Homage to an Artist

Jackie Owens died in August. She suffered from a long-standing heart condition and COPD but I suspect that she died because she was 83 years old and ran clean out of passion. In another culture, she might have wandered into the woods or crawled into a cave or onto an ice flow and commanded her spirit to leave her earthly body. Instead, she checked into a hospital room, gave her children fair notice by a few days that she was about to go and then succumbed to the “great stillness.”

For any of you who did not know her, Jackie had short hair, a round face and was about as big as a peanut. She liked intense conversation about big subjects. After getting your point of view, she would pull her nearly 5 foot frame up close, take a deep breath, spew out the most amazingly incendiary, politically leftist manifesto then erupt into giggles.

Her liberalism was not surface decoration. She continually championed better live/work conditions for women, demonstrated against war early and often, was an enthusiastic supporter of the Women’s Museum and constantly found original ways to aid and abet those in need.

For her 50^th birthday, she initiated an anti-war billboard, gathering together enough investors to pay for the printing and installation of the original artwork by Bob Conge. “Disarm or Die” haunted Rt. 490 for at least a month during the summer of 1977. (1978?)

I think that was when I first met Jackie. We crossed paths as exhibiting artists – we were both on the outdoor art circuit in those days – and for some reason Jackie invited me to the barn/home/studio she shared with then-husband Roy to listen to her proposition. The place was full of talented, creative people – a stew of juicy personalities the likes of which I had never spent casual time with before. I liked these people. I admired their intellect and sense of justice and I wanted to stay a part of the group.

So much for my "real" job hunting! I never left (metaphorically) the party and I still hold admiration and reverence for artists. They have shaped my adult life. I have Jackie to thank for the introduction.

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Jackie’s daughters held a small reception and invited a few friends to take home a piece of Jackie’s artwork to remember her by. I picked this little drawing. It is not one of her best but it is one of her last.

Our Aunt Patsy who died 4 years ago painted the oil landscape. Patsy was a perennial student and took art lessons until she died at age 87. There’s something so optimistic about that!

I cherish these two pictures and wonder: has business extinguished the emotional value of art?

Four Months Later

Four months – a third of a year – gone! I am increasingly aware of time – the finite-ness of it. Several of my friends died this summer, two former neighbors, a member of my book club and others whom I knew casually. I don’t mean to sound depressed or anything but this sucks! I want to scream at something or someone “WAIT! IT’S NOT TIME.”

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We moved to this townhouse in July. Our big house was sold to a lovely woman who wanted a “grown up house.” We lost a lot of money on the property but given the economic realities of real estate, we felt lucky to get out with a little of our investment and so we took the advice of our NC realtor and friend Linda – “Accept the offer and get on with your lives.”

Our master plan revolves around paring down and simplifying. To do that, we needed to divest ourselves of the big property and all the equipment, time and effort to maintain it. (Check. Craig’s List turned out to be invaluable.) We plan to divide the year between the new cottage in North Carolina and this townhouse. Here are a few pictures.

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Now that this living arrangement stuff is resolved, I’ll get back to writing about art. But I confess I haven’t had the interest or the heart for art lately. First, I haven’t seen anything in months that inspired much thoughtful exploration. And this moving business takes all the “creativity” I can muster and when I’m not plotting color, line and space, I’m thinking about…..forgiveness. What does it mean? Who reaps the benefit? Is it just a word that we’ve tossed around so long that we really don’t know what it means? Please help!