Past Writings and Posts

October 2021

Even though we’ve had a pandemic going on, I’m doing my best to keep positive vibes. I hope that my Artwork will give you good vibes and make you smile.
I have been doing art this year in my new art studio with a large North window which looks out at my wonderful garden. Besides herbs and flowers I watch birds coming to visit. You may notice more birds in this year’s paintings!
I had to zoom my art classes with InterAct but I start back in person soon. My art mentor Cami and I visited new artsy places, like Franonia Sculptures and of course the St Paul Art Crawl. They inspired me. My new passion is poetry.  Last week, I saw an eagle outside of work. It swooped down and snapped up a squirrel.

Wings of Grace

She comes gracefully, silently
Flying through the skies of blue
with wispy clouds of gray hues.

She spreads her wings far and wide
As though a messenger
From way up high
Looking down at us as if to say
Tomorrow will be a brand new day.

Full of opportunities for us to find
As we go on our way
Throughout the day.

An eagle flying through the skies
As we know that when its seen
Is a promise of good things yet to be.

Evita (Eve)

November 2020

Hello Art loving friends!
I wish you good helath and safety and delight in the things that make you happy during the Pandemic in our lives at this time. while you ar at home, I have new pieces of Artwork for you to look at and to consider buying.
These are some of the many activities I have been doing this year.

I have been doing Virtual Special Olympics with my friend and unified partner Alexis. We lift weights every Thursday on Facetime. Sometimes her dog joins us. Our family has been going to Kristin and Dan’s cabin at Aitkin. We went kayaking and fishing. We played games with Katarina and Shaun and Jessa – including a silly string fight! I took a few photos at sunrise with my new iPad.
We’ve been having Zoom Sunday School classes. We socially distanced with Flames friends while helping to weed and mulch outside of our church. We had a retreat at a park where we worked on our puppets. 
These are Blessings in my life at this time of Pandemic

• Watching birds outside my living room window, along with chipmunks and squirrels.
• Drawing birds, step by step, when they are perched on a tree branch or rock. I am working on drawing blue jays that I watch at the feeder.
• I have had time to paint angels on different media – rocks, paper, canvas and cards.
• Going on walks with my mom, Paula, my friend Chelsey and her dog and my friend Ona.

I have been doing yoga, eating healthy and tracking my meals in a fit book.
Sincerely
Your friend Evita (Eve)

July 2019

Hi Art Lover Friends and Family,
Here’s what has been going on in my life as an artist this year. I’ve been working with watercolors and have been focusing on and observing birds wherever I go. I take pictures inside of my mind or with my iPad during our travels and in Roseville. Then I draw and paint them to share with you at my Art page.
When we were down in Florida, my mom and I were looking for parrots. Instead, we saw a big Heron, not too far away from some mullets leaping in the air. When we were sightseeing in Utah, I got my picture taken next to a friendly raven at Bryce Canyon, where there was snow in late May! We did a lot of climbing, including to a double arch, where there were nests way up high at Arches and lots of birds were there. Back in Minnesota, a Northern Oriole was passing through and feeding on our crab apple tree. I’ve seen many birds lately that I haven’t painted yet. Some you may see in the future are ospreys, hummingbirds, robins, cardinals, wrens that have taken over our yard and trumpeter swans and their babies, which I saw with my friend Paula on our silent retreat.
Also, I plan to add how to draw some of these birds at my website. I taught a class at TSE on how to draw birds. It went well. I hope to teach one at InterAct too.
We had an art show at Chery’s Ham Lake estate and it went really well. I am taking a short break from painting to do special summer things like fishing, golfing and gardening. I hope that you are enjoying your summer.
Blessings,
Evita

October 2018

Greetings art friends,
I have been creating art work to share with you in my kitchen/artist studio and at InterAct  Art Center (1860 Minnehaha, St Paul). They are open most weekdays. In mid-November, you can find my artwork at Art Start (1459 St Clair, near Snelling Avenue, St Paul). You can also find new paintings and cards at Artwork on this website.
I have been studying birds and learning how to draw wings and the birds’ bodies.  A few favorite bird paintings are for sale, such as the owl that’s been in my neighborhood this summer. Another fun style I’ve been playing with is abstract art that came out of my zen tangle work. Take a look at this year’s Christmas cards. One has snow people and the other includes Gabriel the angel. There are also some new thank you cards. Pretty soon you’ll see a winter scene. I have some commissions I’m working on for my friends Paula and Kayla.
This summer, we gardened. My shade garden had surprises like a volunteer squash and toads. The chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits and voles got a lot of our food, but my mom and I grew lots of herbs, which will become Christmas presents. Please don’t tell my sisters or sister in laws! My Special Olympics unified partner Katie and I got a bronze medal at the State Golf Tournament.
I hope this has been a really great year for all of you.   Evita

