Trissmas Tree!

Welcome to our living room. This was the product of date night. We went to a local flower shop called Hermes and bought our Christmas tree. We decided to get a narrow average height tree to fit our apartment this year. Last year we had to lop off the top and a bit of the bottom to get her to fit. This year he's just the right size. We spent the night watching 'White Christmas' (which is my favorite holiday movie) and decorating our tree. So gold and pretty. Yay.

My name is Kimberlyn.
And I just like this picture.

Good times

So, I'm an excitable person. Who knew? Disney was awesome.

We just got back ... yes, I begrudgingly got on the plane back to MN. We decided not to move into the castle. There were too many princesses and not enough bathrooms. I could babble on an on about what we liked about Disney, my favorite parts, Ryan's favorite parts... what rides and attractions we liked (Space Mountain & Tower of Terror) and disliked (Stitches Great Escape & the last 3 hours of the "It's A Small World" ride) but I will spare you. Just let it be known that Disney World is a Magical Place.

For those of you who were wondering,

1. We did indeed loose Craig a time or two.
2. Bergmans are WAY faster walkers than Luras. I'm working on it.
3. Hands down the company was the best part.
4. Karl can fit into small spaces- roughly the size of a coffee table.
5. Meal plans are NOT for amateurs.

Bergman Family Fun!!!

Do you remember when I made a list of a few things I've learned since Ryan and I got married? If I recall correctly, #3 was "Bergmans travel, A Lot." Well, This year is my very first year to have the privilege of going on a family vacation Bergman style! Ryan's parents organized a trip for the whole family to go to Disney World!!! YAY!!! (I know, lots of exclamation points, but I'm really that excited!!!) Those of you who know me, you know that I heart Disney more than all the salt in the sea. I believe with my whole heart in the Magic that Disney creates and I can't wait to see all the little kids in awe of their favorite characters, pulling their parents from one place to the next. (I imagine that's what I'll be doing with Ryan)

Speaking of Disney- here is a flash from my past.

When I was in high school physics, our teachers name was Mr. Cava. (Who was a wonderfully squirrely little man of the asian persuasion.) He LOVED planning games for us to teach us about the wonderful world of sciences and his favorite was Jeopardy. He would come up with categories and answers, we would have to answer in the form of a question, and buzz in faster than the other team, all those good things. My problem was having the pressure of my teams pride and the beloved candy bowl prize resting on my very slow nervous reflexes. For this reason alone, my team usually nominated me to be the one to finish the game in Final Jeopardy. Weren't they sweet? The trick is that the Final Jeopardy question tended to be completely random- including pop culture and they gave me 45 whole seconds. I won a very unexpected victory for our team by naming all 7 dwarfs from Snow White.

The moral of this story is: If you spend 6 years (in collective hours) of your childhood solely on watching Disney movies, you will win Jeopardy. Ahhh... time well spent.

All this to say I'm FREAKING EXCITED!!! If I decide to move into the palace, and dress Ryan up as Eric from 'The Little Mermaid' I will attach our forwarding address on my next post.

Horses

"Horses"
2- 4" x 4"
Oil on canvas

I love horses and for some reason I've been dreaming about them lately. I woke up this morning and wanted to get this painting out of my brain and onto a canvas.

The Pickle Painting.

This week Ryan and I were invited to an event dedicated to raising money for the Art Institute of Minnesota. Of course I couldn't say no- Support the ARTS!!! Well, this particular event was standing proudly on the foundation of Fine Arts and Antiques. There were two floors of framed artwork, woodwork, sculpture and cases of antique trinkets. It was actually pretty cool, there were original works by Gustav Klimt- and beautiful hand drawn maps from all over the world! The first piece that caught my eye however was an oil painted pickle from "A 19th century painter". Now, I heart pickles as much as the next guy, but why would you want a dramatically lit rendering of a pickle in your home? (With a horrid gold frame) Also, what was it that moved the artist to spend his time and energy on painting (with rather fine quality might I add) a pickle? I don't know but what surprised me even MORE was the price tag. This particular 8 x 10 pickle painted by a 19th century unnamed painter, was priced at $4,800. Let that sink in.

I bet that guy didn't make enough to buy bread when he was alive. But how great is it that he finally made it after all these years?

Curious little guy

I love it when people ask me about my paintings. I like to tell the stories behind each piece. I want people to understand why this image, this memory, this emotion was important enough for me to pour my time and energy into.

