It's an honor

Reflecting on Fathers and Forefathers


I count my blessings that I have a wonderful father.

Dad and his father before him were skilled craftsmen, builders, and entrepreneurial in spirit. They worked the land on my great-grandfather's farm in rural Ontario, Canada, and both established small businesses to earn an honest living and served their community with their skills.

Their beliefs, principles, and values helped shape who I am, influenced choices I've made and paths I've taken, and helped me recognize the things in my life that matter most.

My father is incredibly kind, faithful and insightful. He has abundant patience, evident when he didn't flinch after I, a rookie young driver, showed him the distorted bumper on our family car.  He could fix most things and I'll forever remember him looking through his eyeglasses, calculating, pondering, with some tool or another in his hand ready to take on a task. He is dedicated to his faith, his wife, and family, and to his community. He's disciplined and regimented - evident in the way he takes good care of himself, diligently doing exercises after recovering from a broken hip, or being sure he eats a good breakfast every day - the same breakfast he has eaten for decades - raisin bran with milk, and toast with honey (I'm not kidding).

We all have a heritage, whether it be biological or adoptive, inherited or chosen.  We're all shaped by experiences and relationships, they inform who we are and why we choose the paths we do.

Pause for a while this weekend, remember and celebrate the father who has helped shape your life.

Happy Father's Day, Dad, and thanks. I love you.

From left to right, my great-grandfather, Frederick Sr., my grandfather Frederick Jr. (when he and I were fishing together at 6 am one morning), and my Dad, Robert Otterman

one great Momma!

Well, this is special.


It's not every day you and your family get to celebrate someone's 89th birthday.

If you are blessed with having a parent in your life for that long, you might know how I feel.

My mother embraced technology and owned a computer before most of her children did, and her grandchildren asked to come over to do their homework on it.  She is a talented editor, an organizing queen, and at one time she knit like a pro and was one of a few braillists in Canada to translate music for the blind. She spins circles around us all in Scrabble and this cruciverbalist speeds through crossword puzzles, Sudoku, and does a fine job with Jeopardy questions every weeknight at 7:30 (don't phone her then). 

I'm in awe of her remarkable and unwavering love for my father, her husband, the guy she's been married to for nearly 70 years after he asked her to wait for him when he went off to war. That whole "'til death do us part" thing was put to the test after my Dad had a serious fall last year that immobilized him, and she nailed it - with patience, care, and love.

I love my Mom for her smarts, her companionship, her strength, her wisdom, her practicality, and the unending love and support she continually shows me and my family. She is truly an inspiration I am lucky to have.

So today, I'd like to honour and celebrate her, because that's what matters most.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

receding snow

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Dreaming of growth and renewal

Here in the Northeast, we are shedding slush, sand, and salt knowing that beautiful things will emerge.

Fresh back from a family vacation in Tobago (where is that, you ask? coastingtobago.ca), my daughter Lena and I discussed the pros and cons of living in an area of the world where the climate stays pretty much the same vs our four seasons.

For me, despite the hassle of snow, the changing seasons inadvertently provides a time to evaluate what I'm working on, and gets me excited about next steps, next seasons, and renewal. It reminds me that life is ever changing and I better get my butt up and in motion if I'm going to capture and create something inspiring.  

I continually pay attention to and capture what's in front of me, from the mundane to the beautiful, and turn that into art print collections. I think of them as "my stories". Here are some things I've captured and the resulting prints:

from the Gerbera Daisy Collection: grasses, gerbera, final print

 

from the Butterflies Ascending Collection: grasses, carpet design watercolor, final print

 

What are the "stories" you love and are part of your life?  Can they be translated into artwork? (If you doubt that, please read about the By the Numbers project)

What grows and evolves can surprise us. Whether it be experiences or vegetation, growth occurs. What inspires you as winter recedes and green appears? Pay attention to that.



I'm on a quest to put my work out there to the world, and if you'd like to help, please forward this post onto a friend. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!