First Aid For Artists

If you wander around my house you will see murals, some high, some low.  The walls have different styles of textures, some made with trowels, some with whisk brooms, some with screw drivers and plastic bags. The backsplash behind my gas range is an original of much loved aspens. I create mandalas, plaster masks and I work with clay, pastels and watercolors.

My husband often warns visitors not to stand still too long or I will paint them; not a portrait but literally paint them.

Doing art and being an artist seem like two completely different things so I was surprised by an event on Tuesday afternoon, one of my granddaughters came to hang out with me.  She was sharing the excitement of the first couple of days of school.

"Mom says I don't have to have a Dtap shot!" she excitedly announced, as she reached down for a little blue plastic Fisher-Price doctor's kit the girls keep on one of the shelves of the coffee table.

"But, I think you should have one!" she says to me.

She opens the little plastic box that has a red cross painted on the top. She opens it and pulls out a yellow plastic otoscope (to look into ears). She checks my ears. "Yup," she says, "Just as I thought."

In true physician fashion, she doesn't tell me what she thought!

She then pulls out the the plunger/barrel part of a red plastic syringe. "Sorry, we're going to have to give you your Dtap, all 21 doses of it!"

Reaching back into the blue box, she pulls out a small woven bag filled with crayons! She reaches in for the green, installs it where the needle would go and gives me a little shot! She removes the green crayon, returns it to the bag and pulls out an orange crayon for my next dose.

"Lainy," I ask, "Why are there crayons in the doctor's kit?"

"It's a first aid kit, Nana, and you are an artist! Artists needs crayons in their first aid kit!" She smiled that big smile as she rolled her eyes, "Derrrr! Everyone knows that!"

So, I guess it's official. I am an artist because my first aid kit has crayons in it...24 crayons....because I am just that good!

Act III

Acts I and II of my life have come and gone. It appears that the curtains have closed for a short Intermission.

The characters are changing costumes, refreshing making-up, maybe, even, going pee-pee!

We know it's just a matter of time before the lights dim, the curtains open, and Act III will begin!

Damn it, I can't find the script!

Is it possible I forgot to bang out a script? I was kind of busy during Acts I and II, school, children, loves and lovers, broken heart. and soaring heart, but, still...who does that? Who forgets to write the third Act?  I bet William Shakespeare never had this problem. The playwright, Keith Passmore wrote The Last Time I Saw Paris.  It was a comedy but I bet he had the third act written before he  went into casting.  What was I thinking?

The crew and I dodge into the props room. We've to jot down some quick notes, some key ideas before the curtain go up!

"Hell, I've got this! We'll wing it!"

Well, of course, Bill's whole existence is winging it. While I sincerely want him to join us in Act III, I am not willing to wander around the next 30 years of my life waiting to respond to the conversations and actions of others. Neither are any of the rest of us, with the exception of Beatrice. If Beatrice joins us in Act III, we are going to insist that she read the Tao of Pooh (as many times as it takes).

Mrs. Richardson brings us paper and a very sharp pencil.

We jot down a quick outline.

ACT III

  I.   Pro-active
       A.  Initiators or Responders?  

("I know you can get the job, but can you do the job!"
  "Bill, please, not now!")

    We vote.    Initiators? 7 votes. Responders, 1 vote.

Initiators it is!

(Note to self: Make sure Beatrice understands difference between Initiator and Instigator!)

 II.  Change

      A. Is "Because that's the way we've always done it" a valid reason?  7 nays, 1 yay (She'll get over it)
      B. Is "But I've never done that before" a valid excuse?  8 nays (Thumbs up, Peeps!)
      C. Is "But I'm afraid" a valid excuse? 4 to 4 ~ (We'll have to work on that one.)

III.  Adventure

       Myra Lipinsky a "woman of a certain age" in the book Never Change believes her life has been like the girl who sits in the hall with a cigar box on her lap selling tickets to the prom but never attending the prom.

