Art News: River Arts District Gallery To Open January 15, 2020 Featuring Artists Karen Maugans, Raphaella Vaisseau, and Walter Arnold

In Suite #104, 191 Lyman St., the current location of Karen Maugans Gallery in Riverview Station in Asheville's River Arts District, come January, 2020, three artists will join to create a brand new Asheville art destination. 

From now until then, you're welcome to stop by any day from 10-5 to meet Karen and view her botanical art. Karen's website is KarenMaugansGallery.com. Call her at 407-456-2225.

As for Walter Arnold's work, it can be found in numerous galleries including Woolworth Walk, Kress Emporium, and Grove Park Inn in Asheville. Discover more about him and his process on his website, The Digital Mirage, and on his blog, Art Of Abandonment, where there is a link to the Ron Howard short film, "When You Find Me" which includes one of Walter's images that was selected from almost 100,000 entries as part of Canon's Project Imagin8ion. Well done.

I am thrilled to be a part of this new gallery and look forward to seeing you all there. My website is HeartfulArt.com, and I may be reached at 941-993-7001. In the six months before we open, you're welcome to call me for press information and updates.
-Raphaella Vaisseau

A Good Move to Asheville, North Carolina for Raphaella Vaisseau and Heartful Art

     During the three and a half years I took care of my parents in their final years, I thought about all the places I have lived in my life and where I might want to go next. I picked Asheville, North Carolina.
     I was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and lived there for forty years. Next was Los Angeles for ten years. In 1997, I committed myself to being an artist and moved to Ashland, Oregon. I stayed there three years and then moved to the SF Bay Area and opened Heartful Art Gallery in Sausalito in 2001. In 2008, I moved to the Gulf Coast of Florida to be closer to my aging parents, and in 2015, I moved to Miami to be their caregiver. They wanted to stay in their own home as long as they lived and my going there to help them allowed that to happen. So grateful. They had been happily married for 73 years, and both passed fairly naturally at age 96. By December, 2018, I had completed handling their affairs in Miami and set out on a journey to my new home in Asheville.
     I had never lived on the East Coast, and was attracted to the Blue Ridge Mountains, the forests, and the thriving art community in Asheville, a town of 92,000 people. I loved the idea of being able to have Asheville as a home base and take short trips up the East Coast to NYC, Boston, and Maine, travel to the North Carolina coast for a weekend, or explore the surrounding states of South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, and beyond. This country is vast, beautiful, and has so much to offer.
     I've been in Asheville for six months now. There are many "best parts" of living here, but my favorite is nature. It is accessible. I don't need to seek it out or drive anywhere to get to it. I simply look up, look around, pause, and enjoy. It's everywhere, around every turn in the road, on every path.
     Mountains surround Asheville. To me, they are living art, with the sun rising and setting and splashing shadow or color on them, clouds and storms moving over them, trees blossoming in spring and turning colors in fall, and birds singing everywhere.
    For a nature lover like me, this area is perfect. I'm told there are sixty waterfalls close to Asheville (I've hiked to only 3 so far), and neighboring Transylvania County has over 250. I love trees. Being in a forest is a breath of Heaven for me, and I now have hiking boots, trek poles, and a backpack. I'm all set.
     True, Asheville doesn't have an ocean. However, I so cherished the Gulf Coast waters of Caspersen Beach when I lived in Venice, Florida, the ocean lives inside me now. Also, I know winter does exist here, since I arrived in the middle of an ice storm last December. But the weather here is moderate, especially compared to the cold of Minnesota or the heat of Miami.
     As for my required necessities, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and EarthFare provide plenty of organic, healthy food. Then there's the bonus of family and friends. My sister-in-law and niece both make their home here and have families of their own. Friends from California and Florida live here now too, and, being the gregarious person I am, I'm blessed with wonderful new friends as well.
     So, that's the story. In my life, I like to move toward my next adventure and this is it. I'm happy here. I'm painting, creating, and thriving. Onward.

- Raphaella Vaisseau

Goodbye Piano by Raphaella Vaisseau

Music played a special and sometimes complicated part of Dad’s life. In Fergus Falls, Minnesota, Dad enjoyed playing high school football and was good at it. However, his older sister Florence was intent on becoming a concert pianist, so his Mother moved them to Rochester NY for Florence to attend a music school for a year. He easily made the football team in Rochester too, until the coach learned he’d only be there one year. This disruption in his young life was something he spoke of often, wishing his Mother had let him stay in Fergus Falls with his older brother Homer and their grandpa Hale for that year.  Nevertheless, he accepted it and tried to focus on the benefits in the experience whenever it came up. Over the years, as it came up again and again, we talked of forgiveness and what could have been. 

Although Florence did not reach the heights of fame as a concert pianist she wished for, she did work in music her entire life as a college music professor, organist, and teacher. Mom and Dad sang in the choir in every church they belonged to. Music was always a part of our lives.

Our young family didn’t have a lot of money, but my parents were inventive with what we had. One of my favorite outings and favorite memories was driving around town singing 4-part harmony to songs like “When you wore a tulip” and other classic songs of the day. 

When Dad’s hearing started declining, it was music that was the most difficult for him. Melodies were distorted, and he couldn’t be sure he was singing on tune. He continued to sing at church, but no longer as a member of the choir.

