The Rich Tapestry

We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.  --Maya Angelou

A new mural covers the wall of a building across the street from the National Park's Brown v Topeka Board of Education site.  We were given the opportunity to help underwrite the mural project and to paint on it some as well.  The day we painted was memorable for me.  As I worked, my family painted alongside me on the right, and some of my students painted with me on the left.  I have worked with many students through my years in the Topeka Public Schools.  We chose TPS for our own kids' education.  USD 501 does not have a perfect history, but it does have the distinction of being the place where America attempted to right a wrong for a little girl named Linda Brown and all other children who would follow.  Children deserve safe, welcoming, and adequately funded schools in which to learn.  It is a priveledge to do my part to help see they get that in Topeka.

Ten Things of Thankful

A Supreme Court ruling  that stuck down Separate but Equal

The opportunity to work along with others--some I know and love, some who simply share the understanding of the importance of the Brown v Board decision

A tapestry of colors 

My family.  My students.

Beautiful weather that lures you outside

Cooperation that leads to a finished project

Plants

Love and support from the people in my life

Stories--whether the lifestory of a person I know, a book that captures my imagination, family tales that I have heard a million times.  Stories give life meaning.

Scenes From a Tractor Graveyard

Georgetown, TX

Jealousy is Stupid

This little guy currently resides in the window of a chocolatier in Paris.  He is carved out of chocolate and apparently has made quite a stir in the chocolatier community of the city.  The way I hear it, other chocolatiers are offended by sculpted chocolate.  They are proud of their art.  Clearly, they have no problem with chocolate taking on imaginative forms.  Chocolate has been molded for many years, after all.

The problem is, this ape is not molded.  It is carved, and chocolate has not been carved traditionally.  It is untested.  Chocolate carving has left the artisans wondering if this is an acceptable form of chocolatiering worthy of comparison to more traditional means of forming chocolate into shapes.

As I understand it, the answer is unclear.  Emotions are running high on both sides of the issue.  I have to wonder why this matters.  Does carved chocolate taste different than molded?  Would anyone look at this ape sculpture and be fooled into believing it had been molded?

The thing about life is that some of us were made to be molders and others carvers.  It takes nothing from me if you carve, just as my molding is not meant to bring harm to your carving.  To squabble about it is fruitless.  It was never about the chocolate in the first place.  It was about jealousy; there are no winners with jealousy.

It is time to bridge the great Parisian chocolatier divide of 2013.  There is no room for such ugliness in the world of sweets. Let it go. Seriously, guys, put on the aprons and get back to the kitchen.  There is chocolate to be made.

I ran across this piece while editing some of my writing.  Somehow a piece on squabbling felt timely.  So, I share it once more.

Chihuly Exhibit and Motherhood

Last weekend we visited the Dale Chihuly exhibit at the Oklahoma City Art Museum. Huge, colorful, undulating expanses of glass mesmerized us and we wondered how one man could produce so much art on such an impressive scale.

As we left the exhibition, we stopped to watch a documentary on Dale Chihuly and his process.  The Chihuly studio resembles a warehouse.  Dozens of artists follow instructions given by Chihuly and mimic the patterns and colors he produces in huge paintings as they transfer his concepts to glass.  Dale Chihuly is the visionary, the master artist.  His grand designs are carried out by the artists who literally breathe life into the glass.

Watching the process unfold I saw the art-form as a metaphor   for parenting.  I recognize God as the Master Artist, the Visionary.  Together with my husband, I hope that I served as the artisan who worked directly with the medium to help shape my children into the more completed works they have become. 

Just as different materials, oxides and metals alter the hues and look of the finished piece, the make-up and experiences of the individual offspring alter the people they become.

My own parents were hard-working people.  Neither of them were highly educated in a formal sense, though both of them were insatiable readers.  My mother often said to me that she believed their calling was to raise children who would grow up to be adults who affected positive change in the world.  They too were the artisans scurrying around the studio in an attempt to shape molten raw materials into things of beauty.

Possessing this understanding of my parents' wish for me as I grew to adulthood, it would be natural to assume that my career would be of great importance to me.  Yet, while it is true that I love my work and believe it is vital to the well being of my community, it does not hold the greatest significance in my life.

Like my mother before me, I have found my calling in the raising of the three lives entrusted to me.  There are other accomplishments which make me proud, but there is not one thing in my life that has brought me the joy and pride that my family has.

I thank the Great Visionary that I was given the opportunity to be the artist's assistant as He formed three beautiful lives.

I thank Him for the beauty of these lives and the light that shines through them bringing brightness and warmth into the world.

The Kabbalah suggests that long ago the Holy was shattered into many sparks which were distributed across the universe. These holy sparks became a part of everyone and everything. They help to define a relationship between what is holy and what is everyday and are readily accessible to us if only we will see.

Raising young people who are a blessing to the world is the most holy exercise I have ever experienced personally.  

Surrounded by light, reflection and color I was reminded how  beautiful the result can be when guided by the Master Artist.