Orchid Stories: Stories of Hope & Love Inspired by Orchids by Rolinda Stotts

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Orchid Stories

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,

VOLUME 1

Orchid Stories STORIES OF HOPE AND LOVE INSPIRED BY ORCHIDS

by ROLINDA STOTTS and contributing authors Foreword by Fabienne Fredrickson

Bella by Rolinda, ltd Erie, Colorado 2019

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For Stephanie

x Your faith, strength and courage are an inspiration.

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When we share our stories we come alive.

It is as if our lives only exist when we share them.

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Contents List of Paintings ix Foreword by Fabienne Fredrickson Preface by the Author xv Bella Rotta Style xvi Acknowledgements xvii

xi

Introduction by Fantasy Orchids .......................................................  Orchid Stories .........................................................................................  Hope, Love & Orchids ................... Stephanie .........................  Open to Miracles ............................ Cora .......................................  Prophetic Corsage ........................... Robert ..............................  Saved the Day ................................ Gail ...................................  The Oasis ....................................... David ................................  The Remedy ................................... Kandice ............................  The Symbol of Family ..................... Pablo .................................  A Gift of Nurturing Shared ........... Gillian .............................  Remind Me of You ......................... Jennifer ............................  Love That Keeps on Growing ......... Diane ................................  Resilience ........................................ Kathy ................................  A Special Tradition ........................ Heidi .................................  Messages from Mom ....................... Kelly .......................................  The Child in My Father ................. Adrienne ..........................  Guardian Angel ............................. Kate ..................................  Little Girl Love .............................. Jeanine ..............................  It Was Spectacular .......................... Steve .................................  Part of the Family ........................... Okicize .............................  Homecomings ................................. Pamela ..............................  The Need to Nurture ...................... Braidyn ............................  Eternal Optimism .......................... Summer .............................  Orchid Facts  About the Author



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List of Paintings Miraflora, " h x " w ............................................................. cover Lark Song, " h x " w ...................................................................... xiv Stephanie’s Orchid (including details), " h x " w ................... xvi Stephanie's Orchid, " h x " w ......................................................  Lions Dive, " h x " w .....................................................................  Sogo Yukidian, " h x " w ...........................................................  Neptune, " h x " w .....................................................................  Lady Chatterly, " h x " w ............................................................  Sunny Smile, " h x " w ..............................................................  Magic Art, " h x " w ................................................................  Fireside Fever, " h x " w ............................................................  Plum Tree Purple Wings, " h x " w ........................................  Beautiful Smile, " h x " w .........................................................  Night Shift, ” h x ” w .................................................................  Yin-Yi Scarlet Baby, " h x " w .................................................  Miraflora, " h x " w ..................................................................  Sweet Orange, " h x " w ...............................................................  Pacific Paragon, " h x " w ........................................................  Dream Lover, " h x " w .............................................................  Jaquelyn Red, " h x " w ............................................................  Nebula, " h x " w .......................................................................  Pacific Bingo, " h x " w ..............................................................  Kimono, " h x " w .......................................................................  Chiang Mai, " h x " w ................................................................  Khum Krairit, " h x " w .............................................................  Carnivale Rio, " h x " w ............................................................. 

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, Lark Song, 29" h x 22" w

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Preface

by Rolinda Stotts

I

recently found a muse in stories shared about orchids.

It all started with my own orchid story.

When my friend Stephanie was diagnosed with stage IV cancer, the news broke my heart. I needed to do more than pray and send my love. I wanted to give some hope. As I pondered over what else I could do, orchids came to mind.

I went to a friend’s orchid nursery and found a very delicate, small orchid that had multiple spikes of buds patiently waiting to bloom. I wanted this orchid to be there for Stephanie as she went through the rounds of chemo, blooming slowly over a long period of time to give hope with each new bloom.

Going to the orchid nursery and giving the orchid to Stephanie inspired me to paint.

