Letter from Our President - Lakewood Art League

Letter from Our President - Lakewood Art League

As I write this greeting to you all today I am humbled that we are in a position as never before and want to take this moment to let you know we are missing you, we care about you & we are wanting to know how you are spending your days in isolation, as many of you are retired & some are alone.

Heres some of what is going on in my life to share with you – Michael & I are still going into our Gordon Tower Insurance offices every day, Mon – thru Fri. We are exempt. We are a small 3-person business and when our customer service manager walked out on us Mar 25th it caused severe anguish. Many days we are just taking calls from deeply distressed business clients that are seeing their businesses collapsing. We also have auto, home & personal lines clients that are struggling to pay their premiums. On top of all that, sever weather has caused our insureds to suffer devasting home claims, including tornado in Medina. Many times, Michael & I are encouraging them to hold tight, that this too, will pass.

We give them hope. Our agency’s new business has also come to a grinding halt, as of course, we can’t make sales calls. Like the rest of the world, we are patiently waiting. Of course, I can’t teach dance anymore on Weds nor can Vibrant Wind Dancers perform gigs (of which I am the Director & Choreographer) which pains me terribly. I can no longer attend my open mike with all my poetry friends at Bowled Over at Mahalls. All of you have given up your activities too.

Two of our adult children are back home (Franchesca & Garrett), distressed, with Dillon (our oldest) out of work as so many others are, with no money for high rent, probably flying home to Cleveland from San Francisco to join us in 3 weeks. So much for being Empty Nesters! & in a much smaller house too! Lol! But – we will feel calmer after all 3 of them are safely under our roof.

So many events canceled in the arts, & so many of my artist friends suffering w/no income. Art Shows canceled, all over the country, including our very own LAL April Show which our Robert Perry worked hard to obtain. Our Presenters that have to be canceled, that Troy & I have spent hours on the phone booking them. Michael’s much needed total knee replacement scheduled for yesterday at Fairveiw Hosp canceled! (he needs both done, a lot of pain and they were not going to do double knee replacement, so the 2nd knee would’ve been done 3 months from now) On a happy note, we took in a 4 year old homeless rescue cat! We renamed him Odi from Otis (Odi - after the legendary King Odysseus of Homer’s epic Odyssey. He is a sweetheart & brings us all great joy!

Let us know what art you are working on, how you are keeping your creative muse going during this horrific pandemic. Please reach out to one another! Check in on each other! Call me if you need to talk – 216/392-4944, these are dark days, my friends. Send me photos & updates I can post on our LAL fb page to keep our members informed & encouraged. The arts don't exist in isolation ,said one of my favorite bands, David Byrne of Talking Heads.

We need each other! Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.

The bible tells us, “We often suffer, but we are never crushed. Even when we don’t know what to do, we never give up. In times of trouble, God is with us, and when we get knocked down, we get up again. 2 Corinthians 4:17 New International Version (NIV)

17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—

Too much self-centered attitude, you see, brings, you see, isolation. Result: loneliness, fear, anger. The extreme self-centered attitude is the source of suffering. Dalai Lama

Ecclesiastes 4:12 A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken..

Be Encouraged Always! Galatians 6:2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ Sincerely,

Mary L Bodnar, Lakewood Art League President 4/9/20

(random pic pulled off my hard drive from glass blowing class i took years ago - trial by fire, my friends...))