My name is Kathryn Cross.........

 I am a self taught Watercolor, Pen & Ink Artist.  I am also a Gold Star Mother, Volunteer and now the proud Founder of The Tribute Journey.  The Tribute Journey is very special program of remembrance intended to extend gratitude and appreciation to those who serve our country and defend our freedoms in hopes of a peaceful world.  For our Peacekeepers......The Tribute Journey.

This is where I am supposed to write down my education and experiences regarding my art.  Because I am self taught I will share with you instead the journey of an artist’s heart.

I began drawing and painting in pen, ink & watercolor as a very young girl.  As a child I was plagued with illness and required to remain indoors as the children at school played outside.  Alone I would sit at a desk in front of a large window where I would watch them as they played.  The teachers provided me with a small tin of watercolors, pens, pencils and a well of ink. There I would draw, paint and find the joy of child’s play through my paintings within my own secret playground.

As I grew, family responsibilities would not allow the time to play any longer and so I put aside my paints and pens. My father would insist that an education in art would be a wasted investment in a girl and therefore I would grow to believe that my art would be something shared only with friends and closest family members. But the joy of painting would remain always in my heart and I ever longed for those moments when I would feel that joy once again.

Many years would go by and a life time of wonderful yet at times very challenging experiences would slip through the pages of my life until my commitments to family that were ill and needed help would finally end.  Wondering what to do next with my life my oldest son suggested “Ma, why don’t you paint?  I promised I would give it a try and enrolled in a local watercolor class. That fall through the magic of e-mail we shared the images which I would create and together we shared that special feeling I had hoped would return for so long. My final for the class was an illustration I called the “Family portrait.” The family portrait is a collage of images that represents family to me.  This would be my very best effort, an “A” for final grade, and Christmas gift to my boy who had encouraged and inspired me to finally release this inner most joy.

I framed the painting for him for Christmas but was so poor at the time I could not afford to send it to Iceland so instead I mailed him a photo of it which he received Christmas Eve.  I could hear in his voice that he was pleased as we realized the dream we were finally sharing together.  I asked him if he was happy “Oh yes” he exclaimed “Ma, I’m a lifer!  I love what I do!”  I was so very proud of him.  As I hung up the phone that Christmas day I walked over to the easel where the “Family portrait” was displayed and as I caressed the painting with one hand I placed the other over my heart and tears of joy gently began to fall. The most wonderful sense of peace over came me.

Sadly one cold, starry night in a terrible accident while on duty in Keflavik, Iceland only a few short weeks after we shared our Christmas magic my boy would be taken while on duty in a very bad accident while on patrol along the Grundavik highway.  Proud, so very proud to be serving I could not challenge Gods choice for my dearest son. But my heart, a mother’s heart was completely shattered.  My painting and Christmas gift to him still on the easel became a focal point in my home through the memorial services and when it was finally over and I was alone once again I looked over to the painting.  As I caressed it this time with the other hand I clutched on to my broken heart and wondered if I could ever paint again.
Years went by and I tried endlessly, hopelessly to find the place where I could re-ignite the joy I had felt back then and paint once more.  I gave up believing that this gift would be something I could share with the world and became content knowing that it was shared with my children, and that was enough.

Looking for something to do and other mothers like me that had also lost their children in service I decided to take a leap of faith and become an American Gold Star Mother Volunteer not really understanding what that was.  I had been told that I had become a Gold Star Mother and thought that to be some sort of volunteer/support club I would simply become active in once "dues" were paid.  I did not realize that I had become a Gold Star Mother the moment my son was lost while on duty and that was something entirely different from becoming an American Gold Star Mother Volunteer.   Through a friend who was also an American Gold Star Mother I was encouraged to reignite my passion for painting.  Knowing she had also felt the challenges of loosing a grown son to military service I felt compelled to give it a try.   This mother challenged me to help with a Christmas card project for the American Gold Star Mothers and to illustrate the first Christmas card for them. I was honored and horrified at the same time!  I went home and cried floods of tears in anguish until in final desperation I prayed and asked my boy to please help me find the joy we had once shared.  I sat down at my desk, hands shaking at just after mid-night and picked up the pen and began to draw, then paint and couldn’t stop.  The results are what you see on this site.  I painted all through to mornings first light that first night.  Exhausted and scared that my art would not be good enough I e-mailed the images to the mothers for review. For the next several days we repeated this process until I had completed their request.  To my amazement the ladies of the American Gold Star Mothers liked them…..very much!  They decided to go ahead with the painting I call “The Christmas Quilt”.  That year my painting was the first in what they said would be a series of hand painted Christmas cards created by American Gold Star Mothers and their families. 

Today I am also a "Red Friday" Volunteer.  A Canadian custom adopted by us down here, we wear red on Fridays to silently thank our Miltary Service people and Veterans for their sacrifice and service to our country.  We also participate in voluntary and memorial services to support our Veteran and Military communities.  I now create and produce greeting cards which are delivered with the help of other volunteers to hospitalized Veterans all over the country in effort that they know they are never forgotten!

I paint almost every day now and for many, many people and organizations.  I finally feel the joy each and every time I do.  Once I believed that I could only paint because of my boy now I realize that I paint for him, his brother and his sister and because somewhere deep inside it brings me a joy that I would so much like to share with others.  I am still an American Gold Star Mother but now also enjoy the rewards of volunteerism through community service in many other areas. This has allowed me to expand my passion and dedication for the arts while providing an avenue to bring joy to those who so deserve knowing we are grateful for their service and sacrifices for our country.

My art is not trained professionally that is true;  but it has most certainly matured through the wonderful journey of life.  Through challenges and moments of great joy I have learned and developed the gift my boy and I once shared.  It is my hope that I may share these creations with you, that this journey of life may inspire you somehow and bring joy and peace to your heart as it has mine.

                                                                                                                               Welcome and thank you for visiting me here.