disintegration process and finding the sacred place...

I just got home from the LCA Newark High School "Something Fishy..." exhibit and Russell Merritt's one man show over at the Liz Argyle studio. They both drew quite a crowd with interested art patrons both enjoying the celebration of sacred mark making. The excitement flowed as conversations shared the sunshine that filled a cold February night in downtown Newark, Ohio. Bravo to all the hard working at teachers and their wonderful students who created an underwater paradise full of boisterous colors and waves of exuberance. Russell and Debra offered a serene place to rest at the end of a very busy week; his precious brushstrokes with delicate colors enchanted the viewers who marveled in his strength in such a delicate medium. Bravo! Bellissimo! to both exhibits because you gave our community the opportunity explore diversity first hand.
I spent my day finishing 20 mixed media bookmarks to add to Maya Rose's third grade economic homework collaboration. I truthfully do not remember having economics in the third grade. She has a performance and school parent/teacher night on Tuesday and she designed a "one dollar product" that includes a fancy pencil, a monkey eraser, a handmade bookmark and a Hershey Kiss to sweeten the deal. The money she raises will go back to her school and their future after school drama/art and sign language clubs. I am hopeful that these beloved after school activities with not vanish next Fall when or if the levy happens to fail. These are troublesome times for both the young and the old...I miss my job and its daily gifts. Tomorrow I will deliver my part of the package and we will put the gift bags together with curling ribbon while we watch "High School Musical" while Mom and Dad have an evening out for a movie and dinner. Free babysitting from grandparents saves the sanity of many a young couple.
I placed my disintegration work outdoors in the misty rain under the shelter of my small clematis, in the intimate garden outside my backdoor. After my many steps to somehow persevere my marks on fragile papers (and bits and pieces I recovered from my trash basket from working on my second Australian piece for the upcoming exhibit) I felt a noticeable reality that we are all so fragile and each day is numbered. My words inside my accordion book are familiar..."Art Saves Lives" but also "We can make a difference" both today and in the Future of our Mother Earth. In the next few months I will documenting in both my words and with my camera the process of "Falling apart...hidden in plain sight". How often do we take the time needed to stop and reflect our mortality. I have placed 3 pictures of my disintegration at the top of this blog and I will share some of my poetry in later blogs. Imagine and Live in Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart.

Take a look at my "Disintegration..." video: