On-line Gallery

“Margaret’s Triumph” (size 4" x 5") Medium: Colored pencil and water color pencil on Stonehenge paper.

Gretchen is a self taught artist. Her favorite medium is colored pencil and her favorite subject is children. Each work takes weeks to complete as she painstakingly renders each in multiple color layers (up to 30) resulting in brilliant and vibrant color. This particular piece took 5 weeks to finish. To see more of her work go to:

This piece was painted from flowers sent to me by Margaret Silman who attended the South Carolina seminar in February, 2004. She had been on guaifenesin for a year by then and had come such a long long way toward regaining her health. She was incredibly excited about being well enough to come through a snow storm about 100 miles and be able to help when the year before she had been contemplating a wheelchair.. Here is her interpretation of my painting:

(Margaret Silman's comments:) (This painting)….. “is indeed the tribute to the TRIUMPH! …….I have reflected and reflected on your painting. I find it so apropos that the background is dark...."coming from the darkness into the light" of the beautiful flowers in all stages of bloom and beauty. Multiple shades, rich hues, totally different textures……but, all one beautiful bouquet. You have captured us and all our stages of recovery in your painting. Perhaps you did not intend any of that symbolism.....but, it spoke volumes to me. That is the gift of art.....it speaks to us all so individually.”

Lou Marek is the husband of Claudia Marek of the Fibromyalgia Treatment Center. Lou is a muralist, fine artist and a decorative painter---depending on what project he is working on. He owns a company called "Mural, Mural On The Wall", and he has been painting for 8 years. Before that, he worked as the creative director for an ad agency and owned his own agency in Denver. Lou graduated from Pratt Institute in NYC which is considered to be one of the five most influential art schools in the world. He has a painting hanging in the Boston Children's Museum which was donated to the Progera Foundation. (Progera is the advanced aging of children who look very old at a very young age and who die young from old age diseases.) A member of the New York Watercolor Society and the American Watercolor Society, he has taught advertising and TV promotion at Colorado University in Boulder.

The piece that is being donated to the silent auction is one that Lou painted for his wife, Claudia. Unframed, it is 36" x 42". We extend our deep gratitude to Claudia for being willing to part with this beautiful painting!

In the artist's own words: "First of all I would like to say this is a picture of my wife Claudia, but she admonished me because she said people will see her and look at the picture and say...'sure'. But honestly, it seems that every painting I do of a woman bears a resemblance to Claudia. Her face is always in my head. The painting is a style Claudia likes. It is hanging up in our living room now, ironically unfinished, as are most of my works for home and hearth. So I will finish it for the 'shoe', as Ed Sullivan used to say." Lou Marek, 2004.

Rachel Parker is a self taught artist whose primary medium is watercolor. She has been drawing since she was old enough to hold a pencil, and began painting in 2000. She comes from a family of artists; her mother is a award-winning portrait artist and her father is an award-winning photographer, so art must be in her genes! She now sells her art work primarily on EBay at http://stores.ebay.com/Rachels-Studio.

A note from the artist: This is a print of a watercolor painting of a half-Siamese-half-Tabby cat, about to stretch.

As a healing professional (RN, hypnotherapist, medical school professor, yoga teacher, etc.) for many years and as an artist, I am acutely aware of the healing potential of creativity, both for the artist and the viewer. My paintings and portraits in acrylic, pastel, and watercolor reflect my belief in the interconnectedness of all beings and celebrate the healing aspects of that connection. Art, like life, is an exploration of unending potential and possibilities. I sign my work Angeletta by combining my name with my mother’s name Etta, to honor her. She was an artist who never had the opportunity to develop her talents and who suffered for years from fibromyalgia. More of my work can be seen soon on my new website www.angeletta.com.

Dancing has been a life-long hobby of mine and “Veil Dancer” (5x7 matted and framed to 8x10) is an original watercolor that celebrates the joy of dance.

The magical world within is illustrated in this print of an original watercolor, “Moon Fairy”, (8x10 matted and framed to 12x16). The model is my beautiful daughter-in-law.

