I start this blog by dedicating it to a person who shared many works of beauty with our family and with the world. To my great-grandmother Carola L. Gough (1911 - 2007), I dedicate this post and the founding of this blog for her beautiful artwork and, perhaps even more importantly, for her life's example.
Thank you, Carola, and may you always be an inspiration to those who view your art and remember your life. For me, it seems all to easy to forget that my personal problems are not new and can be overcome with time, patience, and understanding. Your art helps me return to a vision of beauty in this world and my own.
Below is a composite image of many of Carola's paintings around a photo of her 96th birthday party in April of 2007, 3 months before she passed away that July after complications following a stroke. Above the party photo are photos from when she was 17 in 1928 with her then 20-year-old boyfriend Gene, and then many years later in their 80s. They were married for 65 years.
Donating Money Made From This Blog
As we all know, there is much that is not beautiful about our world. One need only to listen to the news. It seems that the news itself is sometimes made to propel further division and distrust amongst people. Carola knew this as well as anyone. I don't know everything about her, and probably never will. That doesn't matter, but I know she spent a lot of time as a volunteer and with children and people otherwise overlooked both in the United States and while living in Africa.
My goal for this blog is simply that it may be a reminder, like I learned from her life and through conversations with her, that we are all more important to each other than we may realize. As such, I will donate at least 20% of any possible income made through ads or donations on this site toward the Carola L. Gough Foundation which is being developed to support causes that Carola supported during her life, such as children's reading skills, learning art, or public health education. I will donate another 30% to causes that contributors to this site collaboratively decide to support.
Learn much more about Carola view more of her artwork and stories from her travels at http://www.CarolaGough.com.
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