      A. "Are we going to the prom this time around?" I ask the troupe.  Yays have it! Unanimous!

("Oh, mis queridos, I shall wear midnight blue chiffon!"
"It's a metaphor, Sinthya, not a real prom!
"Si, I know, but I need the perfect dress for a metaphor!") 

 IV. Third Party Influence

      A.  Will we let "What will people think?" influence our actions?   

Me:  "No!"

Ms. Machado:  "No!"

BabaMara:  "Absolutely Not!"

Carly-Anne:  "...mmm...maybe a little...."

Beatrice:  "Hell, No!"

Mrs. Richardson:  "We must conduct ourselves in a manner....."  (Really, Mrs. Richardson, aren't there some figures that need to be added up; somewhere? anywhere?"

Sinthya:  "Seriously, you ask me this question! Have I ever worried what people think?"

Five "NO's, we've got a majority.

Take your places everyone! Dim the lights,! Cue the curtains! Still no script but we can work with what we've got for now!

Let Act III begin!

Small Town Entertainment

We live in a small town, not village-small but small enough that I run into people I recognize or who recognize me all the time. People often walk up to me and ask, "Where do I know you from?"

Now, I live in a small town, so the opportunity for entertainment is pretty limited.  the Crew and  I like to make my/our own fun. We've created a little game of "Where Do I Know You From?" Bill wanted to name it "Yanking Your Chain" but we vetoed it....too obvious even for Beatrice!

It's really fun and there is always room for one more! Would you like us to teach you how to play?

Say, you're sitting in the DMV waiting area and an older woman with knitting needles and yarn is sitting across the aisle from you. She looks up from the ski cap (Green and Gold, obviously a Green Bay fan ). She leans towards you and whispers, "Have we met?"  With as much shock as you can muster, eyebrows raised and arms up, reply, "Oh My God! How can you forget me? I will never forget that dance you did on the bar. That was such a fun night! Did you ever find your bra?"

I know you are trying to figure out which one of the crew said that, but, sadly, it was me, all me!

Next scenario:  You're standing in line at the bank. Some guy in a three piece suit looks you up and down, then staring straight into your boobs asks, "Do I know you?"  Take a little step back. Shaking your head as if looking for an exit and respond, "Oh, I was on the jury at your trial. I bet you looked cute in those orange jumpsuits!"



BabaMara did a good one. Though, as usual, she twisted it up a little. We were at the Farmer's Market at a nice little stand with wonderful veggies.  The merchant was packing up a couple of jars of honey for a customer. She asked her husband if he would help us.  He had been sitting on the tailgate of their pickup truck cleaning the dirt out from under his nails. With a rude huff, he looked up at us.
"Whad'ya want?"  He was a little scary so we decided that we could purchase green chili at another booth. As we turned to walk away, BabaMara waved goodbye to him saying, "How's your bridge? Say hi to the Billy Goat brother's for me!"

So many arenas, so little time!

The following are potential answers you might want to try in different scenarios.

Where Do I Know You From?

"Group therapy at the rehab. I'm not surprised you don't remember me! You were pretty wasted!"

"Shh, we're supposed to be anonymous, remember?"

"Shh, they may still be looking for us."

"Wow! You do look familiar. Were you at Attica? I've only been out a week though I still insist that I didn't kill intentionally that guy. It was an accident!"

"You probably saw my picture on America's Most Wanted! I'm surprised you recognize me, that really wasn't my best photo!"

"Yeah, Man! You're that Dude from the Mother Ship, right?"

Life Review Part I

It started with throwing a load of towels in the washer.  Granted, we have a pool, but there is only my husband and myself living here.  I did a load of towels three days ago yet I counted 10+ towels as I tossed them into the washer. 

Side note: I wasn't actually the one counting! Mrs. Richardson started the counting, which will come as no surprise to any of you. She is of the mind that an immense amount of waste and inefficiency goes on around here!  It went something like:

7...8...9..(passive aggressive sigh)...10...

An acapella chorus of "shut up's" interrupts her count. 

We know she continued to count under her breath as the occasional passive aggressive sighs continued and could not, in any way, be construed to be "under her breath."

