April 15, 2011

Writing Endlessly




The IB house with my two kids running toward the artist.
Bee is striding toward the kids, and I am sitting to the right.
Title: :The Summer of Our Discontent,"
Medium,: Acrylic on canvas 4 x 8 feet,
Artist: MGH. Late 1960's,
Owner: Bee.


I started writing this piece about mutton about a month ago, and I could never get it going. I knew it was a good idea, I knew I was on the right track, but I couldn’t get the words to go anywhere. On the way home from errands yesterday, and I am learning to love having free time all to myself out there in the world, I figured it out.

Why wasn’t the piece going anywhere? Mutton by itself wasn’t funny….even endless mutton that I was allergic to. I’d brought in the more than endless Bob’s dinners that I used to feed family and friends when we all lived in Chula Vista and Imperial Beach, but that casserole only gave me a nice middle ground.

Where was the contrast?

I’m sorry that I can’t put the piece here on my blog. Most places don’t want already published writings, and putting it here would be self publishing. But I can tell you about my epiphany….edible repetitions when you are a kid, an adult, and when you grow older. What do you consume by mouth as you grow older? Medications. I had to laugh.

That’s where the piece is now going….into laughter.

I looked the folks up who were either in that painting above or sitting yoga in my back yard those long ago years. I could find all but three of them. I know two of them moved to Kentucky, and the other vanished from the art world, but I was exciting to know that some of us made a mark out there in the world fueled by those endless Bob's Dinners.




Links:

Francis Jeffrey: Mavericks of the mind

Bobbie Moline Kramer: Painter

Paul Hawkins and Susan Zalkind: Stoneworkers in alabaster

Uncle Wonder Ray: Artist, sculptor, and teacher

Don DeLlamas: Painter

Tommy Driscoll: Sculptor

Joleen K McPherson: Playwright and supporter of the arts: Magic Theater Scripts UC Berkley: Folder 8, pdf

Not found via Google: Paul Waltz, Don Fulford

8 comments:

  1. I'm sure your piece will be another hit.....good luck with the fine-tuning! Love the painting too.

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  2. Love the painting and the fact that you look up friends who've moved on as well.

    I think the neatest thing about composing is the introspection it involves. So good for the soul!

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  3. Only YOU could write a story about mutton! I love this! Love the painting too. Very sweet.

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  4. I hope we have a chance to read it someday. Most publishers get only a first-american-publishing rights (or something similar) then all rights revert to you as the owner of intellectual material, am I somewhat correct? Then you can publish it here, maybe. Good luck with it. Soon you'll be teaching us how to write.

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  5. Super nice painting--
    a mutton story...sounds like you will get it right!

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  6. That really is a super painting! I love the color and movement. Hmmm... a story about mutton. Sounds very, very interesting already.

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  7. What a gorgeous painting, love the variety of primary colors, and the joy and sunshine of the day in it.

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  8. That is a gorgeous painting. Love the vivid colors and activities. You are lucky to have that and all of the memories to go along with it.

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