Dear Rita,

Thank you for your gentle entry into this world, teaching me about the power and beauty of women’s work. Thank you for your placement as the last of our tribe, teaching me daily to enjoy the precious, fleeting moments. Thank you for your devotion, teaching me how to love. Thank you for your fire and wit, teaching me how to laugh through life. Thank you for your independence, teaching me to release control. Thank you for your creativity, teaching me how to marvel at the world around me. Thank you, dear one, for all that is you.

All my love,

Mom

Dear Marcia,

Thank you for your example of faith and devotion to God, family, and community. I have long admired the way you love and give generously of your time. You are a great listener: compassionate, thoughtful and wise. I am grateful for the conversations we’ve shared when we’re together and your example of an engaged life when we’re not.

I love you.

Jenny

Dear Darcey,

I am grateful for light in the dark. I am grateful for layers. I am grateful for struggles that turn into joys. I am grateful for conversations. I am grateful for crossed paths. I am grateful strength. I am grateful for courage. I am grateful for friendship. I am grateful for you.

With love,

Jenny

Dear Julie,

In my part of the world the grasswidow is a herald of spring. It is, for me, a gift of promise and tender compassion that the struggle of winter is over - that light and life are returning. For a brief period of time, select hillsides are carpeted with this powerful message. It is a joy like no other to walk through this promise.

My dear friend, I can’t express how much I love you, and how grateful I am for you. I can only offer you a flower. Please know that it holds it all.

All my love,

Jenny

Dear Juliana,

I am grateful for your wisdom, intelligence, adventurousness and devotion. Thank you for walking with me, running with me, hiking with me, and talking with me. I always leave our interactions - whatever their form - feeling invigorated, stimulated, and deeply grateful that somehow I’m lucky enough to be your friend.

With deep love and gratitude,

Jenny

Dear Annelie,

The process of creating this heart was unique. It involved many layers of joint compound(!) and paint. In between each layer I would sand and scrape and sculpt and scar, both creating and revealing the piece’s history. It was surprising and fascinating to see what would emerge. Just like this heart, I am grateful for all the things that have made you you. Some have been good, some not so good - but both have worked together to create the woman I love and admire. Thank you for your kindness, willingness to serve, patience, love, generosity and incredible work ethic. Thank you for continuing to push on - adding layers and scraping them back - always growing stronger and more beautifully complex.

I love you.

Jenny

Dear LeeAnn,

I am amazed by you! You inspire me to work hard to carefully choose the thoughts I focus on. I am grateful for your lessons of perseverance, determination and resilience. I am grateful for your ability to get back up when you’ve been knocked down over and over and over. You are incredible.

With love,

Jenny

Dear Kharynne,

I am both inspired and grateful for your ability to make both the light and the shadows beautiful. I am amazed by your talent to find the humor in every situation and not take life or yourself too seriously. I am also grateful for your inability stay silent when you see injustice. You have a huge heart and I’m grateful that you’ve shared it with me.

With lots and lots of love,

Jenny

Dear Kristal,

You are such a delightful human. I am grateful for your ability to lift the weary, cheer the sad, and comfort the lonely. I am grateful for your gift to see past the obvious and into the heart of both situations and people. Thank you for listening to me and being a friend when I really needed one. Thank you for your beautiful smile that is always ready to brighten and cheer. Thank you for you.

Much love,

Jenny

Dear Tami,

Oh my goodness. At the time of this writing it has been so, so long since we’ve connected. I want you to know how important our friendship was when our paths crossed so many years ago. I am grateful for the wisdom and compassion you shared with me. I am grateful for your tenderness towards the earth and all her creatures. I am grateful for the generosity of your time, attention and friendship. I remember saying goodbye to you and weeping all the way home. Your friendship meant more than you can know.

I love and miss you,

Jenny

Dear Tuli,

How I love your healing, loving, wise spirit! I am so grateful that we have shared so many tender and personal experiences - you’ve been at my side during some of the very best and very challenging times, always supporting me with love and tenderness. I am grateful for your hugs (they are the BEST!!!), the way we can finish each other’s sentences, and conversations that spread out over afternoons and into the evenings. Thank you for inviting me into your life and heart. I love you so much.

With deep gratitude,

Jenny

Dear Susan,

Oh, my dear friend! I can’t tell you how much I needed you when we moved here! I had been living in a personal, cultural and physical desert. There was so little that fed my soul and I had been slowly dying for years. Coming to your class was finding an oasis. I immediately fell in love with you and fiercely protected class time - it was MY time and I desperately needed that space with you and with myself. I slowly began to reawaken and find my passions again. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your kindness, gentleness, love, support and this precious gift. I am so very grateful.

Namaste,

Jenny

Dear Mrs. Jeffery,

When I think back to my elementary school years, your class is the first that comes to mind. I remember lots of color, wonderful projects, and delightful books being read aloud. I loved how you treated me like someone important, someone worth talking to. I have carried your request for me to become a teacher for my entire life. While I am not a teacher within the school system, I am absolutely a teacher at heart and love leading classes, discussions and workshops. I try to make them as fun, interesting, and colorful as yours were. Thank you for inspiring me early on. You made a difference.