My goal was to capture the hope and joy that had come from the gift of the orchid. Then the idea came to paint orchid portraits. I photographed forty-five individual orchid plants, documenting their names, bloom sizes, heights, and widths.

With Stephanie in my heart, I started to paint.

As I thought about my own experience, I wondered if there were more orchid stories out there. I reached out to my family and friends and asked if they had any orchid stories to share.

Beautiful stories came rolling in and filled me as I went to the studio. I was not just painting orchids. I was painting love. The love keeps growing as more stories pour in.

Within these pages, I am privileged to share some of these stories and portraits with you.

Bella Rotta Style

Each orchid portrait I have captured is a celebration of Bella Rotta. Bella Rotta is the name I have given my style of oil painting. It is Italian for “beautifully imperfect.” The element of imperfection in my work is intentional. I believe that imperfection is the source of all great beauty. That is why I break my paintings.

The cracks in the paintings are real and intentional. I believe touching is loving. I use a ten-step process to create each painting with my hands, touching and loving it into existence.

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The edges are torn with a knife and have a crust like quality to them. These torn edges make the painting feel like a found treasure from the past.

The cracks are real.

Fractures in the canvas allow imperfections to be celebrated in the Bella Rotta fashion. We are all Beautiful As Is.

I have intentionally created my paintings to be touchable. I want everyone to touch and feel all the love that I put into each painting.

I wanted to find a way to make an oil painting look old. I started experimenting and Bella Rotta was born.

, Stephanie’s Orchid, 35" h x 29" w I encourage viewers to touch and feel the cracks and torn edges. Making this physical connection with the art brings a sense of oneness that can only come with touch.

I love the meditation that accompanies manual labor and take great pride in my calloused hands. Each painting I work with brings me a deeper sense of joy as I celebrate the fact that my imperfection is beautiful, as are my paintings.

The fine art galleries that represent my work are like family to me. I cherish the friendship and teamwork that has been formed over the years of working together. If you would like to learn more about Bella Rotta or find one of the fine art galleries that represent me, check out my website, RolindaStotts.com.

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Acknowledgements

My heart is full of gratitude for this journey with Orchid Stories. I want to thank each person who has shared his or her orchid story. Your stories have changed my life. Going to the studio with your stories in my heart each day made painting the orchids a sacred experience. I believe all who read your stories will have an increase of hope and love in their lives.

Thank you to Stan, Kent and Taylor Gordon, of Fantasy Orchids—Louisville, Colorado for sharing your love of orchids with me. It was a joy to spend time with you in your world of beauty. Your passion is contagious.

It brings me great joy to see life though the camera of my daughter, Brindisi. Thank you, Sweetie, for the gorgeous photographs for this book.

Mark Pedersen, thank you for always being there with your skill and equipment to capture every drop of dew with your camera.

A big shout out to Scott Christner, Michele Callister, Gail Woodard, Heather Arellano, John Haffey, Kara Matsuda, Shelli Dimig, and Kathy Hadsall, Vicki Briner, Rachel Snider, Regina Gray for all their help along the way.

Terri Wright, your knowledge has created a new world for me I never knew existed.

Thank you for taking my heart and love and giving it the shape of a book.

Fabienne Fredrickson, you have taught me how to be a Boldheart. I thank you for giving me the courage to take this journey and for cheering me on in everyway.

Stephanie Morgan, how will I ever express the amount of love I feel for you. I am inspired by your courage and strength. Thank you for sharing your story with the world and gifting us the experience of being on this journey with you.

Last but never least, thank you, Ammon. You have always been my biggest cheerleader and greatest protector. Your love and encouragement give me the strength I need to live my life’s purpose. I am so excited for this next chapter of our lives as we co-create.

, If you have an orchid story and you would like to feel more alive by sharing it, you can submit it at OrchidStories.com.

Sending you love,

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Introduction

by Stan Gordon, Fantasy Orchids

W

here did I get my love for growing plants? My dad!

