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Moving Up

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September! Did I miss August? I started my new job in Houston, teaching International students art and worked the entire month of August. Whew! I am enjoying my Chinese boarding students. They miss their family and home towns. I can relate my overseas experiences and watch them smile and “light up” hearing similar stories. It seems to me life is about familiar experiences and feeling accepted. It is good to be in Texas teaching! This girl is happy to be back on American soil and near family and great friends.

My house hunt has been exhausting, looking close to 150 condos, apartments, town-homes, single family homes, and multi-family homes. I put bids on four different places, with competition on three. This last bid on a town-home I was fortunate to have accepted. The Heights is an extremely popular neighborhood and is transitioning into a really wonderful place to live.

The town-home is three story and three bedrooms, one of which I will use as a studio. It has everything I wanted, from a dreamy kitchen with granite, a bathroom with a soaker jetted tub and a space to create art. There are any windows with interesting views of Houston, including the train tracks—toot toot! I know I will like the Urban environment and richness of diversity. It will be wonderful to finally get my gear out of storage and in one location, where I can continue my journey from my very own new home.

When I get settled I want to have my first art opening and feature a retrospective of my art. My home will be a lovely setting for this event. If you would like to attend, let me know and I will include you in the festivities.

Homeless… without ocean and art studio!

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A week with Hurricane Debby and you realize how noisy, windy and wet nature can be. Storms can be challenging, especially if you have a ring side ocean view from your hotel window. I taught a week of IB art classes in St. Pete, Florida and saw only one day of sunny weather. I love the beach and living on the coast would be the most wonderful opportunity to experience sand, surf and sun.

Storms and sunny days, are like the ups, the downs of life. We all have challenges, I suppose how we handle them is the key. My stormy days have subsided and now nice sunny ones are on the horizon. I want to live by the ocean, but with my new job I will be sixty miles to the surf. Now what? Deciding on a second best scenario is difficult. Should I live in a high rise, suburban home, older home in a more trendy location or even an apartment? For me, this is too many decisions. I make my mind up quickly, now I am weighing options. I decided the other day that an art studio was the most important for me. Did you ever try to find a home with an artist area? After looking, I find the art studios as a part of a home are over a half a million in cost. Tell me how is an artist going to afford that? What an oxymoron!

Life is throwing me a curve ball, no ocean, no artist studio….. What do I do?

My brother-in-law humorously calls me a squatter, I am sure they would like me to move on, but where do I go? Anyone in Houston got an artist studio I could buy, rent or squat at?

In the GAP

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“In the GAP!” This is the in between space where one has been and where one is going. I am there! Coffee in hand, a nice latte from Starbucks and back to the blog. Jess’s comments on my last post about a coffee, blow-up mattress and a warehouse, might be a true definition describing my future new space. I would add a kitchen with a granite counter, convection oven, a dishwasher and my Jura-Capresso coffee center. I haven’t seen a dishwasher in two years or my coffee maker. Hopes are high it will be soon. My brother-in-law, Jeff describes me as a squatter. Today I am “slumming” around Austin, camped at my daughters duplex in Austin. The possibility of living in this “neck of the woods” intrigues me. Can I find a real artist studio with home attached? Something to consider, since I have a “Do Over” life.

I like the opportunity at my age to make new life changes. I can pick where I want to live, teach if I wish, paint, write, cook and enjoy the last half of my life as I choose. I am free of being
stereotyped as normal, wife, mom, teacher, daughter! Yes, I was these things, but now there is more to me. This empty vessel is ready for filling. Buying the VW doodle bug a couple weeks ago, set that direction for me. I get in it and see the cute little “Black Eyed Susan” flower my sweet sister gave me and off I go on my journey. Didn’t I always say, “It is about the journey and not the destination?”

Enjoying my GAP Time and letting doors open, watching doors close and seeing the new possibilities is so fun. Today I want to drive around, look at homes and see if this is the landing spot. If not, it might be Houston or back to Dallas. China and Australia were good for me. I learned about going with in and exploring the authentic self. Moreover I met honest nice people. I want more of that in my new do-over life.

Empty Vessels and the 3 P’s of Art

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My ART! I’ve done some mulling these last few days concerning my style and why do I create as I do? This ruminating of the mind began after I saw a wonderful retrospective art opening by artist Perry House. The Houston ART CAR Museum housed a collection culminating with thirty years of work. What a sense of humor he injects into his pieces on violence. His expressionistic canvases embody foreboding ideas using cheerful color palettes making quite a statement on society. I loved it! Americans are so into the packaging, and he sure had a way of showing it.

Thinking about art to create and commentary has spurred a review of my work. Brainstorming words, “Empty Vessels,” comes to mind whether that be people, places or pottery. This acronym, “The 3 P’s!” describes my work in a “less is more” vocabulary. In general empty spaces appear in landscapes with extreme cropping, strong lighting and shadows. The people I chose seem to be looking another way, are expressionless and empty. Pottery I create in bowl forms incorporate slip painting of blank looking blue cubist women. So what does that say about me? Am I rummaging to fill the desolate spaces, do I show society in its infinitesimal form or am I probing for light to feature dismal objects? You the reader may think I am over analyzing my exploration of art. To me I am trying to figure out my purpose and why do I pick this subject matter.

