Ticked Off- Lyme Disease Awareness Event Thank Yous!

A few of the sour faces from the "Take a Bite Out of Lyme" challenge!

I am so humbled and overwhelmed by all the love and support over the past two Fridays. It has been a whirlwind of activity getting this spring show together, being the featured artist, and pull off this Lyme Disease Awareness Event. So many people stopped in, talked with our representatives from Harford Lyme Advocates, took the "Take a Bite Out of Lyme" challenge, donated money, bought art, and participated in our basket give away! It was wonderful to meet new people, hear their stories, and tell them mine. I saw old friends, new friends, strangers, and family! But most important of all is we are getting the word out about this terrible disease!

Special thank yous are due to Janet Jensen and the rest of the crew from Harford Lyme Advocates who supplied all the educational literature and expertise to answer questions about Lyme Disease.

Thank you to Arts By the Bay Gallery and Pat Fair (art director for the gallery) for letting us use the space to hold this event. Also, a very special thank you to the artists who came out to support the event including those who worked the desk.

A heartfelt thank you to Kimie Ranken, the amazing jeweler who took my vision for a Ticked Off necklace and made it a reality even better than what I dreamed. Despite a serious illness and being hospitalized, she, with the help of her wonderful husband, Bill, delivered the necklaces on time for the event even though I told them not to worry about it. Truly, they are amazing, loyal, and selfless people. As she moves forward with treatment for her medical issue, I offer prayers of healing. More about the necklaces later in the week...I still have some in stock to sell so I will be setting that up shortly!

A huge thank you to KWM Cares and everyone at Kelly Wealth Management who made a very generous flat donation to NatCapLyme Association.  Your gift was such a surprise and appreciated! It will be put to good use.

Most of all, thank you so much to my amazing family and friends. I could not have survived these past months with my sanity intact without you all. To my husband, who tirelessly worked on the framing of 43 pieces and has been by my side every step of the way cheering me on; my kids, who helped get supplies together and ready for the event, worked the room at the event, and told me I made them proud; and to my friends who despite having ten million other things better to do, still came out to support me and this event. I am truly blessed to have each of you in my life, I love you all,  and I owe you one ;)

Last, but certainly not least, thank you to the patrons who bought my art! It is my dream to have people connect with my art in a way that has deep meaning for them. It was such a pleasure to meet and talk with the buyers and hear why they chose the pieces they did. I will be posting the sold items up on Facebook throughout the week. You are what makes me keep working, trying new things, and producing art.

While the Ticked Off event is over, Lyme Disease Awareness Month is not. I am still collecting donations throughout the month of May and donating a portion of the profit from the sale of my art in the month of May. So, if you were not able to make the event but would like to help people like me and so many others who suffer daily from this disease, please visit Arts By the Bay Gallery in Havre de Grace where there are donation boxes until May 31. If you can't make it out to the gallery, please consider donating online using the following instructions.

1.  Go to NatCapLyme.org's donation page.
2.  Click on Fundraising Event in the tab section.
3.  In the Select Event for Fundraising dropdown menu choose the bottom one...Arts By the Bay Gallery Ticked Off Lyme Disease Awareness Event.
4.  Fill out the rest of the form and submit!

Thanks so much for any help you could give. This really is a great organization. I attend the support meetings of my local chapter and they are champions of getting the word out in Harford County and beyond.

xo