With love,

Jenny

Dear Julie,

I often think of you when I’m in the studio. You’re philosophy of “more is more” inspires me to push past boundaries and work a piece more than I normally would. I am always - or at least almost always - so glad I did! Your use of color and texture and pattern consistently delights and moves me. I’ve also been incredibly inspired watching your journey as an artist. I’ve been part of your fan club for about a decade and oh my goodness! What you have accomplished in that time is astounding. I appreciate your reminder to show up and put the time in - day after day. Thank you so much for your mentorship - even though you’ve never known you were doing it.

With deep gratitude,

Jenny

Dear Ms. Oliver,

Your words have the power to touch my soul in such a real, raw way. You have a gift for capturing the beautiful truth in light, leaves, wing beats, waving grass, mud, shadow and movement. I come back to your work when I need to be grounded, inspired, and reminded of the blessed gift of life. Thank you for the hours you spend watching and writing - I am a direct beneficiary of the investments you’ve made. I can’t thank you enough for the way you’ve helped me to see more clearly and love more deeply.

With profound gratitude,

Jenny

Dear Colleen,

Thank you for your wisdom, your kind words and your compassion. Thank you for your generosity in conversation, time and resources. Thank you for loving the people I love the most. Thank you for being patient in hard situations, for staying the course, for always showing up.

I love you.

Jenny

Dear Brenda,

You came into my life at a crossroads and I am so grateful for the gift of art that you gave me. Thank you for teaching me that art is a language - that I could use it to express the inexpressible. Thank you for giving me the space, materials and encouragement to rip back all the layers and lay them out again in color, line, texture, light and dark. Thank you for sharing your passion. Thank you for sharing your heart. Thank you for sharing your time. Thank you for listening. Thank you for critiquing. Thank you for being in the right place at the right time with the right tools. I am beyond grateful.

With deep love and gratitude,

Jenny

Dear Shaila,

It has been an honor to watch your transformation from shadow to full sun. That I could witness the unfolding of a lovely woman is one of my greatest joys. I am grateful for every smile that was aimed in my direction. For conversations and hugs. I am grateful that you have left the nest - ballast released, wings unfurled, and lift off achieved. I am amazed by your strength, courage and general awesomeness.

So much love for you,

Jenny

Dear Meg,

For someone I don’t know, you hold a great deal of sway in how I strive to live my life. I am grateful for your kind, wise, connected philosophy of living and parenting. I am grateful for the bits and pieces of the personal triumphs and heartaches you share. You are a womanhood mentor for me - kind, strong, tender, fierce, nurturing and compassionate. I hope to meet you in person, but even if I don’t get that opportunity, I’m so grateful for the reminders you’ve given me to slow down, listen, and love.

Thank you,

Jenny

Dear Vicki,

The first time I met you my impression was how quietly warm and inviting you were. Years later I still feel the same. It is so easy to feel welcome and peaceful around you - there is nothing false or strained - you are just you, wonderfully you. I am grateful for this as well as the love you’ve given Dave. I love you and am so, so grateful for you!

All my love,

Jenny

Dear Dr. Rudd-McCoy,

You were with me during my first adult heartbreak - when the blush of youth’s dream faded and I woke up to the reality that sometimes life is devastating. I’ll never forget the kindness and dignity you offered me. And the pure joy we got to share later. You were water in the desert during such a bleak time for me. I am grateful for your time, attention, and compassion. So profoundly grateful.

With so much love,

Jenny

Note: I found out after I completed in the Hundred Hearts Project that Dr. Rudd-McCoy had passed away in 2016. A Women’s Center in Hermiston, Oregon has been named after her. It is a fitting memorial for a woman who was dedicated to the compassionate care of the women in her community.

Dear Trixie,

I don’t know where to start. I don’t know where to end. You are a walking miracle and an incredible example of love, faith, compassion, strength and endurance. When I need to dig deep and do what seems impossible I think of you and your constant press onward and upward. You inspire me and all who know you. Thank you.

In gratitude,

Jenny

Dear Jill,

Thank you for your unrelenting dedication to continually reach out and help both me and my family. I am grateful for the thoughtful offers of time that you have given me. I can’t fully express how much I have appreciated that kindness. It has been an incredible gift for both me and my family. But especially me. An empty bucket has nothing to give and you, on many occasions, have allowed me to fill it back up. It’s a been a ripple-effect gift. I am so, so grateful.

With love,

Jenny

Dear Beth,

I am so grateful for you showing me what opening doors for your children looks like - and where it can lead. I have long admired the gentle way you’ve raised your kids and how you’ve trusted them to do hard things from a very young age. You’ve challenged me to re-think what is possible, to allow my own children to pursue their dreams, and use our resources to help our family move forward. When I think of your family I think of roots, wings and mountains. Thank you for this vision - it influences my own more than you know.

With love,

Jenny

Dear JuliAnn,

Your seemingly impossible strength amazes me. Your ability to find humor in everything inspires me. Your relentless dedication to your family humbles me. I am grateful to know you and even more grateful to be related to you.

I love you.

Jenny

Dear Bev,

Thank you so much for creating a space of homey delight. It has brought me so much pleasure to spend time with assorted treasured women within your walls. I’ve renewed friendships, kindled new ones, and bonded more deeply with beloved family members. I always knew that you would treat us with a delicious meal and wonderful hospitality. Thank you so much your pocket of grace and warmth in our little town.

In gratitude,

Jenny