Friday, March 26, 2010

Life, Death, Beginnings, Endings, & Beginning Again


An old and very good friend of my family died this morning. Pat Shafer was a friend of my mother's. Her son played with me and my sister when we were kids and he went on to become a life long friend of my sisters. Pat had a great influence on me, particularly in the last 5 to 8 years. She was a very talented artist and very supportive of me when I was trying to find my way back towards a more creative life. She was one of the people who made me think that yes, I could be an artist. That it wasn't an outlandish idea and that maybe there was room in the art world for me. She lived in a lovely old house in a small town in Michigan. Although I visited her only a few times there in the last several years they are fond memories. We kept up mostly through email and internet communities such as Facebook and Artella. She encouraged my experimentation and I am very grateful to her for that. She taught a number of classes and workshops and if I go by my experience she made a greater impact than she probably knew. She will be sorely missed. I wish her well on her new journey.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for your lovely memories and words of my sister, Pat Shafer. I am missing her so much right now and actually Googled her name, only to find your posting. What a comfort they provide for me. She was indeed a talented, unique person and we all miss her. Thank you....Glenda

Anonymous said...

Hi Frannie... That was a lovely post. My mom always thought very highly of you. Thank you all again for being around during that time. And I really like your blog. B

One Knit One Purl said...

Hi Frannie,

I read your post and am very sorry that you lost your friend. She must have been a very nice person. The elder women in our lives are very important. They leave a special lasting impression in our hearts.

Praying for you to have comfort.

Susan

Frannie said...

Thank you all for your comments. Glenda, I am glad my words were of some comfort to you. Bart, no problem, thank you! Susan, thank you for your kind words, and, you are right, the elder women in our lives are of great importance which I value more and more as I get older.