Seeking the Sublime in the Everyday

I've been feeling a little uninspired and overwhelmed by papers and stuff, torn by needing to clear the decks and get rid of everything that fails to spark joy, and then saying oh no, what if I need that some day? It's a paralyzing dilemma.  I threw a pile of stuff into a shopping bag with a sign that says,  "Stuff that I can't use but I can't throw away.  If you can use it, help yourself." I'll put it in the building's mailroom when nobody's looking.  Then I tidied my pencil drawer, and that was invigorating; maybe not life changing but it's very satisfying to look at the newly created order. Still stuck in the doldrums, I thought of that song, "We Need a Little Christmas" and I remembered this broken Christmas tree ornament that hangs on a shelf in my studio. It used to say "JOY" with a little train on top but the "J" fell off.  So now it says "OY", and when I first saw it I thought, "Well, that...

I've been thinking about ideas and how they come to me and what I do with them.  I can't remember who said this, "The muse doesn't t come every day but woe unto you if she comes and you're not home." I've written about this before, how sometimes an idea lodges itself in my mind and I can't move on until I put it on paper.  Other times I sit and stare out the window or at my nails and say, "Okay, Muse, whenever you're ready."   In 2002 my mother said to Jessie and me, "let's take a trip--you decide where."  I wanted Italy, Jessie wanted Australia so we compromised on Greece.  We took a cruise on a sailing ship from Athens to Istanbul.  Our first stop was Santorini, and who should I meet on the street but this happy couple(the Pelicans.) The mermaid was painted on the wall of a restaurant. That's our ship in her hand.   The pictures I take when I travel might drive someone else crazy. Here's a sample from an album I pu...

  Remember how last week I said I'd make the great sacrifice of getting my orange juice from the grocery store in a cardboard container? Here's what my friend, Carol Skinger said. "Hi Barbara,   We solved the orange juice problem by stopping drinking it probably 30 years ago.  We just get oranges or clementines.  Don’t even bother to make juice out of them.  Green peppers and red peppers have the same amount of vitamin c as orange juice.  We decided OJ was just another sugary drink.  But when we were in Stowe a month ago our old neighbor Lyndall Heyer invited us for Breakfast.  Not only did she and Scott give us fresh squeezed OJ but they made us whole wheat sourdough waffles. They grind their own flour! On top was fresh fruits and homemade yogurt and Lew Coty’s Maple syrup!! OMG soooo good. And they set a beautiful breakfast table under a darling tree for shade and cooked the waffles outdoors as we drank coffee!  Now THAT OJ was worth it."...

 Are you rushing to your Post Office?  As soon as I finish writing this I'm heading out to buy the Yogi Berra forever stamp.   Look at that face.  Yogi was known for great quotes, one of which is, "I'm ugly, but nobody hits with his face."  Maybe he's not a matinee idol but what was Rudolph Valentino's lifetime batting average?  We do what we can with what we have.  Like reducing single use plastic.  I told Arthur we should quit buying orange juice from Costco in four packs of 2 quart sized plastic bottles.  He said, "It's such an infinitesimal amount!" I look at those bottles and think of how many eons they'll sit in the landfill--or worse, float in the ocean.  I looked for ways to re-use the bottles and their caps. I saved a lot for an art project but now all I have is a couple of jars of plastic junk on the top shelf of my home studio.   If you have a use for any of these these items, just let me know. I could throw it all a...

 Are you rushing to your Post Office?  As soon as I finish writing this I'm heading out to buy the Yogi Berra forever stamp.   Look at that face.  Yogi was known for great quotes, one of which is, "I'm ugly, but nobody hits with his face."  Maybe he's not a matinee idol but what was Rudolph Valentino's lifetime batting average?  We do what we can with what we have.  Like reducing single use plastic.  I told Arthur we should quit buying orange juice from Costco in four packs of 2 quart sized plastic bottles.  He said, "It's such an infinitesimal amount!" I look at those bottles and think of how many eons they'll sit in the landfill--or worse, float in the ocean.  I looked for ways to re-use the bottles and their caps. I saved a lot for an art project but now all I have is a couple of jars of plastic junk on the top shelf of my home studio.   If you have a use for any of these these items, just let me know. I could throw it all a...

Are you rushing to your Post Office?  As soon as I finish writing this I'm heading out to buy the Yogi Berra forever stamp.  Look at that face.  Yogi was known for great quotes, one of which is, "I'm ugly, but nobody hits with his face."  Maybe he's not a matinee idol but what was Rudolph Valentino's lifetime batting average?  We do what we can with what we have.  Like reducing single use plastic.  I told Arthur we should quit buying orange juice from Costco in four packs of 2 quart sized plastic bottles.  He said, "It's such an infinitesimal amount!" I look at those bottles and think of how many eons they'll sit in the landfill--or worse, float in the ocean.  I looked for ways to re-use the bottles and their caps. I saved a lot for an art project but now all I have is a couple of jars of plastic junk on the top shelf of my home studio.   If you have a use for any of these these items, just let me know. I could throw it all away but then...

Here's the Star Spangled Banner! I went through all thirty volumes of my collage books to find what I did with the Stars and Stripes.                                                                                                                                                                           F ireworks and Chuck Berry. A carved Uncle Sam and a giant flag. Jasper Johns, Winslow Homer and  a New York City Skyline. A flag and a little cabin. You know who. Jasper Johns again. Just the stars this time. It's still a grand old flag!