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June 18, 2015

Goddess

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After I graduated from college, I was at a loss for what to do with myself. I missed the regular philosophical discussions (still do), and dove into some fairly academic tomes, namely When God Was a Woman, by Merlin Stone, and The Chalice and the Blade, by Riane Eisler.

Having recently gone through what I now refer to as my Radical Feminist Awakening, I loved the idea that there was once a time when women were respected and the deity was female. I even made a pilgrimage of sorts, visiting sites that some researchers belief were while in England to look at graduate schools.

Not surprisingly, Stone and Eisler’s work is the subject of much controversy. Some people are quite threatened by the notion that patriarchy didn’t always rule.

Not me. It gives me hope.

NOTE: My daily paintings, and ArtSpark Newsletter, are taking a vacation next week while I’m away at Jazz Camp West. Have a great week and I’ll see you again on June 29th! 🙂

June 17, 2015

Sisters

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Growing up with an older brother, I always wondered what it would have been like to have sisters. I secretly fantasized about being Cindy from the Brady Bunch (it was probably her ringlets that made me want to be her, instead of Marsha or Jan).

June 16, 2015

Welcome

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In 1996 I went to my first calligraphy conference, outside of Seattle, Washington. It’s impossible to put into words the thrill I felt to be surrounded by 500 fellow letter-lovers, in a temporary village devoted to all things calligraphy.

There was something magical about that week (the first time of anything is always memorable, isn’t it?), and not all of it had to to expressly with calligraphy.

One such magical element was Ima Gnome.

I heard people asking whether Ima had arrived, and where she might be found. Who, I wondered, was Ima?

Eventually I found her. Or, well, not Ima herself, but her place of residence.

At the base of one of the trees on campus was a tiny door, with a tiny mailbox planted just outside, labeled “Ima Gnome.” A few inches away was a clothes line. And peeking out of the mailbox was a tiny note from a gentleman caller.

Ima, it turns out, moves a lot. She makes residence wherever calligraphers converge for an international conference. Nobody has spotted her yet, to the best of my knowledge, but she brings new accouterments to her accommodations each year.

Perhaps it was Ima who inspired me to turn a bumpy cone into a house. Whatever the inspiration, I imagine a cozy fire inside, a wooden sidebar with port and sherry, and many tiny books lining the walls.

June 15, 2015

Dreaming Dragon

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When I was a kid, one of my favorite songs was Puff The Magic Dragon. Except that it always made me cry.

Still, I sang it over and over and over. I guess I was drawn to it the way humans have been drawn to sad stories over the eons. A way to process sadnesses in our own lives that are too tender to touch, perhaps.

June 12, 2015

Prophecy

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Today is my mom’s birthday — Happy Birthday, Mom!

We didn’t realize it at the time, but when I was 6 years old, my mom was prophetic.

The year I was in Second Grade, for some reason I got stuck in the middle reading group, and I was bored. I finished the entire semester’s worth of reading in a few days, so my teacher gave me the workbook for the second semester, which I finished that afternoon.

Eventually, the school got wise and put me in a more challenging level, but in the meantime, I started adding curlicues to all of my letters. (Clearly, I was a child who [thankfully] found quietly creative, rather than disruptive, ways to act out!)

Mom and Pop liked to say I was the reincarnation of a Medieval monk, and were convinced I was going to grow up to be an artist.

I, on the other hand, found that notion ridiculous. I was going to be a vet!

Just goes to show you, Mom is always right!

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