I have lots to be grateful for each day. This post is a special one to express my gratitude to my brother, Ronald Janki, for updating Late Blooms for me. I received a text from him a few days ago saying that he had been doing some “big changes” on the site and for me to take a look. Well, I was pleasantly surprised. We hadn’t had any discussion about this which makes it especially meaningful to me. The changes are awesome! From the very beginning of my blogging adventure, he’s the one who has enabled, encouraged, and promoted this site. This adventure has brought much joy and meaning to my days and I am truly thankful. “God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say ‘thank you?” (William Arthur Ward)
My own experience of being grateful in life has taught me that the more grateful I am, the more good comes to me. I’ve noticed that people who do nice things for others are often genuinely caring and kind people whose hearts are in the right place. They are not seeking anything for themselves. Their own joy comes from making others happy and promoting their well-being. This is certainly the case with my brother. “At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” (Albert Schweitzer)
When I started blogging, my illustrations were photos I had taken. Sometimes, there was only one image. At that time, I was heavily into collaging. I was happy with my posts even if they were very short entries. One of the big changes is that Late Blooms now has a video of me doing some art work. To be exact, it’s acrylic pouring using a swipe technique. It is called “Creative Secrets.” Look how far I’ve come!
The video was made by this very brother of mine and it was not planned. He happened to come by my home one day to pick something up and I was very excited to show him what I could create and he started to capture these images. With his videographic skill and expertise, he made this video of me. What a wonderful “agent” I have who has his own brand of creativity. How can one be so lucky? “If you are really thankful, what do you do? You share. (W. Clement Stone)
It’s also a wonderful delight to share that since starting Late Blooms, I became more and more interested in and had more time to involve myself in “artsy, craftsy” activities. This has resulted in some of my posts being about my own art work and crafts and has given me the opportunity to share these with other people. At the same time, my brother has been pursuing his love for videography, photography, writing, and digital painting and I’m happy to be sharing some of his paintings with you throughout this post. He’s a very versatile artist as you can see. “If you count all your assets, you always show a profit.” ( Robert Quillen)
Last but not least, the new addition made today to Late Blooms is the addition of a Contact Form for those of you who may be interested in getting in touch. I see this inclusion as a wonderful addition to the blog and greatly appreciate it. I’m also grateful for all 91,924 reads from all of you out there. This is truly beyond any of my wildest dreams. I am especially thankful to my brother for being the special person he is in my life and for affording me the opportunity to have such a magnificent blog. “The best things that have ever happened to me have not been the result of anything I have done. Some might say that is luck. I call them blessings and in some cases miracles.” ( Tom Krause)
I’m also delighted to be sharing two of my brother’s favourite creations with you below – one is a video and the other a recent painting. The video shows the work of Chihuly. “Dale Chihuly, an American sculptor, has mastered the alluring, translucent and transparent qualities of ice, water, glass and neon, to create works of art that transform the viewer experience.” An exhibition of his work was held here in Toronto from Summer 2016-January 2017. Enjoy!
“MAGICAL GLASS”: Royal Ontario Museum.
(Sunset Bird)
