While in NC, Mom and I took the back road to the family reunion. I wanted to see the family cemetery, the site where Grandma grew up, the church where the reunions used to happen and any other sight that seemed connected to Mom’s family. We were tootling along a country road, and suddenly I […]
All grown up
While at the family reunion in North Carolina, I had a most interesting conversation with Cousin Don. He said his dad, Uncle Lank (derived from Langston), managed apple orchards at the Moses Cone estate. It is now a part of the Blue Ridge Parkway National Park (or is it a monument?). There are miles of trails […]
Family Cemetery
Mom and I were creeping down a steep gravel road in a rented car in the fog. I love to explore and see new things, but seeing wasn’t easy in that fog. As we worked our way down off the “mountain” (I am sorry for being such a California mountain snob), I said “grassy clearing […]
I am not a freak
Isn’t that a nice feeling? You go along in life, wondering why you are the way you are, wondering if anyone else has ever done the same things, wondering if you will ever meet anyone else who gets you. . . not that I care about other people’s opinions, but sometimes it does get lonely […]
A Quest
My maternal grandmother, AKA Grandma, was one of 12 children born to Martha Bob and Edward Elisha in the hills of North Carolina. Of the 7 girls, she was the only one to attend and graduate from high school, leave North Carolina, and eventually get her driver’s license! (Such a maverick, that G’ma of mine!) […]
Life at the Painting Factory
Didn’t want you all to think all I do is stand before an easel – I DO have a life. Sort of. Okay, maybe it is more of a Cat Disorder, but it is MY Cat Disorder and I am quite content with this state (even though I know I can’t just quit anytime I […]
How to be an (professional) artist in Tulare County
That is the title of the talk (“lecture”) that I gave yesterday at the Creative Center in Visalia. The three items are: 1. Love the place; 2. Be flexible and 3. Never quit. The turnout was small, (I think “intimate” is the word used for such things) and I knew all but 3 people. After […]
A Random List – Learned in January
While away over the weekend, I learned many new things. Here they are as they pop into my head: Google Maps can be used to see photos of the road and Carol showed me how! Single plied yarn knits up visibly different from multiple plied yarn (I always thought I was doing something wrong but […]
Thinking like an artist
You know how you just cruise along, living your life, not giving any thought to how you measure up to anyone else? (Maybe you think about other people’s opinions, but I don’t very often.) So you’re just cruising along, doing what you do, doing what comes naturally, and BOOM! Someone tells you that you are […]
Time Out
In The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, she insists that field trips are very important to cultivating creativity. Yesterday, I took her advice (or was I using it as an excuse to mess around instead of work?) Have you ever heard of the Forestiere Underground Gardens in Fresno? I’ve been wanting to visit since 1978 but […]