It was precious to see the excitement of my students, all the boys and girls, who were so proud of their art and with their help to be part of this exhibit. I saw and felt their nature and pure love toward the world. One of the art pieces that they had made together was put up for auction and 100% of the proceeds went toward helping the St. George of Kratovo Church. I was so excited about this, to see that the work of our children can be so helpful in both the United States and overseas.
Thank you to Father Goce and the committee of St. George of Kratovo Church for helping me to become an important part of this annual Macedonian festival. Many thanks to the Macedonian Consulate Igor Dukoski for visiting and sharing his time with us. It was especially my pleasure to work with Menka Przekop on preparing for the traditional exhibit and to combine that museum with Galleria Monique's art presentation. It had been my wish for a long time to create a Macedonian museum and now it has finally happened. I was very pleased that I had a chance to display all the artifacts from my mother with the world beyond Tudence. Each time I had returned home to Macedonia over the past 27 years, I had brought back to America something very special that my mother had made, and I believe that I will one day have a museum and share her work with everyone. I wanted to share the traditions of a very talented people through my mother's crafted treasures. Thank you to all the people who donated artifacts! Many thanks to everyone who helped with the preparations of the exhibit, with both moral and financial support.
Part of the exhibit took place outside, where it was beautiful: with traditional Macedonian music and food, lots of people, and a perfect atmosphere. Watching everyone enjoying themselves and visiting with their friends and family gave me a lot of joy. I felt like I was a bird and I could fly far off to the glorious Macedonia, and for a moment, I felt like all of that was concurrently happening in Macedonia. That feeling was very dear to me. The best part of this was having a chance to meet many new people and to see that they are interested in our mission and our project for the children. This was what I had wanted to see, working together to make a difference, and to see that people want to be included and contribute to this in any way they could. To see and to feel in my heart the notion of people helping each other is what puts a smile on my face. And this is what makes me strong and brave, and able to believe in myself, to never give up, and to live by this: That everything is possible, that if you can see it and believe in it enough, it will happen.
Thank you, with lots of love from Galleria Monique!