After my Mother passed, I moved in to their home to care for him. He kept his songbooks by his favorite chair in the family room and I’d often hear him singing songs to her as he flipped through the pages. And, especially in the final months of his life, if he was feeling down, I’d encourage him to play the piano. He readily agreed, and it always lifted his spirits.

All of this being said, today was another momentous goodbye as his beloved piano was moved out of the house and on to wherever it will go from here. I thank God for music every day, and know that Dad, Mom, Florence, and all the beautiful souls on the other side are singing in harmony forevermore. Life here on Earth moves on. Goodbye piano. I love the gift of music you gave to Dad. Thank you.

-Raphaella Vaisseau

Teacher Appreciation Every Day by Raphaella Vaisseau - Heartful Art

The life you live is the lesson you teach. These words could be a companion piece to Gandhi's "Be the change you wish to see in the world." What we do, how we're being, what we say ... all these things are sharing who we are and what we're up to in life. This saying can inspire us to align with our highest expression and motivate us to make wise choices.

As classroom art, teachers can create lesson plans that explain what it means for students to be in alignment with their values, to "walk their talk" so to speak. I think Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson would like this quote. It's profound, yet simple.

My work with Heartful Art is to provide people with words and colorful art to inspire, motivate, and encourage thought and reflection. Whether you are inspiring yourself, your family, or a classroom of students, Heartful Art can play a part. Every day I appreciate the creativity, resourcefulness and dedication of teachers, and I continuously strive to proivide tools to assist them in their work with our children. If you are a teacher, during this Teacher Appreciation Week in 2018, and all year long, know that I thank and appreciate you.
-Raphaella Vaisseau

Dreams Are Good For Us by Raphaella Vaisseau - Heartful Art

If ever there was a dreamer who made his dreams come true it was Walt Disney. In following his bliss, he created worlds of fantasy and joy for all of us. He told us, "All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them."

It does take courage. It takes focus and allegiance to our intentions. It takes commitment to the act of dreaming itself, and to not getting sidetracked by what appears to be reality, or real obstacles ahead of us. The transcendentalist author of Walden, Henry David Thoreau, wrote, "I have learned this, at least, by my experiment, that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours."

Dreaming is an art. It doesn't mean it has to be difficult, however. Move forward, yes, but consider it may be more about believing than action. Many any people have written about the etheric nature of dreaming. Others have written about the importance of keeping dreams alive. Two beautiful poems by Langston Hughes speak to this: Dreams and The Dream Keeper. Eleanor Roosevelt said, "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."

Allow yourself the luxury of dreaming. Go to where inspiration springs forth within you. Spend time in nature, meditate, practice free-flow writing, and spend time imagining what it feels like to have the manifestation of the dream you are seeking. Abraham-Hicks describes this process as writing the script of the movie you want to see and then watching it, over and over again.

Believe in your dreams. Dream fantastical dreams, filled with promise, harmony, functionality, joy, and prosperity. Dream it real. We all are dreaming our world into further expansion, whether we are aware of it or not. The more we believe in the beauty of our dreams, the more beautiful our world will manifest.
-Raphaella Vaisseau

Raphaella Vaisseau, American Artist, Women in Art 278, Jan 2017

I'm happy to share that I am included as a featured artist in the Jan 2017 issue of Women In Art 278 (p. 38), an international art magazine that showcases female artists from around the globe. Featured are my watercolor and mixed media floral paintings. See the entire issue and more online at art278.org. Thank you to Editor-in-Chief, Liesl Marelli, for thoughtful commentatry on politics and artistic expression in this issue.
- Raphaella Vaisseau

Thank You and God Bless You, Jose Fernandez - by Raphaella Vaisseau

My parents are grieving today, especially my Dad. As you may know, Jose Fernandez, the Miami Marlins pitcher, died this morning in a boating accident. Besides his talent, this young man expressed so much joy, on the field and off, it was infectious to fans, and in particular, to my Dad. Baseball has a huge piece of Dad’s heart. He recently shared with me he gets depressed when baseball season ends each year. Last night he spoke again about how much he loved the game, and told me he started playing when he was 3 years old by hitting rocks with a stick in a field in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Fernandez was his favorite player and he watched every minute of any game he pitched.

Both Mom and Dad loved the story about Fernandez coming over on a boat from Cuba when he was 15 years old. According to a story I read today in the NYDN, “Fernandez, who became a U.S. citizen last year, defected from Cuba to the United States with his mother and sister after three failed attempts resulted in jail time. He escaped by boat, leaving his grandmother Olga, a woman he called the ‘love of his life,’ behind. While crossing the rocky waters of the Gulf of Mexico, Fernandez jumped in to rescue a woman who had fallen overboard. It wasn’t until he reached her that he discovered it was his mother.”

My Mom and Dad are in their mid-90s so they have experienced a lot of grief in their lives. Even still, today’s loss of Jose Fernandez will be especially missed by Dad as he watches Marlins baseball and wishes he could see this young man pitch just one more game. Rest in peace, Jose. You have given much to many, not the least of whom is my Dad.

September 25, 2016, Raphaella Vaisseau