Often on a Thursday night when I sit to write my post, I am torn in multiple directions. The headlines are hard to ignore even by those of us desperate to be in the here and now, tending to our own local fires. Many folks run around propelled by the latest gossip, perhaps they too are desperate to get far away from it all? My cold run generally helps. Getting away from a screen and breathing in that mountain air a natural tonic for most.
When I picked up a paintbrush after decades of neglect, it was only to feel the movement and color generated by emotion. The whole act an avenue to reconnect with a joy that was absent due to the rage of COVID 19. Alone in my garage as day shifted to night I allowed myself the freedom to explore, and that is exactly what I did during all those shuttered days of 2020, adventuring across canvas or wood, a swirling palette of choices made in the moment. Pure heaven, my mother would have announced if she stepped into the makeshift studio on one of those hot summer nights, the last light splashing against the walls and me dancing about in full party girl mode. And now, you ask? Yes, still painting, but oh my, the canvases have piled up, so what better time for a Holiday Art Sale?!? Tis the season to wrap up my little loves and send them off to a new home.
Even in the darkest of days one searches to find a flicker of light, perhaps cutting through the fog or slanting between the clouds, and if you can find it, if only for a split second, it does the heart good to take that hope in. Absolute darkness does seem to be the state of affairs clear round our little spinning Earth of late. From the butchers who attacked Israeli civilians on October 7th to the recent ‘Nazi talk’ from the off-the-rails GOP frontrunner, not forgetting the Russian invasion of Ukraine that’s close to two years of bloodshed, or that many of our own Senators are bent on creating a theocracy likening themselves to the misguided yet mighty Salem judges and causing as much suffering as they did in 1692. Yes, there is no doubt, these are dark times, not made better by extremist of any religious bent. But today, of all the days in the year, I strive to find a reason, or even a short pile of reasons, to clasp my hands together in gratitude.
Nine Cent Girl 