This image was captured by my husband. Wonderful things wander into his viewfinder when ever he holds his camera. I love it. This little boy was a curious little guy who wanted to know what we were all doing on his school grounds and in his church in Kibera. He spent his free time running back and forth past the windows and doors to the church. He wore the same tasseled fleece sweatshirt both days we were there in 78 degree weather. Too short to see, he pulled himself up and peeked into the cut out window of the church. When he saw Ryan with a camera his eyes started to beam. I wanted to relive that smile in his eyes, experience again the way it feels to have a child respond to you with both joy and laughter. That's why this painting is important. And I wanted to share it.

The Chase

"The Chase"
Oil on Canvas
11 x 14

Hello again. This morning I was looking though some of my older paintings to see if I had any used canvas that wanted a new face. I came across this one. This is a painting I titled 'The Chase' in 2006. I was revisiting an oil painting exercise from college. Painting with a pallet knife. (Thanks Larry) I can't say that I've every really enjoyed it. It is really hard to control and as someone who likes to mix paint on the canvas- it was really frustrating. It does however offer some interesting techniques. It's much easier to build layers and texture, it's easier to cut a straight line, and it's kind of nice to let up the need to control detail. So I said why not? Might as well challenge myself a bit and do some more pallet knife paintings. I found once again, I'm not a huge fan. This one painting out of the bunch though stuck out to me. I really liked this one but for the most part I've received negative feed back. That's okay, we artists can handle that- once in a while. My question now is, I haven't sold this painting in two years, should I just paint over it and maybe discover something someone will want? Or do I let it sit in my studio closet with many other undiscovered gems?

Doodles

I like to doodle. Here's what a lot of my spare paper looks like these days.

We got married

Ryan and I have been married for just over a year and this is what we've learned:

1. Neither of us are mind readers
2. Wii- Lego StarWars is a really good team work building experience
3. Bergmans travel. A Lot.
4. It's fun to wake up next to your best friend
5. Clothes don't wash themselves
6. Plants die if you don't water them.
7. Mac and cheese with hot dogs is for adults too!
8. The 'future' comes faster than you might think
9. Some of the best dates cost under $20
10. 'My side of the bed' is relative

Of course this is not a comprehensive list, but it gives you a taste. It's been a good year. We've been learning a lot about working together, learning about what makes each other tick, and figuring out how to make two lives one. I recommend it.

Pillars

Oil on wood.
$75.00

Sorry about the fuzzy picture.

(For purchase details, email me)

My Little Friend

I know it's been a while since the last post, but I've been thinking about which situations in my life really warrant a blog entry. This is what I came up with:

It was a Friday like any normal Friday. I was working at my assistant manager gig (try not to swoon) checking out all of our vacant apartments. I was on second floor looking out at our courtyard facing south. It was a pretty nice day, no clouds- pretty warm. (This is important because there was very little wind.) Anyhow, I was looking out at the courtyard and this blue, orange and white beach ball came rolling around the corner from no where. I didn't think much of it. Our courtyard is enclosed by 4 foot cement walls so it had to belong to one of the kids in our community. I went about my day. About 20 minutes later I was on the opposite side of the building, this apartment had all its windows facing north out onto the courtyard. As I was inspecting, out of the corner of my eye, I see the little beach ball making its way across the courtyard straight toward me! This time it was a bit deja vu-ish. It skirted around the pool to end up the in the corner of the building where I was standing! I kinda joked to myself ... that the beach ball was my little lost friend following me around to keep me company. Nice- laugh it up- Kim's crazy- working too many hours by herself... fair enough. (Actually- I was an only child with a wild imagination whose toys each had their own personality. Also crazy but much more endearing as a child) Moving on- that was my last check of the day so I laughed it off, and went back down to the rental office. After a few quite long hours, 5pm came and I shut down the office, turned the alarm on and locked the door. As I was about to head outside to walk back to our apartment, that same frickin' beach ball was sitting very calmly outside the door. Like it was waiting for me. Creepy. It was a bit- "the call is coming from inside the house..." Yeah, "My little friend" was actually an inanimate object stalking me. I'll admit, I have some irrational fears- but that little ball crossed the line... it came around a corner, then around the fenced pool, then over a 4 foot wall to rest under an overhang outside my office door. (With relatively no wind to speak of!) Needless to say, I went through the garage to avoid having to look over my shoulder to see if it was following me home. Next time you know it- it would be following me up the stairs or somehow freakishly figuring out how to press the 12 button in the elevator... I wasn't about to have that. It was a shockingly disturbing afternoon.


