Recovery

Ready for the Art Tour

 Sometimes stimulus is overwhelming. This past weekend I spent 3 days with my studio doors open, participating in WEST, an Austin, west of I-35 studio tour. The weather was truly a gift, usually by this time in May we have shut our doors and windows and cranked up the a/c--at least during the afternoon hours. But it was cool and breezy enough to keep everything open. The garden looked blissfully blessed by the unusually ample rain we've had, so much still in bloom, so much still spring green. And the people who came through the doors were just as sweet as the day was delightful--many friends--old and new.

And I am still in a sort of happy/sad daze. It was lovely. I am exhausted physically, but mostly emotionally. I had a lot of expectations I think.

 My recovery started this morning, as it usually does, with my family. My kids (teenagers) are in their last 6 days of school for this school year so I think they are in a similar exhausted and over stimulated state of mind as well. But breakfast with all four of us was silly and fun as usual and as my husband, Brian, directed our focus onto two over-sized strawberries, he said, "this is what you need to know today" as he held up two apple sized specimens. As if to say, anything is possible and nothing isn't a little bit ridiculous.

 And shortly later, while driving my daughter to school, one and one half hours before the tardy bell would ring (because she has so much homework to do, and probably a little socializing to complete as well) two things made my life even happier. One: When I got into the van and started it up there was a CD in the player, left there by Brian the night before: Scott Marcus' Rock Star. I hadn't heard it in a while. Scott is an old friend of ours and former band-mate of Brian's. The whole record is deeply personal yet completely chock-full of humor and love for the art form. Ramona and I let the music play. Loud. I usually put NPR news on, but today, with our hazy morning brains, coffee's drug not yet buzzing through our veins, Rock Star was IT. We rode without saying a word. I don't know what thoughts Ramona was entertaining but I was marveling a what a talent Scott is, what a wonderful record he and Brian made together, and at the most probable fact that they'll never make any money from it. But during that short drive I was having my faith in art restored, again.

Rock Star by Scott Marcus, OK I did the cover art, here's a teaser, a snippet of one of Scott's songs

The other thing that happened was this:

After I dropped Ramona off at school I was driving home, coffee starting to click in, taking my usual route back. The sunlight was sharply angled into my eyes, as it usually is, early in the morning, but as I crested a small hill at a four way stop intersection I saw steam already rising from the pavement, a sign that today would be hotter than yesterday and that summer was, in fact, on the horizon, and I experienced a rush of bliss looking at the school crossing guard in her usual place, the beer delivery guy rolling a dolly full of beer from his truck to the convenience store, the pedestrians crossing, the library looking stoic on my left and a bicycle breezing by.