Once the washer started its cycle, Mrs. Richardson stepped into the kitchen and caught the entire crew gathered around the island dipping spoons into a jar of nectarine-jalapeno jam.  

(Cue the sigh!)  "If we are all so well integrated in one cohesive personality is there any reason for separate towels and separate spoons?"  

I often wonder if she was born with her hands on her hips, it comes so natural to her. Maybe she was a Marine drill sergeant in a past life!

We ignored her. We know it's rude but we pick our battles. While we all know that ignorance is bliss, we have also discovered that ignoring can be blissful, too.

After the last spoon was rinsed and deposited into the dishwasher, BabaMara reached into one of her many pockets, pulling out a folded sheet of rainbow colored paper with a long list of questions scrawled on one side.  "As long as we are all present and accounted for..." (was that another one of those p.a. sighs that we are so good at ignoring?)...I believe that we are due for a Life Review!"

BabaMara believes as Socrates believed, "an unexamined life is not worth living!"

Beatrice, being the grump that she is, hates examining anything but other people's mistakes, miscalculations and manipulations! God forbid she should be forced to examine her own!  I, for one, believe that if she were to closely examine her own mistakes & miscalculations & manipulations, she might slip into the ethers. While that may leave the rest of us in peace, it would only give us Mrs. Richardson to harass and Carly-Anne to tease and where is the fun in that? Beatrice is a challenge and dodging flying objects is the only serious exercise we get!

"What positive changes have you made to your life?" BabaMara asks, looking directly into my eyes (which, by the way, is a difficult trick to accomplish from the inside!).

I passed my turn on to Carly-Anne, who was doodling on a napkin! 

"What? Why are you all looking at me?" 

"Pay attention Carly-Anne." BabaMara repeated the question as she gently took the pencil from Carly-Anne and dropped it into one of her deepest pockets.

"Mmm, well..."

"Deep subject"

"Stop it, Bill!"

Carly-Anne continued her stammering, "I, uh, I spend a lot more time in the studio drawing and sculpting Rosaries and less time baking brownies and melting butter for popcorn. When I can't sleep, I get up to paint instead of tossing and turning!"

"Very nice, Carly-Anne, you've come a long way. Ms. Machado, what have you done lately in the way of positive changes to your life?"

"Our Kindle is the most positive change for me. I can read, read, read. I don't have to wait for a ride to Barnes and Noble or the library. What a miracle of technology!"

I happen to agree with Ms. Machado, mostly! I love the Kindle but there are still those tomes that need to be held, to be highlighted and underlined. There are stories that need the scent of paper and ink, the tactile experience of page turning, to be fully realized. If you are reading to a child, there is a certain suspense and excitement that builds as each page is slowly turned.

As I write these thoughts, I look around and everyone, including Mrs. Richardson and Beatrice are nodding. It's nice to know that there some things we agree on!

"Bill? What about you?"

"Let me e'splain...no, there is too much, let me sum up..."

"No Princess Bride, Bill! What positive changes have YOU made?"

"In the past week alone I have watched The Abominble Dr. Phibes four times, The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai in the Eigth Dimension 8 times, Post Cards From The Edge several times. The couple of times Machado, over there, put down the dang Kindle, I read four of Koontz's  Odd Thomas books. Man! I picked up some great material!" Pulling the Marlboro box from his sleeve to roll his own cigarette he continued. "You'll all be able to relate to this one. "Given my heritage and the ordeal of my childhood, I sometimes wonder why I myself am not insane. Maybe I am!""

"Nothing like maximal ambition!" Oh Beatrice! Where's the tolerance?

BabaMara raised one eyebrow as she pulled a pretty little jelly jar from one of her many pockets and placed it in front of Beatrice, who immediately motioned a tick-tock, tick-a-lock-throw-away-the-key with lips pressed tightly closed.

"Beatrice, what positive change have you made?"

Beatrice pointed to her firmly closed mouth! The gang applauded and congratulated her for a job well done! Wouldn't it be nice if she really threw away the key?

