Reach for the Stars

Those nights were restless after the flood.
Unable to climb the rickety stairs in the studio
I was sleeping on a tiny lumpy daybed
in a corner crammed with some of the things we had rescued
and after long stress filled days
it was a welcome and safe harbor.

In the quiet dark I wrote long winded passages to my friend Beth
unburdening some of the days’ burdens
and her gift of listening was its own blessed harbor of safety.

Somewhere deep into those nights
as I lay awake looking out the picture window
the sky had cleared and the world had grown dark enough
that I realized I could see the stars
from my bed.

Back in the cave like dark of the log cabin
I had once surprised Herself
by painting glow in the dark stars on our bedroom ceiling
it was the closest we got to the real thing
and those stars are probably still glowing at night over there.

Here now, on that starry studio night,
I was overwhelmed with magic
C.S. Lewis’s …Surprised by Joy …kind of magic
a profound and fierce wave of it.

I can’t remember if I sat up right then
or if it was later at dawn
but I wrote to Beth
and wrote
and wrote.

It was the exact moment when everything shifted
again
but this time toward the light
and the idea for a new studio came to me in one complete flash.

Sketchbooks are never far from my hands
and I dug out the sweet jewel of a ruler
which has heretofore been only a prop
but one of my most treasured objects
with its delicate markings
and sleek leather case
softened by HN Lockhart’s
hours of work…
I wrote “Reach for the Stars” on the paper…
and let the Muses take the wheel.

Now I’ve painted my share of houses
inside and out and on my easel
with both big and tiny brushes
and I know my way around building things
but it soon became clear I’m not an architect

but Beth knows a guy
her Michael.

When it came time for my sketches
to meet with his expertise
I ceremonially handed Michael that ruler
and said…”design me a studio around this”.

He did.

And today
as I write
there are big machines
moving mountains of dirt and stone
pipes being laid
walls going up
and that new studio is being built.

I’ve made a point over the years
of telling my most authentic truth
through my artwork.

Breadcrumbs along the way.

This painting is one such marker.

That is the original sketch
the very ruler
with my hands in motion.

When I sat down at the easel to bring it to life
it was April and the lilacs were in full bloom.

Today August has begun and,
while there have been many other hands moving to get us to this day,
I want to give special thanks here to Beth and Michael
who were there at the beginning
listening
to my story about the stars.