March 2017

Hi Friends,
Thank you for looking at A Rainbow in my Head. We recently added new art. Please visit the ART PAGE if you want to see my newest paintings. Some days I wake up at dawn because I am so excited to finish in time for the St Paul Art Crawl!
The Art Crawl will be April 28, 29 and 30.
I will have some art work at the Show Gallery – 346 North Sibley . . . and at
InterAct Art Center on Minnehaha, just east of Fairview.
First I am heading to Florida with Amanda, Shawn and Katarina.  Then I will drive back with my mom and Cliff. I might get to stay at my cousin Stephanie’s (she has lots of dogs and lives in the country).  This winter was interesting. Paula, Sarah, Cami and even my aunt Patti took turns hanging out with me. I’ve been to Como, plays, movies, restaurants and of course art galleries. To stay in shape for Special Olympics, Sarah and I have been going to the Y and my mom and I are into yoga. One of my favorite things this winter was a SPA weekend with Ventures Travel. Hope to see you or hear from  you soon. Evita

What happened in 2016

September 2016 I am working on Christmas cards for this year. On my art page you can also see Buddy the horse I used to ride, which is very near completion! I started painting flowers with my sister Star in Sarasota, Florida last spring. We went kayaking in the Apostle Islands this summer so I may paint something about that Wilderness Inquiry trip. I enjoyed meeting and kayaking with all of the great women on the trip. The caves were cold but really pretty.

Cliff my stepfather and my mom and I went on a road trip from Florida to Minnesota in April. My favorite place was Middleton Plantation in Charleston, South Carolina. There were many many gardens and butterflies. I started sketching and painting more flowers. We went to Washington DC and my highlights in Washington DC were visiting the White House and seeing President Obama’s helicopter getting ready for him. There were many colorful rooms at the White House. I also liked all of the statues of the Presidents at the Capitol. We got around on the subway and I CONQUERED MY FEAR OF ESCALATORS because that was the only way to get onto the different subway trains. Oh, my least favorite part of the trip is that we ate at Subway 5 times.

I ran in track and got one Gold Medal at State Special Olympics and soon we start bowling. I worked out at the YMCA with my trainer Kyle. My mom and Cliff and I have had a lot of fun this summer with my twin nephews Jack and Henry and Shaun and my niece Katarina. Paula and I have been having a lot of picnics with King. We have had a terrible problem with rabbits eating our flowers. King barks at them and then they hop to our neighbors and eat their flowers. I like to paint outside on my patio.

Eve’s Adventurous Summer 2014

These are all of the different things I did instead of going to camp this summer.

I golfed with Rachel at Cedarholm and at a miniature golf course. I also golfed with the Flames. My Special Olympics, unified partner was Katie. We took second place at District! 

I went on a Canoe trip with my friend Julie. We went canoeing on the Missippi and Minnesota rivers with Wilderness Inquiry. It took all of my strength to paddle for such an amount of time. Well we were paddling on the rivers we saw a gray egret and a blue egret and a white egret. Paddling really hard up and down the two rivers for a whole day is the number one activity with my friend, Julie!

Paula and I visited Roseville Parks rated them from 0 to 10. Ten being the best parks that we have been to see and walking around, with my dog Kingston.
At Applewood,  we had a  picnic. There was a big play ground for children to play on. I gave it a 10.
We went to Central park. There were walking trails and dogs are allowed, but dogs must stay on a leash at all times. We gave it a 10. Kind of close to Central Park is the Roseville Arboretum. We liked it but thieves might get in your car and steal your purse. So we gave it 5.
We have also walked around Acorn Park in Roseville and had a picnic. There is a nice big safe play ground for children. We gave Acorn a 9.
We went to Lake McCarrons. We walked on trails where dogs are allowed, dogs must have a leash on them at all times. You can go swimming and there is a life guard on duty. They have nice bathrooms. We gave McCarrons a 10.
My least favorite park in Roseville would have to be Cotton Tail Park. Because there are a lot of Mesqetoes at this park. Both Paula and I rated this park with a huge 0.
My mom and Kingston and I went to Reservoir Woods Park. We walked around the park. There were some huge cotton wood trees and oak trees and a lot of bushes and shrubs scattered all around. There were a lot of hills that we had to walk up and down. There were benches to eat a picnic at. There were a lot of birds. A cell phone tower and ugly building took away from the ambience. I give it a 5.

