Wall of Courage

"The Courage Wall"
#WE LIVE BIG

Today I ran across this gigantic, colorful chalkboard in the heart of Del Ray, a neighborhood near us that has a vibrant arts community and is chock full of people that like to shake things up. 

(Wait. Why don't we live here?!!)

So I guess I shouldn't be surprised that a resident is shaking things up by installing a huge, 8-feet tall by 20-feet wide chalkboard along a side walk, nestled between hip restaurants, chic clothing boutiques and quaint dog parks. 

(Oh, yes. I remember why we don't live here: all that hipness, chicness and quaintness comes at a hefty price.)

I absolutely loved the hundreds of heart-felt messages on this inventive board, created by Nancy Belmont and titled "The Courage Wall." 

What was immediately apparent to me was the surprising authenticity of the contributors. These folks obviously picked up the chalk in order to hold themselves accountable for tackling some very personal goals and confronting some big fears. But at the same time it's also playful and fun; for example, my favorite declaration has to be, "Deal with squirrels!" 

(Although, who knows, maybe someone has had a terrible run-in with one of the little critters.)

After experiencing The Courage Wall I had to read more about it. I came across this little article and video about Nancy Belmont's idea HERE. Be sure to check out the declarations from all generations that this board has inspired.

Enjoy!

-Katie

The Freedom of Audacity

Flag
Jasper Johns

I hope you had a great Memorial Day Weekend. 

I was fortunate enough to spend the weekend in NYC with my daughter, and we had a marvelous time, of course.

One of our stops was to the Museum of Modern Art (a.k.a. MoMA), where we saw magnificent paintings, including Jasper John's Flag painting shown above. Very appropriate for Memorial Day Weekend, no?

What I find most gratifying about going to a museum and seeing a work of art in person are the brush strokes. It humanizes the painting for me, making it relatable and personally inspiring.

detail of the mixed media
nature of Flag

So much of what we read about art has to do with it's monetary value. For instance, it was much easier to discover on the internet that Flag was recently auctioned off at a cool $36 million than to determine the creative underpinnings of Jasper Johns and his patriotic work. However, when I go to a museum full of Picasso's and Monet's and Matisse's I forget about the money and the fame of the painters. Instead, I am overwhelmed by their creative audacity.

Modern artists had the willingness to create their own artistic language and develop mediums and styles that went against what their contemporaries deemed worthy. What's more, these are people that took a gamble on spending their lives pursuing endeavors that most people found impractical at best and a complete waste of time at worst: painting, philosophizing, growing their artistic interpretation of space, figures, color and light, fusing together politics, psychology, language and popular culture. They reimagined what art was and could be.

While money was painfully elusive to some and generously bestowed on others, they all shared the very real risk of expressing themselves as individuals. Take Jasper Johns, who grew up in a small rural community in Georgia, who has said the following about being an artist,

"In the place where I was a child, there were no artists and there was no art, so I really didn't know what that meant. I think I thought it meant that I would be in a situation different than the one that I was in."

Needless to say, my daughter and I were very inspired by our visit. The MoMA's exhibits made us think, "What could we accomplish if we chose to break down the most common barriers to entry? What if we could drum up some of that courage?"

Imagine the possibilities!

smARTteacher
elementary students
reinterpret Johns' Flag painting

Most importantly, we determined that, in light of such an important American holiday, we needed to appreciate those human beings who gave their lives and made inspiration and creative freedom ours for the taking. 

What a truly priceless gift.

Hello Kitties!

I was beyond thrilled when my neighbor invited us over to see the kittens she's fostering. I couldn't wait to take pictures of the little darlings, because what could be cuter than six week-old kittens? 

So I get out my phone and began my quest to capture the quintessential kitten photo. I took lots and lots and lots of pictures. 

And then I took some more.

And my photos were looking anything but quintessential, because apparently these particular kittens did not want their pictures taken. 

Just to give you an idea of what I was working with:

"Hey Lady!! Stop taking my picture and hold me!"

So I took a break from trying to capture the perfect kitten picture and got down on the ground to let them snuggle against me. The little fuzz balls crawled all over my legs and arms and would've climbed onto my head if I'd let them.

Then, after our play time I started snapping photos again, attempting to be as non-chalant as possible. 

And gradually the results began to improve. 

I stopped worrying so much about eye contact, since it was apparent they had no interest in being on the cover of the June issue of Domestic Feline Magazine.

After a while, I think we started connecting, the kitties and I.

 

Even the tiniest one.

And finally! I got direct eye contact! 

Granted, he looks a little scared... but still.

Have a Happy Weekend!

When in Doubt...

Celebrations

a first performance

Mother's Day meant a surprise trip to
 Society Fair,
my favorite local spot

hot chocolate with flair

my favorite little guy made me this card
using my favorite colors

Poppies are blooming in our yard

new tomato plants came to live with us

and thankfully
someone got a bath.

When

Hands that held me 

When I was sick.

When I made a bad grade.

When I made a bad choice.

When I fell down, trying to jump too far too fast.

When someone hurt me or made me feel small.

