Artist Statement: Each early morning as I walk the beach, I speak with my Father in Heaven and thank Him for the beautiful day and this blessing He has given me to live here on this beach on the Atlantic Ocean.
From June to October, any lamps in my condo which might bring light onto the beach are kept off or dimmed at night. It is the loggerhead turtle nesting season. Lights from buildings or activity by people can be very disorienting to the female turtle when she comes ashore at night to lay her eggs. She may possibly turn back into the sea.
Once a mother turtle comes ashore to lay her eggs she will continue up the beach to dry sand. She digs a large body pit with her flippers. Within that pit she digs a tear drop shaped hole with her back flippers. She will drop over one hundred eggs into the hole. Once finished she will cover the pit completely, turn around and head back into the sea. Her eyes tear up as she slowly moves back to the ocean.
Depending on the temperature of the sand, the eggs will incubate for approximately sixty days. The hatchlings break out of their shells, dig out of where they have been buried, and as a group scurry to the moon lit horizon. Lighting from our homes can confuse them.
These baby turtles have many obstacles to overcome. The eggs may be eaten by animals such as raccoons; the hatchlings may be picked up by the seabirds or attacked by ghost crabs. If they do not quickly arrive at the water, they will die of dehydration. They get caught in fishing nets; by boat motor propellers and are eaten by other sea life. Only a few will survive to adulthood.
Bio: Jeanne Harris Weaver, a two-dimensional artist, paints primarily in oils at her condo on the ocean in Cocoa Beach Florida. Of her vocation, Jeanne says "Painting is the recording of the world, its environment and humanity through my eyes, my senses, my spirit. When that expressions touches another’s soul, the worth is great."
Jeanne’s primary interest has always been to paint the sea and its environment. In recent years, her interests have expanded to painting portraits and specific paintings for her church, St. David’s by-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Cocoa Beach. She donates many paintings for auctions and other such events which raise money for charities and missions which her church supports.
Also, an author of Losing Todd: A Mother’s Journey produced and published by the Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William and Mary, Jeanne was awarded an honorary degree in 2017 from the college for her book and the paintings within it honoring the life of 1LT Todd William Weaver, killed in action in Afghanistan on September 9, 2010.
Jeanne’s work is a reflection of God’s presence in her life. She hopes others can sense His presence in her works.
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