Similar Posts

Art in the Big Blue House
After over 17 years of living in my house, I saw it from the other side. Literally. My husband and I sat around a fire pit at our neighbors’ house across the street. It was the first time I’d ever been to a purely social event at a neighbor’s. When the topic of what I…

Screwing up in Style: Why Perfect Doesn’t Always Win
Ok, yes, I admit it: I have a little problem with perfectionism. In fact, sometimes it gets so overwhelming that I realize I’m berating myself for not having a better handle on my perfectionism problem. The good news is that my determination for things to always work pushes my creative problem solving skills to their…

Starfish and Coffee
I was deeply saddened when David Bowie died earlier this year and thought nostalgically of the many hours I spent listening and dancing to his album, Let’s Dance, in the 80’s. The day I learned of Prince’s untimely death, I got the wind knocked out of me. In recent years I’ve been less likely to…
Us
Life has been exceptionally rough lately. The thing I have dreaded for decades is happening: my godmother Bobbie, my chief artist inspiration, is dying. I can best describe her as an expressionist painter and sculptor, a folksier, heavy set Georgia O’Keeffe with a long white braid and always wearing a hat, and a woman who…

Women Versus the Gatekeepers
When I was a kid, the first thing I ever wanted to be was an astronaut. Well, technically, the first thing I wanted to be was a cat, but when, at the age of 2, I ordered “French fries and Little Friskies” at a restaurant, my parents freaked out, and my feline dreams fell aside….

Creating Your Own Reality with a Purple Crayon
I remember in elementary school, the awe and anticipation tinged with uncertainty as the teachers would pass out the Scholastic Books printed forms from which to choose books. I remember wondering how books came to be on the forms. Who got to choose them? Are these books on the list all there are? The only…