"Dear Sinthya, it's your turn!"

"So much, so much. I tossed out those monstrous flannel sheets from our bed and replaced them with soft bamboo linens. I purchased 3 bottles of Opi polish, Umpires Come Out At Night which our toes are beautifully wearing," (all heads duck under the table for a peek) "Blue My Mind to go with my new bra and bikinis and some silly little pink for Carly-Anne when she cleans the clay out from under her nails.  I stocked the refrigerator with some feta and blue cheese, green grapes...and...let me think....oh, I replace the batteries in...."

"Thank you, Sinthya! You are very thoughtful!"

"De nada, Senora Baba, es mi placer."

"Mrs. Richardson?"

 "Yes! I sharpened all my pencils, I arranged the pantry items in alphabetical order and I finished the flyer that you all kept putting off for weeks."

Have you ever seen seven characters do a completely synchronous eye roll?

"BaraMara , y usted?"

"Positive changes I have made to my life!" BabaMara fluffs her skirt and pulls out another rainbow colored sheet of paper. She reads, "I promised myself to count to 13 before depositing anyone into a jelly jar and to use only the prettiest jelly jars from now on. I danced in the light of the full moon, I listened to the angels play their cellos while swimming in the dark of the new moon.  I sewed four extra pockets onto my favorite skirt and filled them with mugwort for lucid dreaming, cedar and sandlewood for the third eye and sea shells just because I like them. Saturday evening I took plum jam to the elves and they treated me to jasmine brandy and barbequed mushrooms. I have a massage scheduled for tonight and tomorrow morning we will have french toast with honeysuckle syrup."

Sitting a little taller around the table, we immersed ourselves in the positive energy of self care.

"Can we go?" whispered Carly-Anne.

"No, we have more questions to answer!"

"Can't we examine our lives tomorrow?"

Bill might spent the last week absorbed in cult classics but he never gives up on the old standby, Groundhog Day,

 "What if there isn't a tomorrow? There wasn't one today!"

The Realm of Infinite Possibilities

 "Go beyond the impossible and kick reason to the curb!"

Bill is one of the characters that makes up my personality! His part of me is exceedingly irreverant! Not out of disrespect or disdain. It's just that life, real life, reminds him/me of movies, books, plays or even "real life" events. 

You see, not only am I highly intuitive but I have the gift/curse of being empathic and suffer from PTSD. We use Bill's  quotes to lesson the blows we often feel when in the midst of sharing someone's pain or distress. We use the quotes to distill another's anger or hate. Bill is our safe-guard from being swept away with emotions, our own and not our own, it is often hard to distinguish the difference.

I have a flyer to create today. The flyer is a single side of an 8 x 11 sheet of paper. The aim is to edit a 7 page proposal, not counting the bibliography, down to a single sheet, without losing the message.  We will be offering a class of contemplation, a class designed to help people see the divine in the mundane, to witness the holy in every day events.

The flyer consumed every moment of this morning. Sitting with my feet in the pool, sipping tea, the crew and I discussed what to cut, what to include.  Chopping up the veggies and fruit for our juice, we discussed chopping 'this' paragraph or 'that' sentence.  Even while showering, we saw meaningful sections trailing away, down the drain, anonymous runoff to be lost in some murky water, somewhere.

Group Consensus: Creating the flyer is going to be an unreasonable and impossible task.

Sitting at my desk, I fired up the computer. Opened Word. Opened the original proposal document! Clicked on File drop down menu, then a click on 'New'; 'Blank Document'; 'Create'.

Ta Da! A barren blank white page.

"This is impossible!" I thought. The impossibility of the task echoed in my head, each member of the crew agreed. Each aspect of my personality saw the futility of accomplishing the goal and getting it to Fr. Jonathan by the end of the day.

When the echoes subsided, Bill's voice rang strong and clear.  "Go beyond the impossible and kick reason to the curb!"

Who knew Bill even knew what Anime was, let alone to quote Kamina!

