I have been unfaithful. I have been remiss. I have been distracted. I have been seduced by Facebook. I have forgotten to write in my blog. I am ashamed. I've forfeited the quiet intimacy of the blog for the superficial trivia of Facebook and I'm beginning to feel malnourished. I'm trying to return to blogging. Forgive me, anyone who may  have been wondering where the heck I've gone.

I so love to write. And I so love to get the heartfelt responses some people write. I feel a sense of awe when people share their hearts with me. And Facebook just can't compare.

I've been busy too though. Dallas, Texas, to see the "Sorolla and America" exhibit at the Meadows Museum of Art, where I stayed with my ex-sister-in-law and had a cathartic two days; Scottsdale, Arizona, to teach at the art mecca, the Scottsdale Artists School, where revered artists display their work down the long hallways. I'm headed to Ann Arbor in a couple of weeks to teach another workshop, hosted by Debra Zamperla. Debra and her husband Ivano, a native of Italy, are planning a workshop for me in Italy in 2015. Ivano will make the experience perfect; I can't even begin to imagine it. If anybody is interested in hearing more about the trip, contact Debra at idzamperla@gmail.com. Tell her you want to be on the mailing list for the 2015 Italy trip. This June... I'm headed to France again, to La Bonne Etoile with Kippy. And yes, I'll bore you again with our daily doings.

I'm waking up from 4 years of dearth, for lack of a better word. Getting back into shows, winning awards, taking classes. I'm seeing this coming year as a year of creativity and reinvention. Kinda chomping at the bit here.

The above pastel, "Buckhead Diner," recently won "Outstanding Figurative Award" at the Women Painters of the Southeast Exhibition at the Magnolia Gallery in Greensboro, GA, where it will hang until April 18.

"Taxi," one of 2 shared top award winners at the Degas Pastel Society this past year, will be displayed at the International Association of Pastel Societies Exhibition at the prestigious Vose Galleries of Boston, May-June, 2014, where I will be one of 3 jurors.

And the painting below, "Rosza Resting," will be in the Southeastern Pastel Society 16th International Juried Exhibition at the Oglethorpe Museum of Art. You are all invited to the opening reception, May 15, 2014, 5-7 p.m.

Oglethorpe University
Museum of Art
4484 Peachtree St. NE
Atlanta, GA 30319
404.364.8555
http://museum.oglethorpe.edu
Opening and Reception May 15, 2014 , 5-7 p.m.

OK I'm trying to make a comeback. Stumbling a bit, but coming back.