When I needed a boost of confidence.

When I needed comfort and peace.

When I won a prize or performed a great show.

When I conquered my fears and did it anyway.

When I went away to college.

When I got my first big, well-paying job.

When I walked down the aisle.

When I decided to move far away.

When I decided to quit my well-paying job for a dream.

When the dream wasn't at all what I thought it would be.

When I gave birth- both times.

When I didn't know how to stop the crying- mine or the baby's.

When I forged a bright new path, full of promise and hope.

When I began to see how hard it would be to stay on that path,

With so many little obligations tugging at me, needing me to care for them,

Yet knowing those little obligations are Love, Life and Everything Good.


And now, 

When I worry about you. 

When I am wholly uncertain about the future,

Dreading the time when you can no longer hold my hand

Or speak my name.

When you need me to be strong,

I am here,

As ready as I'll ever be,

With hands that hold.

Create Yourself: Claude Monet

When I showed my designer friend, Kate, the new color scheme for the front of our house, she said to me, "Go look up Monet's Giverny in France!"

I did, and was immediately blown away.  How had I never seen photographs of Monet's home in Giverny? And I call myself a francophile!

I knew our proposed color scheme had a very Provençal feel to them, but Kate was right: they were spot on with Giverny. See for yourself:

our proposed color schemeBenjamin Moore

Claude Monet's home in Giverny:

the dining room

the kitchen

those tiles!

The exterior of the house, on the other hand, does not reflect our painting plans:

pink and green:
(not going to suggest this to the family)

What I find personally inspiring about Monet's home in Giverny, above and beyond the color palette, is the boldness with which this great French Impressionist chose to live. Everything about the home says, "Here I am. I am an artist. I love color and choose to surround myself with it."

 Even if you are not ready to paint your entire dining room yellow, replete with kelly green balconies and a bright blue door, doesn't it at least make you think, 

"Wow. That guy did not hold back."

Claude Monet

When we celebrate who we are and what we need, we're too busy to care what others think about our choices. 

(Side note: The term, "Impressionism" began as a derogatory critique of Monet's work. Thankfully he never backed down.) 

We just surround ourselves with the things we love and we engage our talents accordingly. Claude Monet's fondness for cultivating and painting beautiful gardens became one of his greatest muses. 

We bring others joy when we outwardly dare to be ourselves. At the very least, people find our authenticity refreshing and inspiring. At best, they may even be encouraged to share their own talents and passions.

giverny.org

I'll leave you with a thought: 

When you have doubts about what you are thinking, writing, designing or creating, remember that there once lived a man who had his own share of doubts and criticisms*, fears and frustrations, but who eventually surrendered to his fascination with light and form.

And in so doing, he created an entire new way of seeing the world.

Life in Color

Speaking of life-affirming diversions, welcome to the yellow door sequel.

To fill you in, we are re-doing the front of our house, as you might recall from our flagstone debating days, and now it's time to rethink our exterior color scheme.

Our home, as it currently stands.

As many of you know, I LOVE color. I think in it, dream in it, crave it and swear by it.

So the fact that my house is black and white with the typical red door is, well, just wrong. The inside walls of our home (notice I'm inserting "our" here, for the sake of familial inclusion) absolutely sing with color. The exterior walls are a different story.

Before investing in paint and labor for the outside of the house, I sought assistance from a designer who has been majorly boosting curb appeal in our neighborhood, Jennifer Jones. Besides her interior design work she does a lot of staging, which means she works with homeowners to spruce up their homes inside and out before placing them on the market. Although we have no plans of moving anytime soon, I knew the exterior of our home needed sprucing up. Badly.

(Maybe it's the duct tape I'm using to hold a shutter together that clued me in.)

The Makeover

Here is the new color scheme Jennifer has prescribed for our black and white blues: 

(drum roll please)

Benjamin Moore

Benjamin Moore's Kendall Charcoal

for the shutters

Kendall Charcoal

Speckled gray/black for the roof 

Yes, we need a new one of those too. We're angling for one that doesn't leak.

Certainteed

Thankfully, our roof doesn't need to be this big.
I'd have to sell off a family member to afford this one.

and... you guessed it! 

Benjamin Moore

Yellow for the doors. 

It's called "Showtime," which, of course, appeals to the performer in me.

House Beautiful

As for the benches, Jennifer says to go for the gusto and paint them blue. "Sailor's Sea Blue":

Benjamin Moore

think ocean blue

Can you imagine how much I like this lady? She's got my number!

And my dear husband is on board with it all. In fact, you might say he's excited. Because although he doesn't visibly show it, I know the joy is just spilling over inside when he imagines these new colors. Right, honey?

With all of this color and design talk, I myself feel uplifted. I think, you know, maybe I will be able to handle whatever comes my way. 

Because, in addition to the phenomenal support from my family, friends and crazy, lovable pooch (as shown getting lovin' from her mama) I will have a yellow door! 

I've decided it will be my burst of sunshine 
even on dark, cloudy days; 
a reminder of the serious importance of play, especially when happiness can feel 
so far away.