Art

Life beats down and crushes the soul and art reminds you that you have one. ~Stella Adler

Yesterday I received a note in my mail box that I had to go to the post office to pick up a package. After driving mom into town this a.m. for an MRI and breakfast out, we stopped to pick it up. This is what they handed me, a beautiful painted box….
With this label.

It is addressed to my maiden name. If you look in the box, it is empty but oddly enough it did give me strength which I will explain in a minute. First let me say I went on the internet to research the artist Franck deLas Mercedes, who can be found here…http://fdlmstudio.com/ . This is part of his “Box Series” of which you can read more about here at … http://fdlmstudio.com/PriorityBoxes.html .

The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance. ~Aristotle

So why does this empty box evoke a feeling of strength? Well I guess it is that someone (whom I don’t know as of yet) took the time to request this, took the time to think of me, and this artist so generously gives of his time and talent to others, which is pretty awesome all the way around. What a unique way to bring your art to people and have it touch them on such a personal level. The artist’s website states the boxes are “ to provoke thought, to make people reconsider their ability to influence change, communicate through art and make art accessible to people from all walks of life.”

I have placed the box on top of the computer. Each morning after the kids leave for school, I take my coffee and go sit there. Now along with the news, emails etc. I will get a daily dose of strength. Right now things seem to be on an upward swing here at Happy Acres but I am not delusional enough to think it will stay that way and I am going to need that daily dose, till then I will keep putting it in reserves. And as an added bonus the colors will brighten any mood.

When I first saw the box I was reminded of back in the 70's when I was in elementary school. Our art teacher came in with some sheets of construction paper that looked like this box. I loved that paper. I remember I took one sheet home and did bubble letters of my sisters name from it and I think I pasted them on a solid colored sheet and sent it to her in college. She called saying her room mate JoAnn wanted one also and boy was I proud! How strange the memories one can dredge up over the simplest things.

Oddly enough that was not the only art to enter my life recently. My sister had bought a puzzle for my mother to do. Now that her hands are healing we made fast work of said puzzle. We proceeded to make fast work of a smaller one so I went and bought a 2000 piece puzzle of Van Gogh’s Starry Night.

It is #1 daughter’s favorite painting. My mother asked if I was masochistic! This one will not be made fast work of!

My “art” if it can be called that was the Koolhaas which as of Saturday became an FO! And I might add a mistake free FO. This picture more accurately shows the color.As is my luck I frogged it on 1/24 and on 1/25 Knitting Daily had an article called Ripping Back Without Ripping Your Hair Out! Oh well….next time I will know.

Now I am off to make Mom and the man creamy French onion soup with homemade croutons (don’t have French bread) and Gruyere cheese which should make them happy. And I get to start another knitting project which makes me happy.