My mother had a hand in it as well when she unexpectedly introduced me to orchids by celebrating the birth of my first daughter with an orchid plant.

Little did I know that nurturing the blooms of this orchid would grow into a lifelong passion and future business.

Not long after the birth of my daughter I won a work competition that provided me with a trip to Hawaii. My wife encouraged me to search for an orchid nursery while I was there and it became an important pursuit on my trip. I found a delightful small nursery, and the owner was willing to feed my growing appetite. The more I learned the more my fascination deepened for these stunning global plants.

Six more years of “incentive trips” to Hawaii followed. Each time I visited I would meet more growers. After 3 years I owned 60 orchid plants. By then I knew 12 growers in Hawaii and the developing relationship I had built with them made it easy for me to call for helpful advice. I now had a “collection”. It was my living in Colorado that created a challenge in learning the best nurturing techniques for my orchids.

My father’s love of growing plants and my thirst for orchid- growing knowledge culminated in the creation of Fantasy Orchids. But it still comes back to my dad! I remember him saying, “When I retire I will buy a nursery so I can putter around and you can run the thing.”

Upon his retirement as a medical doctor my parents moved to Colorado to be near us.

We played around in the backyard with plants; especially orchids.

Nine months into his retirement he was diagnosed with cancer. For the next year he went through treatments but his healing of this disease was not meant to be. One day the two of us sat down to share our hearts and he says, “You know, you are on the same path I was on. I was going to work really hard so I could retire early. Then your mom and I would travel and have a good time. That’s now all shot to hell”. He ended our heart-to-heart conversation with, “You might want to think about that.”

Our conversation really hit me in a vulnerable area. At that point in my life I had been working as a stockbroker and vice president of a brokerage firm for 12 years. If I continued in my high stress level, I could end up like my dad, dying before I started to live.

Less than a year after my dad passed away I opened Fantasy Orchids in a small greenhouse behind my home. Four years later we grew from 1000 square feet to 10,000

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, Stephanie's Orchid 24" h x 17" w

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Hope, Love & Orchids

J

uly of 2017 marked the beginning of a new journey for me and the start of an uncanny love affair with orchids. I enjoy flowers, but I never really noticed orchids before I was diagnosed with stage IV triple-negative and metastatic breast cancer.

During that time, Rolinda and two other friends gave me orchids.

The first rounds of chemotherapy were exceedingly brutal. That’s when I understood why people would choose not to continue treatments. In the midst of this very challenging time, I looked at these beautiful orchids and felt the love of Rolinda and my other thoughtful friends. I knew my well-being weighed on their hearts, and orchids started to take on a deeper and more personal meaning for me.

Today when I look at my treasured orchids, I continue to feel the warmth and love given to me then, and its lasting support.

The Orchid Stories book expresses the message of hope and love in a whole new way.

Reading other people’s orchid stories touches my heart deeply. I realize I am not alone in my story with cancer; or in my appreciation of orchids.

I may be the one that has cancer, but other people are walking along side me. They are experiencing my journey of emotions and suffering. Many of them have also received and love orchids. Sharing my story not only strengthens me, but it also strengthens them.

It has brought love and hope into the lives of those around me.

With that spirit I share my story and the three big lessons that I have learned.

Let people know you love them. . . even if they are a stranger.

Love from a stranger can hit you even stronger than from your family and close friends. People I don’t even know come up to me and say they love me and are praying for me. It reminds me of the story of the Good Samaritan.

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, Lady Chatterly 36" h x 18" w

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Saved the Day

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hen I was in my twenties, I generally figured that in most circumstances, if something could go wrong, it would. Nothing catastrophic...but spaghetti landing on the floor rather than in the colander while guests waited for dinner? To be expected. A new car would certainly attract an accident three weeks later, wouldn’t it? An hour into a three-hour trek to a friend’s wedding where I was to be the photographer would be the right time to remember I had forgotten my camera? To be expected.