A close second to this unnerving event was the naming of our family car- "Thunderbelt!!!" She purrs like a kitten and squeaks like a mouse! Beep! Beep! (For those of you who don't know, Thunderbelt is Ryan's black vibe. If you've never seen a vibe, look it up. 4 cylinders of pure Thunder baby! (Disclaimer: Vibes are awesome and we love ours!)

Thanks for wasting your time on my non insightful post. PEACE!

Another memory

I was standing next to this little girl who had one bare foot and one pink flip flop. (We were watching the other girls kick our teams butt in soccer.) Anyhow, I asked her where her other shoe was... she looked at me a little blankly then walked away. I figured I either scared her or bored her... but she came back a minute later with one of the older girls blue flip flops to finish watching the game with me. It made me happy so I painted her.

Asante Sana Africa

I heard something in Kenya that I loved! Pastor Imbumi Makuku said, "Hospitality is the one thing we don't need to import." It's true. From the moment we arrived, we were treated as if we had just come home. They give southern hospitality a run for it's money.

In a daze

It has officially been a month so here is our update. Since our last post, Ryan and I have traveled to and returned from Kenya, we've caught colds that won't quit, we attended a Michigan wedding where two of our good friends Callie and Jon got married, we attended the IJM banquet, I (kim) reconnected with a dear friend from freshman year at Taylor, we found out that baby Tsai & baby Meyers are bth boys, AND we are celebrating the births of our cousins son Justin Eaton and our friend Claire's son Jonas Olson. PHHEEWW!

That was the short version, if you want more detail on our trip, read on-

Between the two of us, Ryan and I haven't fully articulated our reactions from our trip to Kenya. I think the process will be slow with a growing love and appreciation for the people we met and the relationships we built. From here on, I won't be speaking for Ryan- even though we're 'one flesh', our reactions aren't always the same.

There are a few things that really spoke to my heart when we were there. This country has severe poverty, hunger and illness, but this country also has overwhelming joy, hospitality and hope. The first day working at our make shift clinic, I had a short conversation with a 15 year old girl. I asked her to tell me about herself... she replied "I love my country, Kenya is a beautiful place, we are friendly people." From my experience, I would agree with her. We met patients that had sore throats, dog bites, HIV, open wounds from accidents, bad eye sight, various infections etc. and the majority had it in them to smile, shake our hands and thank us for our help and prayers. We were greeted with kind smiles and hand shakes wherever we went.

Our trip was organized by Mission to the world, our team leader was Tom Edwards, and Pastor Imbumi Makuku was our main contact and leader during the week we were there. Pastor Imbumi started a church in Kibera (if you haven't heard of Kibera, google it), and since it's beginning there has been a school built around it. This is a place where children can be safe, where they can learn, and where they can experience the love of our Lord. Their Motto is 'Education for Exaltation,' and let me tell you,these children are wonderful. They are learning to be disciplined, they are learning to hope outside their everyday life, but when they are out of class, they are allowed to be children, allowed to smile and laugh and play... and they do!

It was so fun for me to see a mob of children run to Ryan and jump up on him. It was so fun to see the joy in these children as the guys on our trip took turns just loving them and playing with them. Most of the children in these villages don't have male figures present in their lives, so it was really something to see our team relate to them in the little time we had. It's really hard not to get attached. But it's amazing what these pastors accomplish by just being present. Pastor Imbumi, Pastor Wycliffe, Pastor James, Pastor Patrick, Pastor Imekki, Pastor Dan... all these people have a visible impact on their community... they provide a positive role model... and they are all really fun to hang out with!

There is rare beauty in Kenya- It would be a lie to say I didn't leave a part of me there.

We have tons of stories, about the girls home, the different sites, and crazy games of uno, petting a cheetah, making out with giraffes etc. and we would love to share them if you're interested... just email us or give us a call--

We are glad to be getting well... and we can't wait for our next trip. Any suggestions?

Africa

Well... Ryan and I are officially off to Kenya may 10th -18th. Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive and prayed us through these past few weeks. It's been a bit of a scramble to get things in order but it's all coming together.

