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Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Off To Art & Soul

Prepare yourself for a stew of unrelated images. I'm whirling through my days from one subject to another; packing for my next teaching assignment at Art & Soul in Portland and decluttering the office.

Of course I'm writing in my journal too. Some of these pages were demos at Squam like the face above.

All kinds of energy go into my pages. Sometimes slow and quiet, sometimes crackling with energy, as at Squam.



This is Jasvinder, a most interesting yogi who lives and teaches in Vancouver, BC. Our mutual friend Tom had an old camera with a pop up lens so we took a few shots through the lens that evening.

Here is John through the lens. As I've shared before, I'm becoming more interested in improving my eye for photography. In that vein I thought I'd share some shots I found in an old box. Some of these are 40 years old; I thought they looked either funny or strange or both.

I had a polaroid camera in those days but much of what I shot was lost. This gem remained though. Taken in St. Johns.

This was our 2nd story bathroom window in Orenco. That honeysuckle grew all the way up the wall and into the window in the summertime. Just inside the window is a huge claw foot bathtub. It was an amazing old house that nearly killed us as we did a historic remodel. John and I fell in love in this house. Bittersweet memories. We were so young and passionate.

Here are my daughters one Christmas when I was a single mother. Those were very hard times.

Here I am at about the same time. Young, depressed, overwhelmed, insecure, no money, many heavy responsibilities. My one asset was my youth. Like a hearty weed, I survived.

Today is our grandson Nathan's 23rd Birthday. Happy Birthday, heart of my heart. This photo of him and John is about 20 years ago then. That was the day our neighbor offered to let him ride their Shetland Pony and he informed me in his most serious voice that he wasn't a boy who rode horses. Very well then.

My little Stephanie sitting at mom's house on Coleman Street in Mesa, Arizona. *sigh* Head in clouds, I move forward. I'll see some of you at Art and Soul; I gotta go hurl my boxes in the van now and head on down the road. (((((hugs)))))

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Judy: amazing photo journey : ) I recognize that building in St. Johns, ha : ) happy trails to you and God speed you home safe, happy, and sound !! can't wait for your next post(s), I live vicariously (?spell?) thru your adventures. how lucky ALLLLLL of your students are and will be : )
Blessings, Sandra in AZ

susan greene said...

"Like a hearty weed I survived"....what a great choice of words. I may have to paint this on my studio wall. But you are not a weed but a beautiful sunflower.

Sheila said...

That "like a hearty weed I survived" struck a chord with me too. SO GLAD you did! I think we all feel like that single blade of grass or whatever green thing popped up through a crack in concrete sometimes. Hope Art and Soul is fabulous!

Isabel said...

Loved to know your journey :)

Like a hearty weed you ARE, and look at where it brought you.

You power girl!

Eden said...

I'm so new to your blog, Judy, I hope you don't mind me commenting right along with the others! The pictures I find i treasure the most are the ones where I can look back at "hard times" and go WOW! We made it!!! Looks like you have! Your pages are so beautiful! Wish I could do one of your classes! Hopefully someday :)

anna maria said...

I love looking at old photos and the memories they evoke - like you said, "bittersweet".

Candace said...

Oh Judy, when you share such signs and wonders with us I feel like singing.

Thank you so so much for the photos, the experiments, the older shots of the house, the girls and the "weed" that has become the prizewinning "Mighty Lak A Rose."

Have a wonderful joyous time.
Candace in Athens

Ocean Lotus said...

ah, i love your journal pages and did i see a blurb about a book proposal? could that mean we might get to see a whole book of your loveliness? i'm anticipating that...ah, to travel in your boxes as you transfer and share your SELF in your classes....lovely

leonie.wise said...

hey lady

lovely to get a glimpse into your life now and also years past. love the old polaroid and the photo of you

have a great time
xo

eb said...

love this hearty salad of images
dear sweet Judy
thank you so for your glorious-ness
your kind and generous heart
your constant inspiration
did your ears warm yesterday?
Barb and I talked of you at lunch
installing the Judy magnet
do yo feel the pull?

have fun
wish I were coming
will LK be there?
if so - hugs from eb...

xox - eb.

Kim Mailhot said...

Happy trails, beautiful Judy ! You know some of those wildflower so-called weeds are the very best flowers in the field - strong roots, strong stalks and glorious heads filled with color and intention. I love myself a weed !

angel said...

Judy,
I'm loving your post, and wishing I could read the full story of Judy Wise. Wanted to tell you what an inspiration you were to me at Squam, how much I loved your class and that I have fallen in love with the wax. My previous experiences with it had left something to be desired...but you can bet I will be adding it back into my work. I hope to someday see you again - and I totally love your words on being a single mom. I lived that, and have come out the other side a hearty weed so full of thankfulness that I got the FULL experience of parenting - toughness and all!

Every time I mentioned that I was in/had taken your class while I was at Squam...every single person would gush over you in response. I now am one of those too.

Lynn Cohen said...

Getting here late...we both were single moms making do. Hard yes, but weren't we creative then too?
I learned to bake bread, sew clothes, shop at the GoodWill, keep a pot of soup on the stove, use a crock pot, boil beans, I don't look back with regret. I still have the thrift store bug and it serves me well today for my art making. I can still save a dime easily. I doubt I'll ever be on welfare again, but glad it was there when I needed it.
Love the comment by young grandson, and the little girl looks like you at that age I bet.
Thanks for sharing and making me remember.

Anonymous said...

Hi Judy:

Your youthful photo reminds
me of Petula Clark with a wide eyed expression. Can't wait to see what
your students do at Art and Soul.

A hearty weed you are indeed, like a giant burdock, with millions of seeds to disburse upon the wind, strong in the gut and oh so talented.

Hugs,

Corrine

Ro Bruhn said...

What a hectic pace you keep Judy, I can't wait to see what your students in Portland create. Our visit from you is getting closer, I'm so looking forward to meeting you.

femminismo said...

Sounds like our young mother days were similar in some respects. Youth, then, may not be wasted on the young. Not if it gets us through tough times. I hadn't thought of it that way. Hadn't thought about how that young energy boosted me up so I could handle it all. Thanks!

Toni said...

Judy Judy Judy ... just a short word to tell you, for the umpteenth-i-mous time, how much I LOVE YOUR JOURNAL PAGES.

sigh.

Karen Cole said...

Love looking at the history of Judy. You certainly haven't changed much. Still pretty adorable I would say.The energizer bunny has nothing on you, my dear.

lulu moonwood murakami said...

Wow, thanks for this journey down your memory lane. It's so hard to imagine that smiley you went through some rough times. Thank goodness for youth, resiliency, and perseverance!
: ) lulu