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I've been feeling the love. Your love of creating art, your love of viewing art, and my love for bringing it all together. Last year the Virtual Art Gallery was introduced as a weekly email featuring the art created by residents in Four Seasons at Hemet. I had no idea how it would be perceived or the impact it would have on my spirits. Each week as I receive emails with art submissions I quickly move them into a file for a later time. I don't even peek at the contents because it is such a treat on the day I put it together to see them all. Each is an exciting treasure. I didn't know I would be the one eagerly awaiting the gallery each week. I am not an artist in the traditional sense. I am a creative person but I can't draw or paint. My paternal grandmother sat in a class in her 50s and created paintings that hung in my father's home until his death. When I was asked if there was anything I wanted from the house it was at least one of these treasures. I fondly think of her when I see the ladies painting or sketching in the Art Room. I feel a connection that transcends the generations through time and the heavens. I hope that your pieces of art are gifted to family and treasured. My mother was an artist; her favorite thing to do as a child was to watch "Learn to Draw with Jon Gnagy." She was a teen in New Orleans in the late 60s. In the early 70s she ran away to sunny California, met a Marine, and had a baby. After a couple of years, she found herself a single mother in the small mountain community of Idyllwild, California. She answered a housekeeping ad to clean an art studio and it was for her idol Jon Gnagy. She was a beautiful and willing model for some of his classes at the local art school. I remember sitting up there posing with her; I was drinking apple juice out of one of those glass apple-shaped bottles. I also remember admiring her sketchbook with a countless amount of Jim Morrison drawings. Young love. Art has been an integral part of life in our Four Seasons community. Recently, a move to another state has left a hole in our programming. Lois Stipp is missed already and her departure leaves us in need of some instruction. If you are interested in offering a demonstration, a class or classes please contact me at tracie.rodgers@fsresidential. com. If you have a medium you are interested in learning, send that to me too; it will give me an idea of what to look for when searching. A special thank you to Lois for sharing her love of the arts with us. I have one last little story to share about art with you in this article. About 20 years ago, I began my career in recreation planning. I met a lady who did the loveliest Tole painting. As I was complimenting her work, she told me that she had been a working mom dedicated to her family and career. As such, she didn't have time for hobbies. After her retirement and empty nest, she decided to take a class on Tole painting. She explained to me that she was never really an artistic person, but it looked interesting. It wasn't until that class did she learn she had this talent, and it changed her whole life. That was a moment of long-lasting inspiration and my motivation anytime I can offer something of interest to others. Please if you can, visit the Gallery Walls in The Lodge and see the latest showcase of your talented neighbors. Who knows? Maybe you will be the next artist on display! 4 | Four Seasons Hemet Herald | FEBRUARY 2021 | From Your Activities Director By Tracie Rodgers This pistachio needed a face. Maybe after I retire the talent will kick in! My grandmother's art circa 1972 Doris Severs Cochrane