The Gathering
In which Sarah travels, returns, has deep insights and shares art.
Hi again Art Friends!
If you read my recently posted “substack note” you may know I have returned (again) from another couple of months of “taking care of family business” and general touristing in New Jersey.
I was going to write you a travelogue of some newly discovered (for me) fun NJ destinations, but I had another thing come up and decided to write about that, for now, instead. Don’t worry, it starts sad but it ends OK.
A couple months ago I found out that a very old friend of mine was dying of cancer (the sad part.) I was grateful to have been able to spend a little time with her, as difficult as it was knowing it would be the last time, and share some feelings about our relationship, things that would never have been said had we not been on the verge of losing each other. That was a gift, I cannot overstate how important it is to tell people you love that you love them before they are gone from your life.
After she passed I got an invitation to help with a group gathering to “deaccession” her house for its own transition into whatever is next. This was being undertaken by a close circle of her friends. Some I knew in passing, but many I had never met before.
What we had in common was the loss of our friend, but as I was to find out, we were all parts of different aspects of her life, many of which did not overlap. Like putting puzzle pieces in place to form a full picture, we shared “how we met” stories. Some of us knew her “boss” and colleague persona from work. Others knew her as a mom and active participant in her son’s school programs. Others knew her from music events, travels, and other activities she enjoyed. I knew her because she got me my first job in the film industry (eons ago) and later, when I became a full-time artist, she was a very supportive collector of my work.
As I worked with this disparate but connected group of women, going about organizing the decades of objects and tokens that made up our friend’s life, I felt a deep sense of peace and continuity. Each person had a task, one to sort paper ephemera, one to decide which clothing items should go to which charities, another to look at her vast collection of paintings and art objects to figure out how to archive, sell or distribute it all, another sorting and emptying cabinets and drawers of day-to-day minutiae. Each grouping of objects, all sorted and labelled, became a chapter in a completed life narrative. We were engaging in an age-old collective act of final cleansing, gathering the pieces of a departed life in a ritual of reverence and release.
This is not to say the days were spent in somber contemplation. There was drinking, laughing and a lot of funny stories. Though I was a bit of an outsider, because I didn’t know most of these women before I showed up, I felt folded into a sisterhood of benevolence and compassion which was very healing for all of us.
It seemed fitting to share this story as the “Day of the Dead” approaches, the time of year when many people remember and honor our departed loved ones. This artwork was made from a photo I took at a DoD parade, a young girl walked by with calavera face paint, the setting sun blazing a halo around her head.
“We are All Made of Stars” is about our infinitely connected human family. As the astronomer Carl Sagan said, ““The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself.”
12” x 12” x 1” mixed acrylic media on cradled wood. On my website.
👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇
For those of you who may have taken note of my mention of a NEW discount code to use at check out for all artworks on my Isle of Strays shop, here it is:
Newsletter subscribers 👉YOU get a friends and family discount of 20% off all artworks on my website. Contact me so I can apply the discount. Good until Nov 23. Free shipping (US 48) on everything. Art makes great gifts.🎁
And, as always, I have some shares.
READING
I just finished “The Cautious Traveler’s Guide to the Wastelands” by Sarah Brooks, published June 2024. Historical, magical, fantasy. It’s got a bit of “Annihilation” to it, but less dark. I like the book but yearned hard for more details about the Wastelands- how did they get there? What is in them? What is their (it’s) objective? I found the novel a good read, but one that I felt needed a prequel or several more explanatory chapters of weirdness details.
LISTENING
While I was in NJ I discovered and listed a lot to two radio stations (not satellite) that were new to me. WPRB, Princeton radio and WRSU Rutgers. This is because my mother’s car, a 2006 Honda CRV, only has a raydeeo. Old school, but you can listen to both of them online. If you have any radio stations in the NY/Philly/NJ area (or anywhere, really) that you like, let me know.
WATCHING
We (my husband and I) just finished the 3rd season of Lincoln Lawyer. Being a Matthew McConaughey LL fan, it was a hard adjustment for me to switch to Manuel Garcia-Rulfo in the leading role, but he has really grown on me. Watching this show is like eating a bag of potato chips.
Also, Disclaimer, the new Alfonso Cuarón Apple TV mini series. Described as a “psychological thriller” every episode of this is engrossing, disquieting, and thought provoking. Cuarón draws viewers in, then twists a knife. I’m only on the 4th episode, I’m almost afraid to know what happens to Cate Blanchett’s character. I’ll reserve my full thoughts on this show until I finish the whole thing.
Are you reading, listening, watching anything you like? LMK.
Okay, gotta run, take care and hugs to all of you. ((( 🫶🏼 )))
