The mission of Sunnyshore Studio is to share the beauty of Camano Island with the world. Where did this idea of sharing come from?
Many years ago as I was developing the concept of Sunnyshore Studio, I was struck by the fact that my family had a rich heritage of sharing.
My great grandmother, F.Y. Cory, used her gift of art to support her sister Agnes, who eventually died of tuberculosis. Later she used her gift in art to send her children to college.
My grandfather, Grandpa Dorsey, gave 60 acres of property near Leavenworth to my dad and mom as their inheritance.
My grandfather on my mother’s side, Grandpa Dodgson, gave my mom and dad 10 acres on Camano Island with an old house on it; in 1969 they moved to Camano where dad launched his career as an artist.
My dad and mom shared their artistic talents and art resources, including the full run of my dad’s studio, with me, my sister April, and brother Jed. Dad shared his ability as an art critic to make our artwork better; and mom was our greatest supporter, encouraging us by buying our art.
In a previous post, I told the story of how my dad and mom gifted Jenny and I, and our kids, with the lot just south of their home. In short: I saw this thread of sharing running through my family heritage.
It also struck me that the story by which I was living my life was a story of sharing. From a young age I had learned from my parents that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believed in him would have eternal life (John 3:16).” This story of my Heavenly Father sending His Son into our broken world to share eternal life with me, of Jesus living the life I should have lived and dying the death I should have died, is the story that defines me. Broken man that I am, I am nevertheless secure as a beloved son of my Heavenly Father. I have an inheritance that I did not earn nor can never loose.
God’s sharing of His greatest gift with me, His Son, gives me great motivation to follow my Heavenly Father’s example in sharing.
Thus it was from my family heritage of sharing and from the Big Story that defines me as a Christian that I determined that the mission of Sunnyshore Studio would be to share the beauty of Camano Island with the world.
My dream for sharing Sunnyshore Studio is that:
- Each member of my family would be blessed and supported as they show and sell their artwork.
- People who come to the Studio would experience the “splinter” of God’s beauty that is Camano Island.
- People would enjoy and celebrate the beauty of Camano Island through our family’s original art
- People would be renewed and refreshed through staying at the studio;
- People would grow as artists through art classes and seminars and art collaborative projects.
Here is a picture of the beach just below Sunnyshore Studio, the beach I grew up playing on, and that I look forward to sharing with others.
