Week 3 Check-In, Sun. Nov. 20, 2005

I did my morning pages 7 out of 7 days this week - a first! Mostly I enjoy them as I've always been sort of a stream of consciousness writer - for letters, for lists, whatever. My planned artist's date was a trip to GoodWill on Thursday night. I spent more than an hour wandering through the store, poking through all the racks, etc., to see what I could find. I was disappointed that the only thing I could find that I was willing to purchase was a full-size sheet in Indonesian cotton that I will eventually use as a quilt back for something -- very soft fabric with a muted, elegant pattern -- something shabby chic is calling for this as a backing. Hilda reminded me that you should do GoodWill frequently and with no expectations (I didn't think I had expectations - certainly not of what I would find, but I guess I DID expect to find something - something more useful in the creative process I guess.

Five people I wish I had met who are dead:

1. Anwar Sadat -- was fascinated by this man who sought peace in a geographic area that has known so little of it.
2. Kate Hepburn -- she seemed so comfortable with herself and didn't seem to waste time worrying about conforming to societal norms - in her dress, in her actions, etc. She moved beyond all that at a much earlier age than most.
3. Ansel Adams -- I love black & white photography and there are any number of names I could fill in here of people I would love to have met, learned from, etc. I think his landscapes are gorgeous.
4. Tina Modotti -- another black & white photographer, contemporary of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, who took beautiful photos of Mexico and the Mexican people.
5. Mother Theresa -- she is the epitome to me of kindness and caring, giving up a privileged life to care for people who have so little.

5 people I would like to hang out with in eternity:

1. and 2. My maternal grandparents -- I spent a great deal of time with them from the time I was born until they both passed away and I loved every minute of it. I'd love to have more time with them. My grandma quilted and taught me to piece my first 9-patch blocks. And my grandpa was just so special --if I could find another of him, I'd probably be married today. He was a carpenter, and I loved to go stand in his shop when I was a kid and smell the freshly cut wood, paint, etc. (okay, so I'm a little weird - maybe sniffing the paint fumes is what did it!).
3. My Mom -- she passed away last April and we were very close. I didn't get home in time to have one last talk with her - although I did have it, but she was in a coma and wasn't able to respond. I miss her a lot -- frequently thinking of something I'd like to share with her and I should give her a call, only to remember that she isn't available to me in that way anymore.
4. Georgia O'Keeffe -- Another woman who was comfortable in her own skin. Considering the era in which she was born, she took so many risks and made a number of life changes. I love her art, love the area of New Mexico where she ultimately wound up, would like to talk to her about her life and art. This summer I took a tour of her house at Abiquiu, as well as going through the O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe again. The house is so interesting and has a fabulous view of the country that she spent so much of her life wandering and painting.
5. Frida Kahlo -- I also love Frida's work. Have read a couple of biographies, in addition to seeing the movie. She worked against such terrible odds as far as her health was concerned, but was so prolific as an artist despite it. I've also been to her home, the Casa Azul, when traveling in Mexico and it was such a wonderful expression of her personality. And her life always seemed to be lived at fever-pitch - no boredom allowed! A good life example for "never put off til tomorrow what you could do today" - but in a different context than the way my mom used it - as a reason to get the housecleaning done!

As far as synchronicity goes, I was originally thinking that nothing happened -- then I thought again about being disappointed in my artist's date on Thursday night. Yesterday I had a wonderful day of filling the well/artist's date revisited or whatever. My friends Michael & Greg recently bought a house together, and yesterday they had a yard sale so I started out my day by going by there to say hi and see what they had for sale. I wound up with patchwork throw or bedspread made out of Chinese silks ($5), a string of purple-y grey freshwater pearls that I plan to take apart to use for embellishment ($3), 3 rust-colored ceramic tealight holders for my porch (3/$1), a good-sized beaded organza gift bag in a rusty red color ($1), a set of 3 pairs of large tweezers -- largest is about a foot long - that I thought I ought to be able to use somehow in the dyeing process ($3), and a small pewter colored pin of a stag's head with oak leaves behind its antlers and acorns below and a gold cross between the antlers (free) - asked Michael what the significance of it was, and all he knew was that he bought it when he was in Germany and people wore pins like this on their hats - though it would be useful as an embellishment for something some day. When I got ready to pay and leave, Michael said all the items were his and Greg's and to just take them. Yard sale experience - priceless! The throw has some seams that have come loose, but I'm thinking about taking it apart anyway and using a piece of it for the altar cloth for the altar for my Mom - or actual doing a quilted, embellished art piece as a tribute to her - or both. Then I took my artist for a walk in the desert up at North Mountain Park. It's part of the Phoenix Mountain Preserve, a bit of wilderness preserved in the midst of the big city. It was a perfect day for it, sunny & warm enough, but not too warm. I watched some tiny birds for a bit -- and wished my birder friend Hilda was with me to identify them. I sat on a rock for awhile and played lizard since I didn't actually see any - was finally quiet enough that more birds forgot I was nearby and I got to watch them a bit. Also walked through an area that fire had gone through - don't know how long ago. Made me think about the fragility of the desert ecosystem and how careful we need to be of it -- yet in the midst of the burn area where the soil and rocks are still covered with black and most of the vegetation is crisp, there would be small patches of green poking through to remind me that things in the desert are also tenacious. Came home and made two parfait jars of dyed fabric and a mud bucket - today I can't wait to rinse to see what I got.

And on Friday, I ORDERED MY ARTIST A DIGITAL CAMERA! Okay Deb, you don't have to keep pushing me toward that one anymore, cause I finally took the plunge. I'm hoping it arrives tomorrow or Tuesday, so I can take it to Hilda's with me over the holiday weekend and play with it. I asked them to expedite the shipping so I will hopefully receive it in time. It was the only one of the things I listed in the Detective Work exercise that I was being stingy with my artist about that I thought I could actually afford at this time.

So my weekend has been really good for filling the well, artist's date - the whole enchilada!

Pat