She was beautiful... Even with a Tear

One would think that I wouldn’t have had any trouble staying in a positive frame of mind today. The sun was out, and it felt positively spring-like! My crocus popped their heads up this morning on the east side of the house. Such a wonderful harbinger of the coming warmth.  I took a few minutes this morning to watch ‘The Red Balloon’ on Netflix. I have vivid memories of watching this beautiful film in high school. Our French teacher, Madame Tellvik, thought it would be a good introduction to the life of a french school-boy. The color in this film is a palpable memory, but the ending was a pleasant surprise. I had forgotten how uplifting the message was.

The hard part of the day was dealing with the negative thoughts that creep in… when someone dissappointed me, when things didn’t go my way… when I wished someone had considered how I felt,  I tried very purposefully to remember the end of the movie this morning…. that even when the joy of the red balloon was gone, there was even more joy in store for the hero of the tale. I have been thinking of this mostly because I deal with a few people who are not positive, and it can become annoying, reminding them to keep it in perspective, listening to their constant saga. All I needed was a red balloon, following me 🙂

Another bright note was the opening of the 100 artists show at Mary Lou Zeek Gallery. My husband & I had been pouring over the images of the altered books all weekend…. picking our favorites. Last year I was one of the first to bid on a piece… one of my favorite artists, Jed Thomas. I have enjoyed that painting so much…. And I’ve been debating back and forth if I needed a piece from this year’s show. I held off calling until almost 12:30…. but finally gave in. When I found out my favorite (Chris Giffin) was still available, I caved 🙂 My husband & I decided to give it to each other for Valentine’s Day.

I don’t want anyone to think that I can just go around buying art whenever I feel like it. This is always a significant investment for me. We don’t take annual expensive vacations, etc. While we are not suffering financial hardships, we also still have to prioritize our spending. For me, art is a valuable investment. I feel so lucky to be able to afford it!

I had lots of little errands/busy work to do today. But I also finished my assemblage… or if you will, my found object collage. I used an image of my grandmother from the 20’s, an old brownie camera, an old seed/fertilizer spreader, handkerchief, a light bulb, feathers, lights, bits of slide film and paint. The piece lights up from inside, illuminating a tear in her eye when lit. Also, I added fibers of light inside the bulb which can be switched on seperately. It was difficult to photograph… wish I was better at that.

I dropped off my print rack in Beaverton for the Arts Commission Showcase this weekend…. made flight reservations for the Western Federation of Watercolor Societies show in San Diego coming up in May…. picked up the keys to my husband’s truck (he got the brakes redone)…etc. Lots of running around.

A Closer View... It's hard to see that the light is on

I really enjoyed my book club meeting tonight… great discussion of the book Dirt Music by Tim Winton. Maybe I was a little hard on it…. His writing was beautiful, I just thought the characters were all so flawed. And the male perspective of a male dominated society…. well. I may have a few prejudices about Aussie males, let’s just say.