Kenny McKenna will present an oil demonstration to the Stillwater Art Guild at its meeting Monday at 7:30 p.m. in auditorium of the Sheerar Center, Seventh and Duncan.
McKenna is the owner of J.B.
Beadles Fine Art in Guthrie. During
two decades as a professional
musician, he also painted for his
own enjoyment.
Texas artist Dalhart Windberg
critiqued his work and motivated
him to take up a career in art.
McKenna’s initial gallery presentation
was in 1987 in Santa
Fe, N.M.
In 2005, he was an invited participant
in the Nature Works
Wildlife Show and Sale in Tulsa.
“I create illumination in my
paintings that enhance the already
dramatic views, mesa,
canyons, mountains and prairies
all come to life. Mood is the most
important ingredient in art,”
McKenna said.
In March, he was one of the invited
artists to the Nature Works
Wild Life show and the annual
Night of the Artists in San Antonio,
Texas.
He has participated in numerous
national and one-man shows
and, since 1995, has been an invited
artist for the annual Miniature
Exhibit at the Gilcrease Museum
in Tulsa.
“The Trip,” a 4-foot-by-20-
foot attraction, is on permanent
display for the Grand Canyon
Railway in Williams, Ariz.
McKenna’s art also hangs in
private collections in Japan, England,
Sweden, Canada and the
Cayman Islands and in the
Gilcrease Museum and is often
featured in Art Talk, Arizona
Highways. It was also a feature
in the March/April issue of Art of
the West.
The meeting is open to the
public. First-time visitors to
Stillwater Art Guild may attend
free as the guest of a member.
There is a $5 charge for other
guests.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
The Life Raft We Cannot See
The Life Raft We Cannot See
An injured man stranded in the wilderness finds help where he least expected it.
By David Pippenger
This is a true story...
Albeit, the short version.
A man found himself floating down the rapids in a river at the bottom of a canyon, miles from anywhere, in the middle of a wilderness area with his ankle broken in half.
Having been trained on how to get out of the rapids, he determined that he would get to the shore, and he did.
Not having been trained in what to do with a broken ankle in the bottom of a canyon...he determined that he would walk out of the canyon and up the steep, rocky path just as he had come down.
He did not.
You see, his ankle had the deciding vote, and it had decided that walking up a rocky slope was not in its best interest.
So, in an effort to appease the broken ankle, the man tried to walk using a crutch made from a tree.
Which was a brilliant idea...
If he had been walking on a smooth sidewalk going downhill for a short distance.
But he wasn’t.
He was next to a river at the bottom of a canyon, miles from anywhere, in the middle of a wilderness area with his ankle broken in half.
So he decided to think of every possible solution and to choose the best one.
From helicopters to climbing teams, he imagined every possible means to get out of the canyon that was miles from anywhere, in the middle of a wilderness area—with his ankle broken in half.
But while he was thinking, a raft came around the corner.
Which was interesting, because even though he had tried to think of every possible solution he had never thought of a raft.
But that wasn’t all.
Because in the raft was a Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician.
Which was particularly interesting, because the man with the broken ankle didn’t know there was such a thing as a Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician and he certainly didn’t expect one to be on a raft that he hadn’t even thought of.
Well, the Wilderness EMT made a splint with duct tape and branches from a tree and put the man in his raft, and later that night they camped at a beautiful spot on the river and ate chicken fajitas and strawberry shortcake.
Which was interesting, because the man with the broken ankle thought that he would be eating the dehydrated eggs that he had in his backpack.
Then he realized that a lot of things he hadn’t thought of and a lot of things that he had thought of had turned out in ways that he never thought out.
Which is why I am telling you this story.
I was the man with the broken ankle.
And that day next to the river at the bottom of a canyon, miles from anywhere in the middle of a wilderness area with my ankle broken in half...
I learned that I could not possible imagine all of the amazing things that were in store for me in my life.
Proust says that we shouldn’t look for new vistas, but instead look with fresh eyes.
He’s right.
No matter what life is throwing at us, there us a raft around the corner that we cannot see.
Don’t look for it; it cannot be seen.
Don’t predict when it will appear; it’s not on your timetable.
Don’t doubt that it exists, for doubts will cloud your eyes and cause you to give up before it arrives.
Don’t give up; give in.
Give in to the idea that positive events are in your future, even if you can’t see them.
Give in to the idea that positive events are in your future, even if you can’t imagine what they could possibly be.
There’s a raft around the corner.
An injured man stranded in the wilderness finds help where he least expected it.
By David Pippenger
This is a true story...
Albeit, the short version.
A man found himself floating down the rapids in a river at the bottom of a canyon, miles from anywhere, in the middle of a wilderness area with his ankle broken in half.
Having been trained on how to get out of the rapids, he determined that he would get to the shore, and he did.
Not having been trained in what to do with a broken ankle in the bottom of a canyon...he determined that he would walk out of the canyon and up the steep, rocky path just as he had come down.
He did not.
You see, his ankle had the deciding vote, and it had decided that walking up a rocky slope was not in its best interest.
So, in an effort to appease the broken ankle, the man tried to walk using a crutch made from a tree.
Which was a brilliant idea...
If he had been walking on a smooth sidewalk going downhill for a short distance.
But he wasn’t.
He was next to a river at the bottom of a canyon, miles from anywhere, in the middle of a wilderness area with his ankle broken in half.
So he decided to think of every possible solution and to choose the best one.
From helicopters to climbing teams, he imagined every possible means to get out of the canyon that was miles from anywhere, in the middle of a wilderness area—with his ankle broken in half.
But while he was thinking, a raft came around the corner.
Which was interesting, because even though he had tried to think of every possible solution he had never thought of a raft.
But that wasn’t all.
Because in the raft was a Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician.
Which was particularly interesting, because the man with the broken ankle didn’t know there was such a thing as a Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician and he certainly didn’t expect one to be on a raft that he hadn’t even thought of.
Well, the Wilderness EMT made a splint with duct tape and branches from a tree and put the man in his raft, and later that night they camped at a beautiful spot on the river and ate chicken fajitas and strawberry shortcake.
Which was interesting, because the man with the broken ankle thought that he would be eating the dehydrated eggs that he had in his backpack.
Then he realized that a lot of things he hadn’t thought of and a lot of things that he had thought of had turned out in ways that he never thought out.
Which is why I am telling you this story.
I was the man with the broken ankle.
And that day next to the river at the bottom of a canyon, miles from anywhere in the middle of a wilderness area with my ankle broken in half...
I learned that I could not possible imagine all of the amazing things that were in store for me in my life.
Proust says that we shouldn’t look for new vistas, but instead look with fresh eyes.
He’s right.
No matter what life is throwing at us, there us a raft around the corner that we cannot see.
Don’t look for it; it cannot be seen.
Don’t predict when it will appear; it’s not on your timetable.
Don’t doubt that it exists, for doubts will cloud your eyes and cause you to give up before it arrives.
Don’t give up; give in.
Give in to the idea that positive events are in your future, even if you can’t see them.
Give in to the idea that positive events are in your future, even if you can’t imagine what they could possibly be.
There’s a raft around the corner.
Today's Quote
Today's Quote
No one grows old by living, only by losing interest in living.
-Marie Beynon Ray
No one grows old by living, only by losing interest in living.
-Marie Beynon Ray
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