Art and Friendships: A part of who we are and the value of discernment

Written By Janie Ronchelli

In the weeks after Laurie’s death, after I returned to Central Oregon, I felt so alone.  I missed my sisters and extended family back in California tremendously.

I turned to artwork hoping it would help open up a healthy awareness of these emotions of grief. That sense of isolation had clouded my vision and understanding of relationships.

I listened to a Christian podcast this week that reminded and it reminded me of the essence of discernment. This reflection ignited a deep gratitude for all the persons in my life, family and close friends surrounding me today.  

In searching for a deeper connection to this reality, I came up with this sketch.   In Central Oregon this is the season for us to see many butterflies. These butterflies are being shook from a long heavy cloth and released to the sky. The cloth represents the long and complicated process of grief.  You can come to a point when you shake it off and move on to acceptance and resolution. The end point is where Peace can once again reside.

These butterflies are for myself the new friends I have come to encounter more intimately and to truly care for.  I am not alone neither in grief nor in joy.  

Flight of Butterflies

A big part of moving through Grief is that Recognition of true friendship, a connection to others be it family, friends or community. 

Our body can be treated as a machine to maintain.  It can get in the way of our life experience.  When we lose a loved one, we can easily avoid loss by being very busy.  There is plenty to arrange, things to get settled financially, persons to inform….  Yet most importantly, we must slow down. 

  In Christianity we learn how the body is a means of experiencing God. Discernment is way to tap into this. St Ignatius’s philosophy begins with this reality. Connecting to this awareness is source of great Peace. It is our entire body & being pushing us towards what is Goodness, what is Grace and the knowing of God and our relation to Him and others.

Janie Ronchelli

Mission:

I find my purpose and power in nature that surrounds me, wherever that may be. Because of this, my husband and I have retired to Central Oregon on a hay farm 5 years ago. At that time, I began to take watercolor classes by zoom. This venue has helped me to take what so inspires me with my photography of nature to bring to life on the page with watercolor. It is through my painting I have entered into a new relationship with nature. A dance with not just the rivers, the trees, the desert, the sunsets and rises, but just as powerful are the many wild creatures that rest on our property. I have a great attraction to the red Fox, the geese which nests on our irrigation island, and the blue Heron. I began abstract painting 3 yrs ago. I found that this form gave me a wonderful freedom of expression. Not having to stay between the lines enhances the “magical" interlude between myself, the artist, and the power of watercolor media. It can suspend judgement and be refreshing.

Bio:

I am California born and raised in a family where art and music were the fiber of my being. From young age, I sang with my mother in choir and continue to do so today. My mother also exposed me to various media of the arts and crafts. In my 30's, I began to explore watercolor during 4 years of an illness, which paused a career in pediatric nursing, my great passion. I discovered that painting was very therapeutic and broadened my love for everything around me.

In 2020, after retiring from nursing, I have had the time and patience to develop my skills as an artist on both fronts of watercolor and singing. I so enjoy the opportunity that both fields offer to me for becoming a bigger part of a community where I am joined by those who also are exploring their talents and the joy that art can bring.

https://Pansiniprints.com
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Art Transforming Grief into Passage