In the artist's words: "I have loved art all my life and have been quietly pursuing it throughout my other careers-aviation and horses. No longer being a commercial pilot nor a horse trainer, I have dedicated myself full time to pursue my true calling of painting. I took my first beginning watercolor class three years ago and have been painting ever since. I have been fortunate enough to have learned from Judy Morris, Ron Ranson, Winnie Givot, and other artists offering workshops, experience, and guidance. I am a member of the Watercolor Society of Oregon. My new home will soon be in Asheville, North Carolina. I paint in hopes of giving others pleasure and enjoyment. If a viewer feels emotions when looking at my work, then I feel it has been a success. I particularly love painting animals and architecture."

The print is a giclee print of a watercolor painting. The image size is 12X16 with a 1 inch border, printed on watercolor paper. It is #3/250 limited edition prints, signed and numbered.

Cris Roll is a member of the on-line GUAI-GROUP Admin team and spends many long hours helping others with their questions about fibromyalgia and hypoglycemia. Cris started making baskets in the 80s. She says, "I made lots of larger baskets, decorative and utilitarian. I dyed my own materials in the kitchen sink. I got away from it when I bought my house in 1993 because I have hardwood floors, even in the kitchen, and the reed has to be wet to work with it. Also, as I became sicker, it became more difficult to work with larger basket materials. It takes some upper body strength, not to mention it hurt my arms. I love the little baskets though. I have a fascination with tiny things [and], I collect miniatures. I want to see how small I can go with these baskets. I enjoy the challenge."

Artist: Candace Craw-Goldman

Title: "Three Flaxen Tails", 11 x 14 image, original photograph

Lately, I have taken photographs of therapy horses, both miniature and regular size, that are used in all sorts of community service. This particular photograph is of horses used at a ranch called Spirit Reins. I was there recently along with some special needs children from a local school. I happened to capture these three swishing their tails at the same time.

Artist: Kristy Kutch.

Kristy Kutch is an Indiana native who teaches colored pencil/watercolor pencil workshops throughout the United States. She has contributed to numerous colored pencil technique books. Currently Kristy is working on her first book, Drawing and Painting with Colored Pencil , to be released in Spring, 2005 by Watson-Guptill Publications.

This is a Giclee print of an original colored pencil painting called "Poppy Trio" colored pencil on hot-press watercolor board. A Giclee print is a very high quality laser print of the original painting using archival inks on high quality acid free paper. These prints are of museum quality. They are so accurate that you can see the pencil strokes in the print and it is very difficult to tell the print from the original.

You can see more of Kristy's beautiful art work at www.artshow.com/kutch .

Amy is donating several beautiful wildlife photos, including the ones pictured here. "Birches" (left) is an 8 1/2" x 11" photo. "Egret" also is 8 1/2" x 11". Not shown is "Fire On The Mountain" and "Arizona".

For personal reasons, Amy wishes to remain "anonymous" and not have her picture included in the gallery.

Ann Kullberg is a national award-winning portrait artist who has enjoyed observing and drawing the human figure all her life. Working from photographs, her life-like paintings capture the true essence of likeness and expression with unerring instinct and warmth. Ann’s portraiture successfully combines the seemingly contradictory qualities of traditionalism and innovation. A pioneer in the use of colored pencils, Ann has been riding the crest of this medium’s rapidly rising popularity. A recipient of numerous awards, she is in high demand both for her winsome children’s portraits, and her nationally held portrait workshops. Ann’s work has been featured in numerous publications. She is the founder of From My Perspective, a monthly online magazine devoted to colored pencil as a fine art medium. www.annkullberg.com .

Steve Nissle, a second generation photographer, was born and raised in Southern California. He began working with his father in 1968 and by 1969 had photographed his first wedding.

Steve Nissle has been the owner of Steve Nissle Photography in Mesa, Arizona for more than 12 years and has become a well respected businessman in the East Valley and a renowned photographer statewide. Steve is a past President of the Arizona Professional Photographers Association, Vice President of the Phoenix Professional Photographers Association, and helped create the Pro Pac Guild, an Arizona wedding photographer’s guild. He also holds membership in numerous other Professional Photographers Associations, such as the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International, and Professional Photographers of America. Steve is dedicated to raising the standards of photography in Arizona and has won numerous awards for his wedding, family, and children’s portraiture.

