Willa Cahill Nativity Update

I promised up an update on what Willa Cahill has been painting lately.  These are not the pictures that I wanted to share with you of the 7 foot tall project that she was creating in her garage.  Those pictures are still on my Kodak camera and the cable that my grandson filed away for me hasn't been found yet.  Tomorrow at church I am going to seek among my family history researcher friends to see if any one has a compatible cable I can borrow.  Then I'll share those awesome pictures with you.

But, here is a picture of a Nativity that she created for her mother-in-law.  She gave this to her already, so I feel safe sharing the images over the internet.

I love the work of this talented, sensitive person.    I'm a Mormon, so she created my Nativity characters with halo's and gold dots but her family is Catholic and for her mother-in-law she put angels with wings  in the night sky.

Angels with or without wings, her art work takes my breath away and I am pleased to show it to you!  Oh and the paint brush in my hand is because I got to put the lacquer finish on the work!

Art Work pending

You might have noticed that I didn't post yesterday as usual.  There is a simple reason, really!  My 21 month old grandson visited for Thanksgiving and I am missing a cable that would down load the pictures I wanted to share with you.  I'm sure the cable is in a drawer or trash can somewhere in the house...I just haven't found it yet.

So, in the meantime let me tell you about what I wanted to share with you.  Do you remember my delightful talented neighbor, Willa Cahill?   She is the artist who was one of nine children who was actually encouraged to paint on a wall.  Consequently she has no fear of creating art in large spaces.

Recently she was commissioned to paint a Christmas scene of Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus and Angels.  The painting is over 7 feet tall and 5 feet wide and was painted under the influence of William Adolphe Bouguereau.  I've included a picture of Mr. Bouguereau here that I found at  Wikipedia.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William-Adolphe_Bouguereau

I thought you'd also like to see one of his magnificent paintings.
I'll post the pictures of Willa's work as soon as I find the cable.  You are going to love her work!

The Nativity Project

Walking into my garage two nights ago, I was greeted by this sight.  I have worked on this secret project for a year, and every time I see the finished project I am moved to tears.  I've always loved the story of Mary and Joseph and the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. I have sought for years to find a way give to my children a remembrance of my feelings for this story.  So, when my neighbor Willa Cahill put out a Christmas display in her front yard, several years ago of a huge 5 foot by 8 foot Nativity painted on wood, I asked her about it.  

I love her story so much!

It seems that she is a child from in a large, devoted Catholic family. In the evenings, after dinner, the children would become restless...especially when they were cooped up in the house for a long period of time.  And the winter months have long dark days with nasty weather patterns that do keep children inside.  So on those especially trying evenings for the parents,Willa's mother would give each of her children a paint brush and paints and say, "Here, go paint a wall."

They must have had the most interesting walls in the neighborhood!

And because of her childhood experiences, Willa has no fear of painting large spaces or of any painting project.  In fact she has painted free hand murals in offices and homes.  (You should see the walls of her children's rooms! Wow and Double WOW!)

But for today. The story is that I taught two of her children piano for a year and she agreed to freehand paint 6 Nativities for me to give my children.  Pictured here are 4 of the finished projects.  To me, they are joyfully beautiful!

And to the hundreds of you, who have seen these wood sets and inquired about obtaining one for yourself, Yes,Willa has agreed to freehand a personal project for you. Luckily, my husband has also agreed to work with us. He and our son, Michael, are creating an online store for you. But for right now, we are still getting everything priced and set up. We have so much to learn and do. I'll let you know when we have a final price and where you can place your order.  I'm so sorry that this is taking so long. I can only say that these one of a kind heirloom pieces are very special and we want to give the very best attention to the details and shipping.  But, for today I hope your enjoy the pictures.

Nativity Scene for Christmas

 A project that I have been VERY quiet about but that I have been working like crazy on, has been my wooden Nativity scene. I painted the one showing 20 years ago.  I want to give one to each of my children for Christmas this year.  I write books and blogs now and don't have time to paint but,















my across the street neighbor is an amazing artist.  Her name is Willa Cahill and together we started dreaming about creating a business on e-bay for this project.    Here I am cutting the wood on my scroll saw   There are 7 pieces of wood that are needed for each project. Willa paints six of them.

It takes six hours to paint the pieces.  Here is a picture of Willa's art work.   She free hand paints them. So each is unique and individual. Yesterday, A friend at church said her brother would be able to cut the seventh piece, a half circle for the stand.    I plan on painting it. Twenty years ago, my husband stabilized my Nativity scene by attaching supports. As you can see the original work is still stable and in really good condition. 

I'll post the finish project here and let you know when bids are open for the project.  I have loved having this work of art in my home.  It brings a feeling a joy with it and it the perfect center piece for my Christmas holiday dinners.  In fact my children know what my centerpiece will be and they bring garlands and complementary decorations to refresh and enliven it.  I love this work and  I know you will love also.