Giving it all away
"It makes a person broader"
Reading about artist Ruth Asawa (1926-2013), some notes I jotted down:
giving it all away
resourcefulness
beauty from cast off materials
opened the doors of her studio
“the schools”
monumental
school board meetings
I feel I can read about an artist and be swayed. Not in a negative or comparison way, but in a way that says “here’s what I like about their story, here’s what I want to take and do, here’s the type of legacy I’d like for myself.” For Ruth (and me) it’s the schools, the kids, the passing on, and the reuse of materials. It’s the volunteering of time. It’s seeing hope in the generations around us. It’s getting a brush in the hands of all kids, not just some. It’s doing it all without a perfect plan in place first. It’s just doing it.
How did it happen so fast? Where did all the grown ups go? Where are their voices? Let food in.
Went to the VMFA with Theo in a stroller after camp. He was tired so I walked him and his feet touched the ground and I had to remind him to pull them in. When he saw the coins and the greek vases and the mummy he jumped out to look. I loved the Jacob Lawrence and the women in the window in the Hopper painting.
Iron & Wine at the botanical garden last night.
I made outdoor cushions for our couch today. The first, slowly with my mom on Facetime reminding me where to start and Lila laying on the fabric. The second, with Theo home from camp and Lila asleep, showing him how to pin his own costume. Then one after bedtime, with Andy helping to pin and cut and The Notebook on in the background. I made an extra cover for a small throw pillow too. And also for our back bench with a zipper side that I got from SCRAP for a dollar.
Sam share some film images from our session together last September in the studio. I love their feel, it puts me right back.
Working two big paintings at once (on canvas rolls I got from SCRAP for $5). Oil paints are back out. The color mixing is unmatched and gets me every time, as does the smell. My jar of dirt from Peddie fell off my shelves as I was moving things around. It shattered. Andy asked me if I kept any dirt, he knows how much it meant to me. I said no, it had little glass it in everywhere. It was an old baby food jar full of dirt from campus that Cathy Watkins gave to me senior year - the ‘most grounded’ award.
Having a hard time with the news. Having a really hard time not feeling hopeless. But we all have our voice and that’s a good place to start. I’ll keep using mine. Stop starving babies.
Can you imagine telling someone they can’t be at the beach? They can’t put their feet in the water they grew up swimming in? They can’t gather rain water? They can’t feed their children. It could have been you, me, us. It shouldn’t matter that it isn’t.
Amy Sherald canceling her show at the Smithsonian, because of censorship over this painting. The show is up at the Whitney right now if you are lucky enough to see it. She is brave, she is using her voice for others. Our government is not.
Went to the river. Put our toes in. Felt the breeze and the shade and the sun. Hugged our children tight.