Paula and I went to Gervais Mill Park in Little Canada. King loved all of the smells. It is the most natury park. If you go by the Water tower parking lot, you will find a little silly surprise in the garden. I give it a 9.

I went to the State Fair twice this year. The first time it was me and my mom and step father Cliff and my older sister Amanda and Peter, Katarina and Shaun. We went on a park and ride on the way to the fair and back again. The second time that I went to the State Fair I went with my really fun PCA Paula. We went on the huge and very slow ferris wheel, which was boring. We ate a cream puff and a corn dog and we saw many things and people and we got lots of free stuff.

Onto another topic, this would have to be I will always remember how amazing the performance was at Cirque Juventas Never land with Peter Pan, Wendy, John and Michel. I could hardly believe my own eyes when they started flying through the air with Peter Pan and Tinker Bell. Rachel and I especially enjoyed watching Captain Hook throwing one of the small fairies high up into the air and catching her every time.

For the summer finale, Star and I saw a magic show where one of her friends Matt performed and we got to see exotic animals at Severs maze.  We ate way too much food at Outback. We also saw a concert by Boiling Point at Centennial.  Eric was jumping off the table tops while playing his guitar. We were all like Yea and raising our arms and clapping. I have never seen anything like it.  I just got started horseback riding with Star at the Gathering Place. My horse is Rock Star!

Of course, I have been painting at InterAct  and at Kristin and Dan’s Cabin.   Star helped me get set up so I could paint on my patio, her loft, and my kitchen/artist’s studio. You can see my art at the St Paul Art Crawl or my art page.

Eve’s May 2014 update

Hi,

This is an up date on what’s been going on in my life.

I have been doing Special Olympics Track & Field events. My events are the 100 meter dash, the 200 meter dash and the 50 meter dash and the relay. We race against other teams. I did all running events and no more power walking at the District Meet. This went pretty good for me.

Onto another area in my life. The Sister Kinney International Art Show Gala is June 5th and I have a church landscape painting I entered. I am also working on a mixed media painting which has a HUGE angel flying over a city. People and pets are looking up at the big smiling angel. Lately I have been painting outside on my patio!

I have also been doing a lot of work inside of my garden. I have two chocolate mint plants. I am also growing impatience, moss rose and rosemary. Today my little niece and I got 10 cents for every dandelion in the back yard which we brought to my mom. We brought her 200 dandelions. She owes each of us $10!

September 2013

This year, I traveled to Florida and Rochester Minnesota to be with my niece and nephew and I went to Camp Friendship and Wilderness Inquiry. I kayaked by dolphins in the mangroves and in big waves in Minnesota. Last fall I went to Zion and the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas with my mom and step dad. Now I need to save some money. I have been doing more water color art and trying various media. I also took a safety and self defense class. I had a garden with my mom that produced ridiculous, funny carrots. I will try to sketch one and post it later.

I have a new instructor at InterAct – she is teaching me new techniques. I still go to Courage Center and the YMCA. Rachel and I have been going swimming and Star and I work out at the Y, sometimes Rachel and I do too! Star and I went to the Art in Bloom show. I have fun gardening with my mom and teaching Paula some tricks about gardening! I still work at Centennial United Methodist Church and go to meditation group there too. Of course, I see my niece and nephew and they wear me out but we have fun.

Eve’s update in Spring 2013

Good things can come from bad. Last fall (2012), I poked a hole in this painting, another artist said, turn it into a mixed media painting to hide the hole. You see how I made it mixed media on my art page.  I won an encouragement award from the Sister Kinney International Art Show for it this spring.

Eve’s update on what’s been going on in my life in July 2012.

I have sold a number of flocks of angels this year! The most important one was of the angels who showed my father who died this year that he would have things waiting for him when he got to heaven, like his A.A. book, golf balls, flowers and a fishing rod.

I am back painting stained glass windows and angels with watercolors. This time each angel has a matching flower, like Rose has a rose and Sylvia has salvias.  Take a look at the new artwork my mom put on this site.

We had a play at the LAB Theater this spring. The Interact artists and theater people worked together. I wrote a song about angels and I was a healer in the play. I also made some new friends.

I went to MCAD with Deb one of the InterAct teachers and a couple other artists. We walked around to look at artwork, and then we went into a private room where I learned something brand new. I painted on techurized fabric. So now I want to paint on fabric. Paula, one of my assistants took me to a movie at the Science Museum where we saw tons of underwater fish and sea life. So now I want to paint more fish too.

Besides creating new art work and doing my job, I have been outside a lot. Our family has gone camping. I also went kayaking with my mom at Cedar Lake. It got really windy and I capsized but my life vest kept me a float. I did not panic because I learned how to swim at Courage Center. I am also trying out golf with my Special Olympics team the Flames.