"Go beyond the impossible...." Instantly we are transported to a small dark room. Sinuous drapes of gossamer silk seperate, revealing a cavernous room of possibilities.  Reason stands guard, hands on hips, legs apart, feet planted solidly in our path.

BabaMara threatens in a rich, loving voice, "Mr. Reason, How would you like to be a  pink centipede with 50 pairs of teensy-weensy roller skates on your teensy-weensy feet?"

Reason swiftly turns and runs to the curb! BabaMara has a real kick to her!

We glide into the realm of  infinite possibilities, a space just beyond the silken curtains of the impossible.

We can do this. This flyer is going to rock. Thank you, Bill, you are our hero!

"Great heroes need great sorrows and burdens, or half their greatness goes unnoticed. It is all part of the fairy tale!"

Yes, The Last Unicorn is one of Bill's favorites.

"The secret of being a hero lies in knowing the order of things. The swineherd cannot already be wed to the princess when he embarks on his adventures, nor can the boy knock on the witch's door when she is already away on vacation. The wicked uncle cannot be found our and foiled before he does something wicked...."

Okay, Bill, we get it!

"...Things must happen when it is time for them to happen. Quests may not simply be abandoned; prophecies may not be left to rot like unpicked fruit...."

Bill, we need to get to work!

"...unicorns may go unrescued for a very long time, but not forever. The happy ending cannot come in the middle of the story."

Bill, heroes fit in jelly jars, too, you know! I love the BabaMara part of me!

Bill nods, "Never run from anything immortal! It attracts their attention!"

Revisiting An Old Friend

Trees are the longest living of all of God's creations on this earth.

What can they teach us?

Not only does the tree live by the adage "Do No Harm" but every moment of its being, a tree is conducting life in a productive, nurturing and creative manner.

The tree absorbs poisonous carbon dioxide into its leaves, changes the chemical make-up, producing oxygen which benefits us all; fresh air for all breathing creatures.

Miles and miles of tree roots disperse through the earth, aerating the soil, preventing the ground from compacting. Have you ever tried to dig a hole in compacted earth?  Imagine a delicate seedling trying to break through, or a little earthworm bumping its little noggan on the hard mass of compacted earth.

If there is an isolated tree in a forest or garden that is floundering due to lack of water the surrounding trees transfer moisture to it through their root system!  Now that is nurturing!

The profusion of branches and leaves across the sky provides shade, a little haven of respite on a hot day. Those branches are also nooks and crannies for birds to nest, squirrels to hide their stash of winter stores.

Falling leaves cover the ground, providing a winter blanket  As the leaves decay, the process warms the soil and protect the bulbs and corms and sleeping plants. Nitrogen is produced, feeding the roots and plants.

There is never a time, in its natural state, when a tree is not being creative. It is constantly growing, bud, leaves, branches, expanding it's horizons.  Even in the state of dormancy the tree is creating miles and miles of roots underground.

A tree does not protect itself by attacking its enemies, yet it does not stand idly by, and letting it's enemies attack. Tree's produce bark to protect it's tender wood from infestation, from scorching in the sun's heat and from exposure to the elements. Some trees create their own chemicals, oils or gas that thwarts intruders.

Is it any wonder the God uses a "tree" to hold the forbidden fruit even though fruit grows on so many other plant types.

Is winter a tree's sabbath?  Does it "keep holy the sabbath" by its resting?  What does a tree "DO" in the resting?

Every part of the tree above the ground is idle, it grows no leaves, no branches during dormancy. But underground, ah, underground the root system is expanding, big roots, tiny capillary roots, all are growing, preparing the foundation for the next season's growth.  Is there a message in the tree for us.  Is our day of rest merely a day to attend religious services or a period for a tranquil, openness of soul?  A day to while-away or the opportunity to really be in a state of attention, to listen, to prepare the foundation for...?

Creativity is vital to the longevity of the tree.  I believe it is also vital to our health and longevity. As long as we continue to create, to learn, to teach, we maintain vitality. What do you do to maintain your vitality?