Recent Review

Charlotte Ronans latest series titled, Linear Circumnavigation, brings new depth to the artists repertoire. Her work, now expressive in form and color, takes the viewer on a journey from simple to complex and back again. Using media of figerpaint paper and Crayola markers, the artist give a sense of permanence yet allows the work to have the juxtaposition of removal with soap and water. The work tells a story of struggle of the blue collar worker in the US and the horrors of slave labor in Maseru, the capitol city of Lesotho. Two worlds so far apart, yet tied together in artistic expression.

The first of these works, "Assembly Line Exhaustion in C" portrays America's struggling factory worker. Capturing the soul of middle America, the work is clear and precise with bold black lines on striking white, balanced and refined. The feeling of monotony of the factory worker grips the viewers heart.



"Global Energy Transcendentalism" jumps the viewer with vibrant colors and bold expressive lines. The circular nature of the work exposes global world with hints of a blue nuclear reactor on the right hand side and bold electrical power transmission lines on top and bottom of the work. Truly a statement of today's magnitude.


"Lost Red Bird stuck in Chaos" brings the viewer to depths of despair and fear. Tangled in a web of color, forms, and lines, Red Bird struggles to break free of the man and his mess. The statement the artist makes on our current environment and balance of nature and man is outstanding.


"Maseru Freedom Deprived and Denied" is a poignant study on the horrors of slave labor in the Countries capitol. Arms up as if giving up on the fight, the artist leaves us longing for freedom of a repressed people, denied for so long in a country very few know exists. Bold lines with stark contrast and just a hint of color immortalize this workers battle with freedom.

Unfortunately, Charlotte's latest series will be shown for a limited time only. However personal requests to purchase the work will be granted. We are also looking forward to her latest series in progress called "Tidebath Percussion's with Crickets in Bloom" expected to be completed by mid summer. Stay tuned.

Here comes Peter Cottontail....

hopping down the bunny trail. Charlotte loves her bunny towel after her bath. She hops down the hall as soon as she puts it in. Thank you aunt Becky, they love them.

Marvelous Maeve

We are the parents that are going to gloat that our newborn is sleeping through the night. However, rather than saying it has anything to do with our amazing parenting skills, we are going to say it is 100% pure luck (and having a great baby helps). Or Maybe it was the immunizations the other day (back off people, we only got a couple of them instead of the rounds they suggest)? Maybe Maeve is getting a cold? Maybe she has some crazy sleep disorder? Maybe whiskey on the gums really works? Maybe the sun and moon are in alignment for the summer solstice thing? Maybe Charlotte fed her some Tylenol PM? Maybe she is sick of hearing us talk baby talk to her and she is just pretending to be asleep? Maybe Maeve enjoys her dreaming of playing with her dad so much she just doesnt want to wake up? Maybe she is the next Dali Lama? Maybe a wicked witch broke into our house and put a spell on her? Whatever the reason she slept last night from 8pm until 6:50am. Yes, that was a gloat. Yes, you can hate us. But not too much because we are certain we just jinxed ourselves.

PS Some stats from Maeve's recent Drs visit:
11.5lbs
1foot, 11 3/4 inches long
IQ of 190

Scientific Genius

CHILDREN'S INSTRUCTION MANUAL: Page 543 section 8 paragraph 2: Photographing Your Children In A Group Setting. Simply sit the children next to each other, ask them to face you, have your children provide a wide smile. If this does not work to retrieve a smile, simply ask them to say the word "cheese". You may need a favorite toy or to make a silly face to get their attention. Snap your photographs.

A favorite toy or silly face? Even with 4 adults jumping and screaming we could not get all 4 children to face us at the same time. Dad has 49 pictures to prove it and is submitting a scientific theory to be published by his friends at Harvard titled "The Electromagnetism of Cameras and the Effects On Groups of Children Under The Age of Four". Toddlers brains produce magnetism, like a simple household magnet. When combined in a group setting they produce a small force field. However the electromagnetism of a 35mm digital camera introduced within a 20 foot radius causes disruption to the force field, acting similar to placing two positive magnets together. They try to repel each other. The brain of one of the toddlers does the same thing, causing the face of the child to turn away from the camera. Repeated scientific testing has proven this.






It is an amazing phenomena.

Charlotte and Maeve had a blast playing with cousin Liam and Chase. Maeve loved all the attention and soaked it up like a sponge. She really enjoys being the center of attention.





Violet Beauregarde: Mother, what's happening to me?
[continues to turn purple and starts to grow]
Grandpa Joe: She's swelling up!
Charlie Bucket: Like a blueberry!
Willy Wonka: [to Mrs. Beauregarde] I've tried it on, like, twenty Oompa-Loompas and each one ended up as a blueberry. It's just weird!
Mrs. Beauregarde: But I can't have a blueberry as a daughter. How is she supposed to compete?
Veruca Salt: You could put her in a county fair!
Charlotte and Liam went blueberry picking. Once Charlotte realized where she was her face lit up! She couldn't stop eating them. Liam thought she was going to end up like Violet Beauregarde and ran to her aid!






Wait Charlotte! If you keep eating those you will turn into a blueberry! I will save you!!




Blueberries are a super food!

6th of July

Little did we know the 6th of July would be such a fun day. Sunny. 80 degrees. And no plans. However, we still had plenty leftovers in our cooler. A few phone calls later and the pool was filled with kids and the cooler was restocked with adult beverages. Thank you Jasmine, Mike, & Jackson for bringing over the hot dogs and rolls.



In prompt to backyard barbeques are always the best. There is no stress with making food or feeling like everything has to be perfect. It seemed to just all come together on its own. Lots of fun and lots of swimming. The kids got along great and were exhausted by the end of the day.







Even Scott and Dave enjoyed themselves. Dave had so much fun the sleeves from his shirt fell off.

Let me smell it....

We will come back to the title a little later. Happy 4th of July! Today was a perfect day. We started out at the local town parade. Lisa, Ryan, Colin, & Brendan, Kelly, Dave, Mason, Brodie, & Adrie joined us in town to watch. Of course the kids loved the fire trucks, the floats with all the people throwing candy, and the clowns. Not so much.





Horses are always a hit. As are people shooting guns. Old fire equipment. And of course the famous Molly Stark Cannon which proudly resides in New Boston. It was captured in Vermont from the British at the Battle of Bennington under command of General John Stark, August 16th 1777 and is over two hundred and sixty five years old. And yes, it is still fired off every year. Yes, that is your history lesson for the day.







As you can tell by the pictures, everyone loves a parade.




We all walked back to the homestead to enjoy a full out 4th of July BBQ extravaganza. Dad cooked up burgers, dogs, and of course his special hot wings that he is always trying to perfect. One day before he is 60 he hopes to get it right. Scott, Jess, Ava, and Harrison also joined us. The kids swam. Played. The adults ate. Drank. Played. The sun was shining. The weather perfect for a summer cookout.

Notice all the crap in the pool? Yes that is a slide in the pool. Dad drilled holes in it so it would sink. There were also at least 5 balls, a naked Cinderella doll, a handful of rocks, 4 golf balls, a baseball bat, a broom, and 3 golf clubs. After telling the kids over and over not to put things in the pool, we finally gave up.






Charlotte and Colin even had a grass fight in the backyard. Hey kids, cut that out!






Don't worry. Charlotte got even. She pooped in her diaper. We told her we were going to change it. Colin asked to smell it. We politely declined his courageous offer. Colin you will thank us when you are 16, however, we will never let you live it down Mr. Let Me Smell It.