Wedding gift, Day 249

One of my most prized possessions is a painting my friend Wes Magyar did of me and Gerald (and our rabbit) after we were married. If the house was burning down this is one of the things I would try and rescue. This is just a detail of the painting but my favorite part. Our hands look so strong and capable of doing just about anything.

Little note, Day 200

I went to the University tonight to get a little work done and outside the entrance was a note. It made me laugh. We are in the process of moving out of our temporary art building into a massive new one. I can only imagine what the next occupants will be thinking about the art department as they begin to move in and see how the place has been modified. Artists always get a bad wrap.

Ghost Town, Day 127

I am concerned about the little town I live in. Businesses are closing- small businesses AND large chain stores alike. One family that we are close to is moving away because there is no work here and their unemployment checks will be ending soon. My other neighbors just closed their cleaning business because they lost their major clients. Although Lafayette is still a wonderful place to live, I wonder how another year with this frightful economy will be change the feel of our little town.

One hundred+, Day 100

Yesterday I received a gift from my father. He sends me the most unusual presents, often originating from the Long Beach flea market. Yesterday's parcel was a long mailing tube and inside was a very old painting (120+ years) from Tibet. It is amazingly beautiful, detailed, and large (approximately 60" x 47"). There are many gold accents throughout the piece which he was told are real gold leaf. The backside has 4 red hand prints which he was also told are blessings from the priests. He purchased 6 of these paintings in total, all different, which he distributed throughout the family. The painting has a strong presence, one that is awe inspiring. Owning one of the six paintings emphasizes a new and different connection I have with the other owners, one that was enhanced by my father's generosity and thoughtfulness. I feel like I am the protector of this painting, that it doesn't really belong to me, but I am watching over it until it is passed on to someone else. I have never before felt like this about an object, and it makes me reflect on all the other things I "own"...that everything is temporarily on loan until it moves on or I do.

Art, Day 32

When my son makes "art" he just makes it. He experiments with materials and how he applies them to the paper. He doesn't over analyze it before he places a mark on the page. When he is done sometimes I ask him what his piece is about. There is always a story behind it. Some adventure that he has gone on or something he has seen. He works intuitively. Sometimes they end up in the recycle bin but usually they end up in his "portfolio" where all his work is stored. He does a little (or a lot) everyday. I love watching him work because it reminds me of where we all come from. A place where anything you do is just fine, because you did. It doesn't need to be labeled "good" or "bad," it's just yours and that is enough. I would like to get back to that place. To do something for the sheer joy of doing it without my judgement interfering.