So on the morning of my wedding day, with all the anxiety and hoopla spinning about, I was not the least bit surprised when I opened the box of flowers the florist delivered and saw the most pathetic-looking bridal bouquet ever made.

Instead of a full bouquet of orchids I got one orchid.

It was my going-away corsage tucked into a bouquet of green leaves. I dropped the box on the floor, momentarily disgusted, disappointed and distraught.

And then it dawned on me. This was to be expected! This was the something that was going to go wrong on my wedding day! From here on out, things were going to be grand!

And they were. It was a fabulous wedding event that went on for twelve hours.

A single, perfect orchid saved the day from further calamity.

Gail

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The Symbol of Family

I

grew up in Orange County, California, not far from Laguna Beach where my Uncle Elmer lived. His house was above Crystal Cove, across from the Pacific Coast Highway. Uncle Elmer was a retired Navy man. I believe he reached the rank of Admiral and was one of the first Americans to go through the Panama Canal. His backyard was a large greenhouse full of orchids. My Mom told me that after Uncle Elmer retired from the Navy, he became a cymbidium farmer. He could walk you through his garden and tell you the names of each and every beautiful, intricate flower.

Uncle Elmer taught me how to be a gentleman. When I was a very young boy, he told me to always walk on the outside of the street, always open doors, have an umbrella ready and always get the tab. That’s what he told me with his words; but as a horticulturist, he showed me that a man (and commander of men) could love a flower. I imagine Uncle Elmer found solace and refuge in the beauty of the orchid after his lifetime of service to his country. As time went on and Uncle Elmer grew older, he gave all of his orchids to my Mother, who kept them well after his passing. They never fared quite as well coming inland twenty miles, nonetheless they were gorgeous and bloomed every year. My Mom has since passed, but the orchids are a true symbol of family to me: fragility, strength, resilience and beauty.

I didn’t realize the impact the orchid had in my life until I was able to view Rolinda’s orchid paintings. It was like a powerful jolt of emotion and realism (both sad and joyous). It took me back to my Uncle Elmer’s orchids and made me wish my Mom and Uncle Elmer could have seen these paintings.

I’m thankful for the lessons the orchid has taught me and believe my Mom and Uncle Elmer’s spirits live on through these amazing flowers.

—

Pablo

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, Fireside Fever 36" h x 17" w

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, Plum Tree Purple Wings 27" h x 23" w

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A Gift of Nurturing Shared

M

y mum managed a nursery and flower shop when I was little and she grew orchids for a few years.

Her dream was to have a sunken bathtub and when we built a house, she finally had one! All around the bath were windows and deep ledges with orchids of all kinds.

She just loved that room and her flowers. She was always able to get them to bloom, even one that had been in the nursery for years without flowering.

I had forgotten about this fun memory! In high school my girlfriends always wanted to stay over just to take baths and have my mum take care of them.

She was the best at that! Still is!

Gillian

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Remind Me of You

O

ne of my children was in a lot more trouble than the others in his teens and twenties. He’s also the one with the biggest and most sensitive heart. He wasn’t very bright in managing his life until he grew up a little bit.

He’s doing great now, but when he would get into trouble with the law, he would often end up in jail.

He knew how badly this hurt me and so the first thing he would do after getting out was make some money, buy an orchid for me and deliver it to my house.

He would always say something like, “They’re the most beautiful flower I’ve ever seen and they remind me of you, Mom.”

Jennifer

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, Beautiful Smile 24" h x 21" w

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, Night Shift, 40" h x 24" w

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Love That Keeps on Growing

O

rchids are my favorite flower and I love going to Hawaii to see them growing wild.

Every time I see a different orchid it becomes my favorite. Unfortunately, that only lasts until I see the next one.

My son and daughter-in-law are like orchid whisperers–they can grow them with very little effort. They have flowering plants that have produced kid, grandkid and greatgrandkid offshoots.

