A Visit to Barbara's

I wanted to stop time when we visited Barbara Strawser’s last week. It was magic to be there among the blooms, the countryside and the animals she paints.

Her Victorian home and rambling garden sit in the heart of Schaefferestown, PA…a wonderful little town of less than 1,000 people that was first populated in the 1720s.

In every way, our visit made me fall more in love with her work. I saw her garden, walked the stone path to her studio, fed the chickens she adores, ate fresh peaches on pewter plates in her cozy kitchen and fancied that I could stay, event just a bit, longer...

The kids loved her pets, her porch swing and the bread with butter and milk. Rosie and Barbara are good pals. They loved the chance to visit and recount stories of quilts and treasures. Both love pretty things and each of them has a brand of sentimentality that fans the flames of the other's passions for old things and digging in the garden. I loved just listening to them chat...

There is so much to take in, wonderful old things and art everywhere...

Here is Barbara just down the block at her studio...she paints on the second storey of this barn...

You can read more about Barbara -- the newest Earth Angel -- in my blog post of July 6th...

http://earthangelstoys.blogspot.com/2008/07/new-earth-angel.html

And here are some images of Babara at work...her attention to detail is extreme and her use of color, soulful, secure and unexpected...

I made her promise to finish this piece for me...As for more of her latest creations....you can email us if you’d like more details on the available works….here's a peek...

Barbara has painted for more than 30 years. She is the third among the four generations of self-taught artists in her family. Her paintings brim with joyful scenes and stories of her life in the Pennsylvania Dutch countryside. Her works tell of the things she knows and loves…her garden, the farm, and the simple pleasures of a life well-lived among friends and family.
They make my heart happy to see...and her to know.

Thanks to you Barbara for a day to remember and our new friendship to treasure together.

Xxoo Jen O’Connor
Earth Angels