I Recieved a Most Precious Gift

                   ... the gift of friendship and encouragement.

Sarah from 'Cottage Garden Studios'

bestowed on me the

"Mental Duck to Mental Swan"

award, an award she created,

inspired by the words of our

dear friend Renee.

As I shared with Sarah I have

indeed felt the stirrings of my

'swan' yearning to break free,

to silence the voices of doubt

and to embrace the artist within.

Having been told that my

artistic ventures were folly, not a

solid career choice, caused me to silence

my need to create. I doubted my

skills and never thought my work

good enough to share.

It has been through the encouragement

of friends like Sarah and Renee

and the many voices of all of you in

blogland that I have finally

decided to embrace the artistic side

of my nature. If you journey to

the beginnings of my humble little blog

you will find that I did not share

my art. I shared my words,

my life, my thoughts, my heart,

but as the 'duck' I was denying

a big part of who I am.

It was by coming to know all of you

and witnessing your willingness

to share your artistic creations

that I am learning to embrace the 'swan'.

A big thank you to Sarah

for gifting me with this most

precious award.

To learn more about how this award came to be and to visit

Sarah, an amazing artist in her own right go to

http://www.rowenleaf.blogspot.com/