I have two orchids that are twelve years old but don’t seem to make any blossoms.

I have one big pot with several plants that bloom about every eight months. They’d probably all benefit from moving to my son’s house!

—

Diane

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, Pacific Paragon 37" h x 30" w

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The Child in My Father

O

ne afternoon, I watched my father tend to his orchids in the bay window of his English home. The colorful array of flowers seemed to glow in the sun’s soft light, each expressing a different personality.

My father didn’t know I was watching.

I had clearly stumbled into a moment of deep connection, love and pure joy. I could tell he was talking to the orchids; they were communicating in ways that only children and fairies know about.

In that instant, I saw the child in my father­—the innocent boy who was in love with the magic of the world. That moment will be etched on my heart forever. I’m so grateful to the orchids for the joy they brought my father.

Several years later, when he was dying from complications related to cancer, it was an orchid that gifted me solace.

It was a bright, joyful counterpoint to my sorrow because the orchid whispered memories of a life well lived and the boyhood wonder that brought my father so much joy.

—

Adrienne

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Guardian Angel

M

y son, Jerry, received many lovely gifts while he was in the Weill Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan for resection brain surgery (the result of the discovery of a stage IV glioblastoma in September 2015).

Among these was a lovely orchid. Another close friend gave him a crystal angel.

As the end buds on the orchid were still tight with potential, I slipped the angel onto one of the branches. The orchid took up residence in Jerry’s Manhattan apartment.

Both Jerry and the orchid bloomed there over the thirteen months to follow. She watched over Jerry as he went through radiation and multiple chemotherapy protocols.

She was on watch in her soft pink orchid bower as Jerry celebrated his 49th birthday in October 2015 and then his big 5-0 in October 2016. Both celebrations were held on the rooftop garden party area. We lit sky lanterns and sent them off into the sky. As one floated away over the river toward Long Island City, I felt a very big skip in my beating heart for the son I would soon lose.

By his 50th birthday, Jerry had been in home hospice care for about six weeks.

Jerry died three weeks later.

I lost track of where the crystal angel is now, but I’d like to think the real counterpart is with my son’s soul spirit.

—

Kate

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, Dream Lover 30" h x 20" w

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, Jaquelyn Red 31" h x 20" w

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Little Girl Love

M

y fascination with orchids began when I first saw them growing on volcanoes in Africa as a little girl.

My childhood home had plants everywhere, but no orchids. My grandma said they needed too much attention.

I decided that when I was a grown-up, I would have orchids everywhere in my house.

The first orchids I had were here in the U.S. I was so proud of them. They were blooming all the time.

When my oldest daughter was two she decided to cut the orchid blossoms and put them in her hair. She had the same little girl love for orchids that I do.

Jeanine

—

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, Pacific Bingo 33" h x 14" w

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Part of the Family

W

hen I was preparing to move to Chicago, my grandparents helped to pack up the kitchen. I heard my grandma mention to my mom, “Heather, we’ll take your plants and care for them for you.” I gasped. “No! You can take the succulents but not the orchid!”

My grandma replied, “Well what are you going to do, hold it on your lap for the whole trip?”

“Yes!” I said stubbornly. “I’ll hold it on my lap the whole time if I have to!”

I think my mom had been so overwhelmed with getting ready to move that she hadn’t even thought about what would happen to our plants. You see, we had a beautiful fuchsia and purple orchid currently in full bloom. It sat at the center of our dining table for about two years. My stepdad bought it shortly after we first moved into our new house and it went through countless blooms over the seasons.

The dining room was surrounded by windows and filled with constant sunlight so the orchid thrived in its bright, warm environment. It was there for all of the memorable moments we’d had while living there: birthdays, holidays, friends and family over for dinner almost every weekend. It got to the point where our orchid was simply part of the family. I couldn’t bear to leave it behind!