Lori has loved photography since she was in grade school. She says, "I used to pose my cat and my Barbie dolls for photos! I took a class in high school and just love taking photos, though I do not do it professionally. Scenic and portraits are my favorites. I also write stories and poems, sketch, dance and mime."

The process of painting porcelain was developed over two thousand years ago. These pieces started as glazed white porcelain and were painted and fired in a kiln approximately two hours to a temperature of 1400 degrees. Each piece requires several paintings and firings to achieve what you see.

Linda has been painting porcelain since 1975 after many years of admiring her aunt’s painting. She is a self-taught artist who has attended numerous seminars and workshops by international artists. She has been a certified instructor and member of International Porcelain Artists and Teachers since 1979 and member of the World Organization of China Painters.

Bev has lived in Phoenix, Arizona for the past 23 years. Several years ago she began dragging her husband to the rock and gem shows in Quartzsite, Arizona to look at the gemstones and to handle the beautiful stones. Finally after a few years, her husband informed her that if she liked the gemstones so much, why didn't she buy some strands and do something with them?

Little did her husband, Jim know that he was creating a monster. Working with gemstones is addictive and one is always waiting to create that next design. All her designs are one of a kind, none are ever duplicated and she works with all stones including tanzanite, rubies and sapphires. The expensive stones usually end up living around her neck.

Her designs are currently shown and sold at shows throughout Arizona and Laughlin, Nevada. Plans for retirement are to create and sell gemstone jewelry exclusively. Bev has donated two necklaces for the silent auction. The first necklace is a Southwestern design consisting of rose quartz ovals and a rose quartz zuni bear drop. Each oval stone is separated by a round garnet. The second necklace is a light amethyst with an amethyst drop.

Comments on her art: These pieces are stamp art in water colors, inks, pencils and twinkling H2o's. It's wonderful to use the other side of my brain!

Jeri Lynn Killian has been a banker for 38 years. She is the Senior Compliance Officer for a bank in California that was established in 1907. In this capacity she is responsible for making sure all 600+ employees understand and follow the rules and regulations of banking.

Ms. Killian has been a member of the California Bankers Association Regulatory Compliance Committee for the past twelve years and is a graduate of the American Bankers Association National Graduate Compliance School programs as well as numerous other educational achievements. She is a frequent industry speaker on organizational, time management and technical banking skills.

Jeri Lynn is intimately aware of fibromyalgia issues and has been on the guaifenesin protocol for six years.

Cammie’s fascinating fibro bio: I started painting in earnest after surviving, barely, it felt like, my first major fibro bout. My husband would take these pictures of me “recovering,” not knowing what we were dealing with, and I would paint them as a sweet remembrance of healing --- those still, small moments in time that were giving my life beauty and tenderness and extra meaning.

I was encouraged to enter local and national shows and won prizes each time I entered!!!! I was too pooped to enter more shows after the Los Angeles Exhibition and stuck to painting, gardening, and worshiping the ground upon which my husband walked, except of course, when I was flaring and would become

Sweet Dreamer is from an actual photo taken of me after having gotten the kids off to school and finally falling into a deep sleep on the couch while the winter sun wrapped me in its warmth. The cats had been banished outside because we were having company that weekend and wanted to keep the dander down; they somehow made their way back in and, in their uncanny feline way, found a warm slumbering body and joined the dogs keeping watch over me. One thing led to another.

Grace Before Thanksgiving is a child’s and dog’s eye view of a Thanksgiving table before the big event; the cat, Grace, never ever got on the table except this one time, checking out the pretty silverware, flowers and candles.

Cut Flowers were from my painstakingly cultivated garden and gathered for my mom’s birthday. These 13” x 19” signed and enhanced prints go for $225.00; I’ll bet you can get a deal on the silent auction! Enjoy!

Attention all artists: If you would like to donate any type of art to the Symposium Silent Auction and have your work displayed in the on-line gallery, please contact brenda@fibromyagliarecovery.com to make arrangements. ALL PROCEEDS FROM THE SILENT AUCTION WILL BE DONATED TO THE FIBROMYALGIA RESEARCH FUND (501 C non-profit)! Please consult your tax adviser regarding the value of the tax deduction.