A different group of Flames from our church volunteered at a Habitat for Humanity house. Colin and I painted railings and raked rocky soil. Connie painted but did not like it so much. We had a great time helping out with all of the jobs they asked us to do and I want to do it again next year.

February 2012

I painted my dad Rick’s angel guides because my dad died from cancer last month. Each angel is helping my father get up into Heaven. They are bringing things he used to be involved in here on earth, so he knows he will still have them.
One angel has beautiful flowers. The littlest angel is holding a string with three balloons in the shape of hearts, because his three daughters will keep loving him. The pink angel has a cookie in his hand because our father used to eat cookies and milk every day when he was alive. The purple angel has a fishing pole with a fish on it. One is carrying an AA book because he used to be involved in alcoholics anonymous. One has a golf club. Can you find the ball the angel hit?

Let me know I should add any more angels with some things before I add the clouds.

These are some things about my father Rick which I am always going to be remembering. I will remember that he taught me how to fish. He called me his little pollywog even when I became an adult. When he was alive, we were over at Stars house and he was teaching me how to paint with watercolors and then when the painting was dry using a real inkwell and lightly dipping the pen into the ink and then drawing in the details onto the painting.
I am always going to keep a picture of his face inside of me for the rest of my life.

Here is a painting I submitted to the Sister Kinney Art Show. It did not win, but I had fun creating it and my sister Star and my dad Rick helped me nail it all together

2011

This year, I have been experimenting with different media, like I sometimes paint on wood and I am exploring ways to use watercolors. I am 28 years old now and I have been an artist for a long time. I still get my inspirations from dreams and from seeing things in nature. Be sure to look at the Artwork page. You may find Christmas cards or paintings to buy from me!

Yvette at InterAct has really helped me to try new things and I will miss her when she leaves the Painter’s Nook there. During the Uniquinox, she took a picture of me wearing the gown I painted and the angel mask I made with a little help from Daniel.

My dad came all the way from Thailand and helped me out with one of my paintings and my sister Star let me use her loft again for the St Paul Art Crawl.

Other things that happened in 2011, are that I am an aunt again to Shaun Lawrence and and I have been teaching my 4 year old niece Katja how to paint – she loves painting murals with water colors. This summer I went to Camp Friendship again and our family spent time at a cabin. This photo is very similar to a painting I created after LEARNING TO KAYAK this summer. I kayaked all by myself to the other side of this peninsula. My mom and Star and my stepfather Cliff were amazed.

I have been using my creative side of thinking to paint on commission too! This is a photo of me sending a painting to Friendship Ventures of the climbing wall and one of the water fun day. You will have to visit Camp Friendship like I did if you want to see those paintings.

At the Post Office

I also want to show you the turtles that some nice people in Arizona sent to me. These turtles like to sunbathe in my garden.

Besides painting and gardening and working at my church and hanging out with my family and my friends, which includes taking care of my little niece, who will be a big sister next month, I am a Special Olympics athlete and a Global Messenger. If you have any events where you want a speaker to learn about how you can participate or help with many kinds of sports, my mentor Rene and I can come to your group. Call the Minnesota State Office at 612-333-0999 and ask if they can have me speak to your group.

2010

The year 2010 was a great year! The New Year’s Party at my apartment was lots of fun because some of my friends brought food and they got to help with the magic show. At the St Paul Art Crawl, I displayed work at my sister Star’s loft, and I sold a lot of my cards and some paintings, including the large angel choir. Then I sold even more cards and an angel sculpture at a holiday sale at Jackies Boutique. I would like to thank everyone who bought art work from me this year! In November, I bowled at the State Tournament and got a 4th place ribbon. Then Rene, who is a toastmaster, and I had training at Camp Friendship to be a Special Olympics Global Messenger. Rene is a really good mentor because she helps me stay focussed on what I am supposed to talk about in my speech. I have already given one speech and I hope to get more calls from you to give my speech to your group. If you want to know more about Special Olympics, you can go to their wonderful web site.

2009

One thing that I have not told you about quite yet would be that my family and I moved into a new house and I have the lower level for my independent apartment living, including my new art studio.

The Second thing that I am going to tell you about would be that I have my very own garden, which has green beans and other kinds of foods growing inside of it.

My mom, Cliff, and I spent a week up in a cabin in Aitkin Minnesota by Cedar Lake and my mom and I and my sister Amanda caught a few fish that my mom cleaned and cooked up for us to eat as a part of our trip, and I also helped out with my two year old niece, Katja by playing with toys and also reading to her when she went to bed at night, and singing songs to help her go to sleep. That was a lot of fun for me!

