home with you and redoes your whole back yard to show up when I'm at Lowe's! Until then, I'll just paint cheerful flowers.

Rose Bowl, 7x5 Oil on Canvas by Carmen Beecher

$89, Click to Purchase

This was a painting of red bowls. I let it sit on my easel and hated it more each day, though I liked the colors. I finally painted over it completely and used the same color scheme. That's the nice thing about oil paints, they are fixable.

Art restorers frequently find that the old masters had other paintings underneath their masterpieces. There's one thing for sure: the painting underneath is not a masterpiece, or they would not have painted over it. Just let that thing stay hidden under there, complying with the artist's wishes. You would not want to embarrass him by revealing his red bowls or whatever...

Red, White and Blue, 6x6 Original Oil Painting on Canvas by Carmen Beecher

$99, Click to Purchase

I like painting reflections. I had not planned a patriotic painting, but the colors do give it an all-American look.

I'm trying to keep up with my daily painting, get ready for the Qiang Huang workshop (I'm the organizer) and prepare for a trip to Virginia, then to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. A lot of pressure for a woman of a certain age. Or any age, for that matter. I will fill many pages of my sketch journal with the sights in San Miguel. Oh boy oh boy oh boy!

Yellow Roses, 8x6 Oil Painting on Canvas by Carmen Beecher

$95, Click to Purchase

Wouldn't this be a romantic Valentine's Day gift? Flowers and candy are nice, but they don't last. Diamonds and oil paintings are forever.

I painted this twice. I was not satisfied with it the first time, but I learned a few things from my mistakes. The second time I was able to get what I wanted, and did it much faster.

Hydrangea, 6x6 Oil on Canvas by Carmen Beecher

Hydrangeas are very hard to paint. Each one is like a bouquet. They grow in lush profusion in Washington State, in colors I never knew possible.

PURCHASE

Flowers are the alphabets of angels, whereby they write on the fields and hills mysterious truths. ---

-Benjamin Franklin

Seven Palms, 6x6 Oil Painting

A dirt road, palm trees, and the ocean. What could make an artist happier? 

PURCHASE ON ETSY

KILLER CHRISTMAS SALE AND ALL AROUND GOOD TIME

I can hardly believe that it is time for our group Christmas sale...but it is.  In fact it is only two days away!

If you live in or around Melbourne, Florida, you don't want to miss  PIECES OF EIGHT ANNUAL HOLIDAY SALE AND ALL AROUND GOOD TIME!   The last time we had a sale, it was so much fun.....even Google Earth showed up!!

Yes, that's us out there in the drive way having a great time.  We are 9 talented ladies with a lot to offer including, poetry,scarfs, pillows, earrings,  original paintings, cards, pottery, and much more.  Each year we do a group project to fund our annual trip to the mountains.  Last time we published a cook book featuring recipes we tested on our trip and artwork from each of us.  It was such a hit we had to re-order several times and still get requests for copies.  

We put our heads together to come up with the perfect product to offer this year.  Eventually we settled on hand crafted earrings.  We have been working together the entire year on this project and did we have fun!

Just to make it even more unusal....WE PACKAGED THEM INDIVIDUALLY allowing you to 
MIX or MATCH designs.

Don't forget to REGISTER for the FREE GIFT BASKET and enjoy yourself with refreshments.

I want to show you just a few of the paintings I will have at my table.....at a very special, one day only SALE PRICE.

Thistle Love
8x10"

Hunkered Down
6x8"

Cindy Grows Tomatoes
6x8"

Did I mention the date???  
Saturday, December 8th

321.604.1647

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PIECES OF 8

Carmen Beecher
Carol Schiff
Cindy Michaud
Denette Schweikert
Donna Vines
Fay Picard
Kathy Garvey
Phillis Holland
Mary Warnick
(YES THERE ARE 9 OF US.....IT'S A LONG STORY!)

www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com