Journal

As I settle back into the studio after an amazing Artist in Residency in Montana (coupled with 8 off the charts Art Shows) I'm realizing that my succulent garden did not receive the right amount of neglect the last few months. It seems like a perfect metaphor for the fervor of life post quarantine compared to the quiet certitude of closed and canceled life.

I'm wondering if you also miss the slower pace? I admit, with all the going here and going there, I was so overstimulated with ALL THE ACTUAL PEOPLE, that I missed connecting with MY PEOPLE, you, in the way we connected before. 

Now I’m going to let you in on a little secret. At my house, the end of every argument is ended and put to rest, FOREVER, with a Hug. Sometimes, when thoughts and emotions are too much to tame and explain, we just say, “Can we Hug it out?” Sometimes, it takes some real arguing to get there, and other times it’s fast tracked. Now, you gotta know, it’s perfectly acceptable for either party to say “No.” It hurts a little, mostly a lot, but it’s about respecting someone's boundaries and allowing them the space to decide when they want to move on. 

So cute! Wooden box, all little green bits promising to thrive on neglect and small amounts of water. Surely the perfect plants for me!! Perfect size for my desk! (A desk which is the first grown up desk I’ve ever owned- bought it last fall after stalking it online and in person for nearly a half a year.)  Perfect right next to the lamp (Costco buy and it’s twin is in my family room) to the right of my monitor, a bright green, adorable reminder that we are all living and connected.

 Except they started dying.

I can promise you, I was giving them ALL the neglect they needed. Stressed about my green experiment and NOT wanting my husband’s over two-decade premonitive admonition to be true, I moved them over to my studio windowsill. Lots of sunshine there!! And I fussed. I may have overwatered them if my niece is right—we had a frantic facetime consultative intervention when I noticed big, bold, juicy leaves on the rug. AHHHHHHHH!!!

I planned on writing a great Journal Entry for you concentrating on Design and my “Design Process”, but I’ve been distracted. Forgive me? I’ve been in the house since March (and I’m grateful for the house to be in since March, by the way). And so, when considering my design aesthetic origins, what it is that drives my work, I, of course, settled on the debate: Star Wars vs. Star Trek. (Please know that both aforementioned names are copyrighted by Walt Disney World Studios and Viacom-CBS respectively (as of this writing in July, 2020). I mean no disrespect or infringement, and only mean to discuss the illustrious franchises with the utmost of fan respect.)