On May 22nd, a massive tornado ripped through Joplin, Missouri, destroying over 1/3 of the city and killing well over 100 people. As of today, the number stands at 132, but this keeps raising and is expected to go up each day..... I am originally from Springfield, Missouri, which is about 70 miles to the east of Joplin. My parents grew up in Carterville, which is even closer to Joplin. My grandparents lived in Joplin and I spent many weekends there as a child. I have a grandparents and sister who are buried there. I have an aunt and uncle who live in Webb City, which is a suburb of Joplin. I lived there for over a year and had my first child there. I have driven beside St. John's Hospital more times than I can count.....and seeing the complete devastation that this tornado caused to Joplin is overwhelming. And, I haven't been there for many years and I am still distraught....I can't even begin to imagine what the people of Joplin are feeling.
I've been needing to get this out in my journal since Sunday, but we had company and I couldn't go spend some quality time in my studio. ;-) So, I've had this idea floating around in my head for days....until yesterday when I finally felt ready to tackle this on paper.
I had an idea about making the tornado out of strips of book paper, so I started with that and hoped it would look as good on paper as it did in my mind. lol This was one of those pages where I really had to "work through the uglies" as Paula says. I guess it never got UGLY, but for quite awhile it wasn't looking anywhere near to what I wanted. All I can say is "Thank Goodness for Color Washes and Stencils!" lol
So now it is time for recovery....if there is anything you can do to help, please do so! Contact your local Red Cross and see what they are doing and how you can help. Many local churches in my area are taking donations of every kind, as well as a television station and even grocery stores. I have bags of children's clothing that I was going to take to the Salvation Army and they are now going to be taken to my grocery store that's collecting items in semi-trucks to be taken to Joplin. Please do what you can....every little bit helps.....
Take care and God Bless.....
di
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Thanks so much for taking the time to visit my blog and to leave me a comment! I really do appreciate it and hope that you come back and visit me again soon! Take care and God Bless! di