I think when a priest prays for his Parish, it’s a good idea not to be standing in the way of his determination because sooner or later the lightning bolt answer will strike. You won’t hear a far-off rumble of thunder, The day will be quite calm because you are meant to remember it that way,
I was almost nine months pregnant with D.J. when I answered the knock on the door to meet Father William G. Wellein on a calm October morning.
After we both said, “Hello”, he continued with, “I am sorry, I don’t believe you will be able to help the Parish. I need a Billboard and I don’t think you can do that. Thank you and have a good day.”
I thought about that Billboard after Father William G. Wellein left. I closed my eyes and moved into a future world of East Chestnut Street and the Belle of Louisville in proud glory steaming up the Ohio River and the Derby Horses coming down the Stretch. I would shepherd that Mural into being. What reason did I have to add a Parish Billboard to my future memory list” One City brick wall was enough. I preferred to let Bernie Alwes design Billboards.
The Gallery would sponsor a variety of programs including hanging paintings on a monthly rotating basis in City Hall, the County Judge, Mitch McConnell’s office, and a number of popular restaurants, including Masterson’s. A summer youth group would climb a scaffold, tuc point the wall of a two-story building, and paint a Derby Festivities Mural on it.
After D.J. was born, I atoned for my Billboard omission by sculpting small Nativity Figurines for the Camp Geiger Base Chapel. I found that I enjoyed the sculpture process so I made a set for our family, It’s good that I made a set for us. The following year I entered them in the Camp Geiger Center’s Arts and Crafts Exhibition and came home with a Best In Show Award.
In one short year, I had added art to my quiet time activities alongside my typewriter poetry sessions.