Homeless at this point, living off family and running around like a gypsy with two suitcases in a green doodle bug, I am looking for a nest! For two years I have flitted around the world, learning and teaching. Time to settle down and create for real. This time the art space is more important than the living space. I need to have an ART STUDIO. Where that will be is still another journey and as always another story!

Australian Pubs on Andy’s birthday

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The day started with lunch at Bundy Sushi owned by Ross’ friends Dave and Toby. I ordered about every Vegetarian Sushi dish on the menu. It was delicious. March 24th is my son Andy’s 32nd birthday, the day we would go to “Red Lobster,” to celebrate. He would order the most expensive item on the menu. Today I am celebrating in “OZ”, keeping his memory alive.

From lunch in Bundaberg we went to the town of Apple Tree Creek and walked through a mesh enclosed open air bird sanctuary. Greeted immediately by a friendly blue Quaker parrot that flew to our shoulders, called the terrorist bird, he escorted us on our tour. I so enjoyed his company as we walked around chatting with the assortment of colorful tropical birds. We left the enclosed bird area to visit with kangaroos as we finished up our trip. I love roos, they are the cutest guys with curly eyelashes and big brown eyes.

Spending the day touring around the country side we came upon Cordalba, an off-beat town located in the midst of a sugar cane grove. The main street housed the only business being a pub. It has been in existence for 120 years. Your typical Aussie bar, with a hotel upstairs it felt like stepping back into time when cowboys clamored into the saloon looking for your typical “Miss Kitty” gals. The owner and his friend showed us around talking in a thick Aussie dialect, causing you to strain your ears to understand what was being said. He loved telling jokes and rambling about his life, loves and business. We realized much of chatter was true Aussie bull-shit. We laughed, drank our XXXX Gold beer and photographed the local four bikers out front.

Driving back to Bundy I couldn’t but smile thinking Andy would have loved the day ‘down under’ with his mom as she continues to see the world.

Love you Andy and Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Andy

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Today March 24th, Andy Zorn would be 32… Happy Birthday, son.

A few images that are great memories of him. Love you kiddo.

He was the life of the party, red headed, green eyed and always into something. A fabulous fisherman, he could out fish the lot. He was a wonderful son and a great friend. Missing you on your day.

You are gone, never forgotten.
Life goes on, so live it well, it could end at any time.
Go for the gusto, travel, meet new people, listen and help others.
Be KIND.

Wish you were here I’d take you out to the Great Barrier Reef and let you snorkel and eat a lobster.

PK land

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Images from my land west of Ft. Worth. “where you put seeds of love, flowers bloom.”

Australian Flowers!

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Flowers are abundant in “OZ!” Here are a few I have found in the back yard.

A Day in the Life

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Learning “to be” is a different concept as my past was a life of “doing.” Believing I am retired, is also a new thought or maybe just believing I can live a retired life… is something I am having to get a grip on. Enjoying getting up whenever, having coffee leisurely, tinkering around, cooking and just envisioning myself in a lifestyle I never had is my new direction. My sweet friend Ross is allowing me to do these things in his lovely Queenslander home in Bundaberg, Australia.

I wake up to birds chirping at 5:30 am. Sometimes it is raining or like today a beautiful sunny morning, coffee on the deck, and Bob, the Butcher Bird appears on the rail for a visit. He is a “young’un” with no fear of humans and very curious. What a delight to have a bird just within reach to chat with. His mom shows up with a worm and he is off to have breakfast. A set of rainbow colored birds fly hurriedly by, chipping loudly, it is a family of Lorikeets. They are the most beautiful parrots I have ever seen. I want one for a pet, plus a kangaroo and a koala. Truly Australia is the land of unusually wonderful creatures.

Last Thursday was Australia Day, a celebration day for patriotism and similar to our July 4th, Independence Day. Innes Park was the site of festivities including live music, food, arts and crafts. A very rainy day we sloshed from tent to tent checking out the activities. I was able to pet a blue tongued lizard a young boy was carrying. His dad, the ‘snake man’ gave me a fright with the huge python snake he was letting others hold. Australia has the largest number of venomous snakes in the world, leaving me to think the only good snake is not near me! Time to move on. We walk down the beach, sighting a hawk with a fish in his mouth. The rain is drifting away to reveal a bright sunshiny day.

Critters are abundant here and each day is another wonderful retired day of “being” in OZ.

Re-locating turtle eggs at Mon Repos

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Warm rain water dripped off my floppy Aussie hat as I watched a thirty year old mother Loggerhead turtle drop her fifth clutch of ping pong size turtle eggs into a freshly dug egg chamber on the beach at Mon Repos. Quietly in the darkness, lite by a single flash-lite I saw over a hundred eggs pile up by one by one. The ninety kilo turtle had lumbered onto the beach about thirty minutes before, dug her nesting chamber and as we arrived she started to lay. Not long after she covered the eggs by paddling sand with her flippers. Once it was all flat and tight she meandered back to the ocean.

The wonderful park rangers carefully dug the eggs out by hand to relocate them to a higher spot above the sand dunes. Each person was given two sandy eggs to transport to the new egg chamber. In total one hundred and eleven eggs were moved to the new location.

My first week in “OZ” and I am moving turtles around. I love it.