| Title | Faded Roses |
| Artist / Creator | Deb Parsons Menke |
| Place of Publication | Helena, MT |
| Publication Date | 2012 |
| Author of Text | Anne Bronte |
| Medium / Materials | Broadside on paper; watercolor, pencil, brushes and Mitchel nibs. |
| Dimensions (WxHxD) | 19 x 26 inches |
| Edition Size | Unique |
Who can see if their life path is too hard or too narrow, or even too shallow, without some length of days to look back on. Perspective? I look at mine of the last decade and see faded roses, a way made difficult to keep any focus on the brightness. Lost hopes, lost people, lost purpose. My natural inclination is to faith and optimism, but ... eventually, apathy. I love reading The Narrow Way, by Anne Bronte, thinking of my own struggles, both external and internal. She was able to hang on to hope and faith, or at least find them again. This piece is my struggle to hang on to my own hope and faith, acknowledgement of the twists in my path and my hope that I too, can grasp the thorns and continually arm myself for the fight.
Artist Bio
Deb Parsons Menke has been pursuing art in its myriad of forms since childhood. After graduating with a BA in Graphic Design, she pursued creativity in the advertising industry, eventually moving onto freelance and lettering art. The focus of Deb's artwork has been calligraphy, painting and illustration since 1998. Her work has been published in various national magazines such as Victoria, Smithsonian, and Somerset Studio. Deb's calligraphic art has been exhibited in regional galleries and is seen in numerous homes, greeting cards, prints and calendars including The Calligraphers Engagement Calendars and The Printery House Desk Calendars. Deb resides in Helena, Montana with her husband Mark and two inherited dogs. They are blessed with three grown children. Deb is the current president of the Montana state calligraphers' guild, Big Sky Scribes, www.bigskyscribes.org. She occasionally teaches at the Holter Museum in Helena to share her love of hand lettering and art.