Seeking the Sublime in the Everyday

What do we say when we see someone suffering?  What is there to say?  Certainly not, "I know just how you feel," or, "don't worry, time will heal," or, "It was God's will."   Often we say, "Our thoughts and prayers are with you."  And what does that mean, and what good does it do?  I've been thinking about prayer since I saw and wrote about Barbara Lubliner's beautiful prayer flags last week. I think a lot about prayer, especially at the times when I’m supposed to be praying and can’t figure out how to do it. I was talking with my brother, Alan, about a person we both knew.   “He’s so pretentious,” I said, “He prays with his head thrown back and his arms up in the air, just like a televangelist.” “How did you know what he's doing if you're praying?” Alan asked me. Theologian Frederick Beuchner  has said that if all we ever did was give thanks that would be enough for a lifetime of prayer. That may be true, and I've...

You know how you hear a new word or one thought and then suddenly you hear it everywhere?  Last Sunday I started thinking about the spider. I was walking to church, listening to NPR, not really paying attention but something planted a seed or maybe an egg or a germ of an idea.  I thought of this photograph by my aunt Jan of a spider's web adorned by morning dew.   She told me that as the image emerged in the developing tray she almost jumped out of her skin when a spider appeared.  Do you see it? Right in the middle.  Jan was terrified of spiders although she appreciated their beautiful handiwork. I keep this in my studio and think of her. The spider holds a vital position in our ecosystem as both predator and prey for a multitude of other animals. I'm grateful for every mosquito caught in a cobweb and so never got to bite me. But today I'm thinking of the spider as muse.    Look at this sculpture by Louise Bourgeoise.  This sculpture is titled Ma...

Allow me to introduce my friend and fellow Barbara,   Barbara Lubliner She has an opening this evening at Carter Burden Gallery, 548 West 28th Street, 5-8pm in her words: This 5-part piece is based on Tibetan Buddhist prayer flags. It is made of upcycled plastic slide sleeve pages, various paper scraps, and paint chips. Transforming these castoffs into art underscores the power and possibility of transformation. Each flag is 43 x 26 inches. As I made the flags, I imbued them with positive feelings, meditating on loving kindness and wishing good will out into the world. They are meant to spread peace, happiness, and good fortune to all.  I'm going-I hope to see you there too! Here's what Barbara has to say about being Barbara of the Day; How many Barbaras do you know? When my son was little, he told me he knew three Barbaras. Mommy Barbara, Barbara the babysitter, and Nick the Barbara. My son had just come back from a fun time sitting on his dad's lap getting his first hairc...

 Aren't you ready for even just a little bit of good news?  I know I am. So here it is. https://www.billionoysterproject.org The oyster is more than just a delicious and luxurious treat.  with a little help from us, it's going to save the Planet, starting with New York Harbor! Here are some of the reasons to love your oysters besides the fact that they're adorable, at least in Tenniel's  illustration for Alice in Wonderland and The Walrus and the Carpenter.  \ Oysters are a sustainable food across the board;    not only do they  have no negative impact on the environment but oyster farming has a positive impact on the environment in these ways. The Oyster is a Keystone species which means that  Oyster beds provide architectural  complexity and structure which serves as an essential habitat for many other species to raise their young and hide from predators.  Oyster reefs act as barriers to storms and tides, preventing...

  Today I'm celebrating the birth of my grandmother, Louise Mayhew Russell Swanson, March 13, 1899.  I've posted this story of the day she died several times and I'm sharing it again.  It's now a regular thing, celebrated with pink balloons.  Some of you remember her, so enjoy.  Most of you do not so take this moment to remember someone in your own life who deserves a few pink balloons.  Then maybe share that person with me? My family made a special tribute to MomMom  without planning it.   My middle name is Russell. Jessie's is Mayhew. and Molly's is Louise.  Put us all together and we spell... so here's the story; My grandmother, Louise Mayhew Russell Swanson, we called her MomMom, died at home early in the morning on my daughter Jessie’s 7th birthday.  We were there, and after several hours of phone calls and business, after the doctor and the undertaker had left, I looked at Jessie and thought, this little girl needs a celebration....

Remember how Teddy told me I should put some people in my new drawing?  Well, I agreed that it needed something, so I added a pelican.  Why a Pelican?  It always reminds me of my grandmother, who loved this poem, A funny old bird is the pelican His beak can hold more than his belly can But I don’t see how in the … you know the next line but she would never say hell.  I love the pelican; graceful in flight, slightly goofy on land, full of character.  He is the unexpected answer to a problem for me, that is, how to I express my faith in my art?  How do I declare my faith without preaching?  My dad  gave me a clue in this story.     He made friends wherever he went, such as the people who ran the Quick-Stop where he bought his morning coffee and the paper.  They invited him to a baby shower for their daughter.  He knew that meant buying a present; most men would delegate that job to the wife but Dad took himself to a baby sto...

 I hit a nerve last week when I spoke of my fallow period; many of you said you're feeling the same.  For my first Wordle guess yesterday I chose  allow   and then realized if I added an F I'd have fallow. Then I looked it up, just to be sure I knew what I was talking about.    Here's what the dictionary says;   "(of farmland) plowed and harrowed but left unsown for a period in order to restore its fertility as part of a crop rotation or to avoid surplus production." I don't have to worry about surplus production, but restoring fertility sounds like a good.  Also, "A fallow period of time is one in which very little happens."   Then I thought of a verse from People Look East, one of my favorite Christmas carols, actually an advent carol, because it's all about getting ready for the coming. "Furrows be glad when Earth is bare One more seed is planted there Give up your strength the seed to nourish that in time the flower may flourish, People ...