Julie Pippert: Using My Words

When I was younger, I wondered---and I don't mean in a blithe, Doris Day que sera sera way---what my life would be. I knew, from early childhood, that I had a fire in my belly. As I learned about the marches on Washington, the war protests, the womens movement and watched much of this happen, I thought, it will all be settled by the time I'm old enough to do anything about it. Ah naivete. I feared I would have nothing left to do, nowhere to use this fire in my belly. It spurred me on in life, that fire. And now it has found an outlet. I am mad, very, very mad now. I have seen a city (cities reall) destroyed, sucked under water and watched a government stand by---their biggest action pointing fingers about who is to blame. Ultimately, it will all rest with Mother Nature I am sure. Sure, she sent the hurricane, but that wasn't the biggest killer. Immobilization was. Disorganization was. Funding cuts were. Too much manpower abroad was. And so on. There is a need. There is a hu...

My mother in law renovated her kitchen. They've lived in this house for over 30 years. They hired a designer to do it, and oversee the process to some degree, and it looks fantastic. She asked me to provide the art, the wall decorations. I came up with this series: I'm thinking I want to shift them into a different order though. I need to see them on the wall. By Julie Pippert Museum Quality Digital Art and Photography Limited Edition Prints Artful by Nature Fine Art and Photography Galleries The Golden Orchid: Original and Unique Wearable Art © 2005. All images and text exclusive property of Julie Pippert . Not to be used or reproduced.

For grandparents day---which I have missed---I planned to give new portraits of the girls. I tried to come up with portrait to match the baby's below, but I just wasn't as happy with them for my older daughter. This one, she dressed herself, posed herself, told me when to snap and we got it in one take. She's begun drawing in detail. Animals and people and I can tell who she is drawing. Amazing. Here's the one to match the baby's portrait. It is sweet. And in motion, very much her. But, maybe I'm not as keen on matching as I thought. By Julie Pippert Museum Quality Digital Art and Photography Limited Edition Prints Artful by Nature Fine Art and Photography Galleries The Golden Orchid: Original and Unique Wearable Art © 2005. All images and text exclusive property of Julie Pippert . Not to be used or reproduced.

I agreed to present at Mother's Group on Tuesday. When I read the selected base text, to me it said, "God is in the details." To me, that meant, no matter how big or small, everything you do can be a contribution. I've thought a lot about this lately, on many fronts. After Hurricane Katrina and the floods devastated so much of my Gulf Coast neighbors' communities, I didn't even hesitate before springing into action. I knew it could have been me, and I knew what needed to be done. Evacuees immediately began arriving in my town and we quickly mobilized our community to provide food, housing, and resources. People are the most valuable valuable resource. Therefore, I felt the need to do more than simply donate (as valuable as that is), and was fortunate to be in a position where I could also give of myself as well. I solicited, sorted and distributed donations, and volunteered for the Red Cross at an area shelter. I got to know the people behind the stories, and ...