MARGO'S MIRACLE
Hi, everyone. Thanks again for your interest in this blog. I'm delighted to share with you today a very special story. It's the story of Margo Westmoreland Blehm's miracle.
We all know that God works in mysterious ways. A few years ago, a friend of Margo's and mine passed away. It was a very tragic event. A friend had died much too soon, leaving behind bereft friends and family.
We were invited to attend his memorial service, and it was there that I met Margo. I can't say it was the first time I had met her, as we had attended the same church together years ago. Strangely, however, our paths had not merged then, and we hadn't had the opportunity to get to know one another.
At this memorial service, however, we were drawn to each other. We found ourselves amongst mutual friends, and we just clicked. We ended up sharing e-mail addresses, and said our goodbyes.
Not long after that, Margo and I became Facebook friends. As those of you who are friends of this blog know, I soon was sharing my art on Facebook. Eventually I was alerting my Facebook friends when I had posted a new blog.
After one of these postings, Margo messaged me on Facebook. She told me that she was involved in creating a musical CD and that she was looking for an artist to create the painting for the cover of the CD. She asked me if I would be interested.
I was absolutely delighted. I love new artistic challenges and was delighted to hear of her musical ministry. I asked her what she had in mind.
This was the first image that Margo sent to me to consider as an idea for a painting. She really liked the colors and the idea of the universe, but was interested in having some crosses to tell the story of God's interaction with the world. So I told her I'd create a few quick thumbnail sketches and get back to her.
This is the first thumbnail we considered. It was a very quick sketch in pencil and graphite.
This sketch was the closest to the original photo idea. It added the idea of light from heaven coming down to envelope the world with a bit more drama.
In this second thumbnail sketch I pursued the idea of adding crosses.
In this second, quick thumbnail, I was pursuing the idea of adding crosses to the world to represent God's ultimate sacrifice and interaction with humanity.
This final sketch pulled together the previous two ideas.
This is the final of the three sketches. It combines all the ideas from the other two, but adds a lot more of my imagination to it. The idea was a cloud formation in the upper left, representing God's presence streaming down with His approval on the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made for humanity.
“It was to be a day of queer experiences. He had never realized with how many miracles mere everyday life is besieged.”
This story is so full of miracles. Unbeknownst to me Margo had been praying long and hard about this project. Way back in 2016, an accident had occurred in which she broke several bones in her right foot. This gave her the time she needed to pursue an idea, a dream she had which ultimately culminated in the creation of this music and this CD.
I, too, now awaited the miracle of these quick sketches being understood by Margo, and pleasing her to the degree that she would be able to choose one from which I could then created a painting suitable for her needs. She ultimately chose the last sketch, and I was delighted to begin the painting process.
This is the first painting I sent to Margo. I had a lot of fun creating this. The limited palette I worked with was mainly burnt sienna, cobalt green, cobalt violet, and ultramarine blue. I used masking fluid to retain the white for the stars and cloud formation. I also had a lot of fun using salt to disperse the pigment and create some interesting shapes for mystery in the universe.
I sent this painting to Margo and nervously awaited her response. She ultimately wrote and said that she was delighted with the painting, but didn't understand the moon in the right-hand corner. I was a little confused at first, because I hadn't painted a moon. LOL!!
We finally communicated efficiently, however, and I realized that she felt the cloud formation was distracting and confusing. She thought she would like the painting if the "moon" was taken out. Well, if any of you have worked with watercolor, you know that it is not an easy task to just remove an element in a painting, and I wasn't looking forward to starting over completely.
With much thought and prayer, I decided to try to "erase" the moon. Can that really be done in watercolor? Well, if you have used transparent pigments and not staining pigments, yes, it can be done. I took a sponge and some water and gently washed the moon away.
This is the final painting I sent to Margo, and she loved it. End of miracle. Stop rolling the tape, right?
No. It turns out that Margo was in need of another miracle. She was in need of a graphic design artist to help her put the painting plus all the graphics together to complete the cover project.
She again approached me and asked if I might have a graphic design artist that I was acquainted with who could do the job. Well, I laughed a little to myself and bravely suggested my son, Sebastian. He was actually studying graphic design at PUC.
The end of that chapter is that she chose to contact Sebastian, and they worked together beautifully. Even though he was heavily involved in his studies, he was able to make the time to help Margo out.
This is the way the cover turned out. They worked long, hard hours together to create this cover. I couldn't be prouder of Sebastian. I certainly learned that there are a lot of moving pieces to graphic design. The cover is just a portion of the entire project, and the complete package turned out beautifully.
So there, in a nutshell, is the story of Margo's miracle. When you purchase the CD, you'll see the rest of the design and be able to read and flesh out more of the story. Margo has put her heart and soul into this project, and God has led her to the right musicians and producers and engineers. The artistic portion was only a very minor role.
Best of all, I have made a new friend. It was wonderful to have Margo come over to Fort Bragg and pick up the painting. We had a wonderful visit. We talked nonstop and were drawn close together in friendship. I look forward to spending time with her again soon.
If you are interested in learning more about Margo and her music, feel free to contact Margo on Facebook. I'd also be delighted to connect you with her. Her music is very spiritual and uplifting, and, of course, I'm particularly fond of the cello passages.