We continue to hear questions that closely resemble, 'what are you guys going to do on a medical mission trip?' (Referring to our lack of medical background.) Basically we have no concrete expectations. We are going to help... and you don't need to be a doctor to help. We are staying in a convent and working only in Nairobi. We have very limited information on what this trip will look like, and I think I prefer it that way. Who doesn't like surprises? Truth is, we are the first team going back with MTW since a lot of unrest has occurred, so the set up will be quite different.

It's a scary thing though. All the anticipation, the hesitance, the nagging thoughts... 'Is this going to kill me?' - 'Is this really going to make a difference in the long run?' - 'I guess it'll make me stronger...' (You all know I'm talking about the shots, right? ) I mean really... 6 shots in one day? I know, I know, there are worse things.

Anyhow, we could really use some persistent prayer. This experience is more than likely going to break us in half... the hard way... but the good way. And we can't wait.

God Bless

Trying something new

I thought I would try something new... using bright colors. I recently discovered why I always end up with muted dark colors. Whenever I create a painting with pure colors straight out of the tube, it looks really amateur. So I thought I would try to *NOT* muddy up all my colors but still try to make enough contrast to make it interesting.

Acrylic Painting
18" x 24"
$250

Africa

A few weeks ago, our good friend Mike presented us with an opportunity to go to Kenya with a team he's involved with for a medical mission trip. We just about immediately put it on the back burner (not completely out of our minds, just in the back somewhere). There was no sense in hoping- we had so many obligations/ commitments that we'd already made for the year and getting time off of work was already really tight. But then, last week we were watching a video of the National Prayer breakfast... a man named Ward Brehm spoke on his spiritual journey in Africa. His words of experience paired with our dads- oh so familiar words- "What are you waiting for?" made us suddenly inspired to pursue this trip.

This trip is taking place from May 10th- 18th. It's coming up fast! We are still working out technicalities... so we are not 100% sure this trip is on, but things are looking positive. Ryan is pretty much set, we just need to raise a bit of support and book his tickets and he's on his way. As for me, my situation is a bit complicated. My passport is in my maiden name, which could be a problem because all of my legal documents have been changed to ' Bergman'. I just don't want to be stuck in Kenya. So, to all of you that read about our lives, we would really love for this opportunity to work out that we can both go, your prayers that what should be done, will be done are very much appreciated.

Here's to Hoping!

Map Painting

Acrylic Painting
16" x 20"

Frogs.

Ryan and I like Frogs.

Oil Paintings
6" x 6"

My Last Class

This is an example from a printmaking class- teaching kids ages 5-7.

I'm officially done teaching at the Eagan Art House. Originally I took this position to get a taste of how my gifts line up with a teaching environment. I can see where Moscioni gets all of her stories. As much as I enjoyed these children, and the occasional adult students, I found that teaching one on one is more my niche. I would really like to teach private lessons where the structure is a bit more flexible to the individuals wants and needs. One thing I found difficult with teaching basic art was finding projects that could be worked on with a large variety of skill sets. I would suggest to parents, if you want your child to get the most out of an art class, to expand creativity and skill, enroll them in private lessons. In a few cases I found the environment I taught in to be more of a day camp for parents who want "Me" time at the salon. (Which really turns me off)

In any case, it was a wonderful learning experience for me, which is what I wanted in the first place. Don't get me wrong about the Art House, there are wonderful teachers there and a large variety of classes. I would recommend it to any one looking for a introduction to a medium- they would be able to do wonderful things if the class sets were longer. If you are looking for a talented painting teacher for a short term class, check out painting classes with Eric at the Art House.

Welp, I guess I'm on to bigger and better things. Any suggestions?

Something Pretty to Look at

Well, we don't have anything important to say, so I'm just going to post two more of my paintings. Enjoy.

Oil Paintings in the 'Winter Series'

20" x 20" - Price: $500

New Painting

This is one of my newest paintings in my series of 'Winter Beauty'. I've been working on oil paintings of frozen flowers and plants. I know, sounds strange but I was really attracted to how warm they felt in the midst of the MN winter.

36" x 36"

Circles

I (kim) have been in serious need of some simple creative exercises to stimulate my brain. I don't really believe in creative blocks, I believe in indecision. There is always a something to work on, mostly just lack of direction. So here is the last 'mini' project I worked on. It's a good way to explore and discover interesting things in your own living space while making something interesting to look at.
I'll probably be posting each new 'mini' I work on. So if you have feed back or ideas for new projects for me to try-- please let me know!