When moving day finally came, it was a mad rush to get last-minute items into the U-haul and the car. It all happened so fast. The next thing I knew we were on the road, U-haul and car packed like a perfect game of Tetris. Our beloved cat, Baby, was openly roaming the car and our two little dogs, Beans and Rice were next to me safely in their kennel. On my lap, and in an open cardboard box secured with small packing pillows, our orchid plant happily bounced along for the ride.

We’ve been in Chicago for eight months now. I wish we could have brought all of our friends and family with us... but at least I was able to bring the orchid.

—

Okicize

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Love That Keeps On Growing

Orchid Facts

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T

he journey of painting these orchid portraits has been an epic art and life experience for me. During this time of intense creation and study, I have learned some amazing facts about orchids that I would love to share with you. The paintings I have created and the facts I share are not scientific renderings but more the spirit and the essence of these amazing creations. Stepping into the orchid world has brought me so much delight. My hope is that these ideas will open your own heart and mind to look at the world in a new way that will delight you as well.

Family of Flowers Orchids, or Orchidaceae, are one of the largest families of flowering plants with as many as 28,000 accepted species. The reason there are so many varieties of this stunning flower is due to the fact that orchids are very open to giving and receiving. As I have studied orchids, this one fact has caused me to really pause and think. Orchids are not only willing to cross-pollinate but seem to take great joy in doing so. This openness has expanded the plant’s creative limits. This “why not?” attitude challenges me to be more open to the ideas that come to me, push me out of my comfort zone, and help me grow into something more beautiful. I love to look around and see all the varieties of beauty orchids have achieved. What a great inspiration orchids have become!

I think orchids must be quite clever and have a sense of humor. Some of the most unusual orchids I’ve come across make me scratch my head and wonder, “How did this variation even happen?” For instance, the Owl Orchid looks like a real owl. No kidding!

The way the petals form the whole face of the owl complete with eyes is spectacular.

The Monkey Orchid cracks me up with its goofy smile–showing off a full set of teeth as if posing for a photo.

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Over the top is the Naked Man Orchid. How is this even possible? I do think this orchid is so adorable. They look like a whole clan of happy men. It makes me smile to see them all dancing in a spiraling, circle of fun with not a care in the world.

I think the Bee Orchid is brilliant! It looks and smells like a bee for one purpose: to attract the male bee. The lovesick bee ends up getting coated in pollen before flying off to spread the life-giving substance to other plants.

Flavor and Fine Art Now for something really boring: Vanilla! I am totally kidding! How is it that vanilla gets this bad wrap of being boring or plain or whatever other non-special thing it is when we call something “so vanilla”? Vanilla is nothing like that at all. The vanilla seed pod is the fruit of the orchids genus Vanilla. The growing and harvesting of vanilla is so labor intensive, that it is the second most expensive spice in the world. Even though the cost is so high for vanilla, its flavor is so loved that it makes its way into so many of our lives. Next time you eat a vanilla treat, you can thank an orchid.

I find it interesting how smitten humans have historically been with orchids.

Orchid art dates back to 46 b.c.e. with stone carvings in the Roman Temple of Venus Genetrix. I wonder if the stone carvers creating those orchids felt as I did painting these orchid portraits. It’s exciting to think of sharing the same thrill other artists have had when capturing these amazing creatures. I hope that experiencing Orchid Stories brings you this excitement as well.

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About the Author and Artist Rolinda Stotts is an impulsive adventurer and a spirited creator. As a little girl growing up on a dairy farm in eastern Oregon, she wanted to become a bull rider so that she could do something thrilling and terrifying in public. Instead, she grew up to become thrilled and terrified in public as a professional artist, author and speaker. Her Bella Rotta paintings are in private and public collections around the world.

Rolinda lives in Colorado where she enjoys an empty nest with her husband, Ammon. Her growing family includes three children, two sons-in-law, and one grandchild so far.

To learn more about Rolinda’s work and the fine art galleries that feature it, visit RolindaStotts.com.

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