This summer, I also had an interview with someone from Special Olympics. I answered all of the questions, and the interview went very well, and I learned that only four women and men bowlers get to go to Nationals and I get to represent Minnesota next year in Lincoln, Nebraska. I will be very excited doing this for everyone on my Flames team.

About my artwork. I sold the Eiffel Tower at the Sister Kinney International Art Show this year. I finished a painting from the song All Things Bright and Beautiful, and The Sound of Music and I did a few paintings from the play Mary Popins and other songs. This year I sold lot’s of my cards and a few paintings at the St Paul Art Crawl in my sister Star’s loft. I also sold one of my sculptures of an angel that I made at Interact Center for Artists. My mom bought it. I completed the painting of my sister Amanda pushing me up a hill when I was five years old and it was on the cover of the program for the United Methodist Church conference.

During the Summer time I went to horseback riding camp and I learned many new things, for example, when you want your horse to turn right you need to pull the rains slightly to the right and if you want the horse to go to the left you do the same thing in that direction. The name of the horse that I was riding on is Blackie and he is mostly black except for the area over his hoofs is white and there’s a white star on his forehead. I also went horseback riding with my sister Star at an apple orchard.

I have a kitchen in my apartment, so I am including meals that I plan on making for my mom and me and Cliff to eat with each other. Eve’s home made chicken noodle vegetable soup served with rosemary olive oil bread to go with the soup made from fresh ingredients. For the second meal, plans would be fresh salads with mixed greens and carrots that are thinly sliced with a few baby tomatoes and for the second course, there would be rosemary carrots and for desert, we will have pudding.

I enjoy typing up all sorts of different kinds of stories that I think of all on my very own. Dreams are one of my ways of helping me out with ideas for doing a lot of writing. Sometime I will put one of the stories that you would find rather interesting to read on this website.

Eve

2008

My newest interest in art is to show where in the world I have been. For instance on Tuesday I will be glazing my very first buffalo. So do you want to guess where I went this summer with my mom and my moms husband Cliff and my sister Amanda and her husband Peter and my very energetic baby niece, and some other very special people in our families? I will not say so you have to come and see where thousands of buffalo got in our way of driving.

Another place I have been would be horse camp, where a very disgusting thing, happened, I had to scoop up horse poop. However, I also got to help with making a meal for one of the older horses. When I was done with work, I rode on Glittered who was a black horse and who is four years old.

This summer, we also went to a Lake in Aitkin, Minnesota where I caught over half of our breakfast! Can you believe it?

Some other things happened this year too. I helped with cleaning my mom’s condo in Sarasota, Florida this summer. I got to go jumping in the waves and of course I ate a lot of kinds of ice creams at Big Olafs, even a garbage cone.

I still help with our dog Kingston by taking him out for some of his shorter walks during the week and weekends. I am still involved with Special Olympics and bowing practicing happens on Sundays. One Sunday I sang All things bright and beautiful in my church with my friend Allie. People actually clapped when we were done singing.

Some other highlights of this year would be one that my grandma Margie moved to her new condo by us and two that Katja can walk with very little help needed and she can talk too. Three is that I still love to paint and you can see my paintings at my sister Star’s artist loft at the St. Paul Art Crawl!!!

2007

Here are some new things going in my life. First of all, I am a proud Auntie to a 5 month year old, Katja Ruth Larsen who is so much fun to play all sorts of different games with. These are all of the different ways that I can be a good auntie and help out: including independently changing her cloth dirty diapers and I also feed her with a bottle of milk and I read Quack Quack with Katja. On June 8, I sang two songs in my mom’s wedding to her and Cliff. I sang What a wonderful world and All things bright and beautiful. Then we played softball.

I also went to horse camp at Friendship ventures where I got to spend two hole days brushing all of the horses with two different kinds of brushes. One of the brushes was a curry brush and I also rode on a English saddle and I rode on a western saddle and believe it or not I even rode a horse bare back! The names of my two favorite horses were Lady who had a golden reddish brown color coat, and the other horse that I rode was named Pete. He had a dark chocolately brown coat and the very tips of his ears were black.

The Family Reunion, which we had at Camp Koinonia where I was having a hard time learning so many different new names was interesting and fun. Very sad news to share would be that my wonderful Uncle Bill is very ill and just might die this year. No matter what I will always remember his humdinger hugs and his smile.

We still haven’t decided on what were going to serve at the St. Paul ART crawl, but Allie and Star have been coaching me on getting all of my paintings ready to show. I’m also getting ready for the State Bowling tournament with Special Olympics. Right now, I have to concentrate on getting ready to clean the church tomorrow.

Eve Marie