Landlords

Completely forgot I had tucked this piece away in storage. What sparked my memory was hearing that a friend would soon be evicted because the owners wanted to remodel and increase the rent.

Back in early 2015, I felt extremely upset when my landlord unexpectedly hand-delivered a 60-day legal notification of a 35% increase to “encourage” me to move so she could sell the flat. A curve ball for sure! With emotions flaring, once again, my artistic expression took hold.

This is a Duralene scroll with attached pages of my lease, stenciled letters in oil crayon, and heavy accents of acrylic ink and charcoal. I made a 2nd one which expressed much more fury and fear; however, in a twit, I decided to cut it up into pieces, something I now regret. Definitely an OOPS moment!

Home Displacement Landlord Greed.jpg

Emergence

While the paint was still drying, this word popped into my head as the title. Per New Oxford American dictionary - “1) the process of coming into view or becoming exposed after being concealed and 2) the process of coming into being, or of becoming important or prominent.”

Coming full circle now with decades of work, I truly get it - that “Emergence” is my journey. And that every moment of travail and joy ultimately has been and is perfect. So is this piece. Even though it’s small in size, it encapsulates the message and is quite powerful.

Although I’ve posted this painting many times in reference to subjugation, repeating is appropriate in clarifying my purpose. And, if my artistic expressions help others heal and emerge, then this is a brilliant, happy collaboration.

Into The Fire

I’m posting my piece again, this time in reference to Jack Kornfield’s quote, “Sometimes we have to go right into the fire to find our true healing.” Such was the case for me with regards to divorce. Interestingly enough, I actually gave my pen and ink work this title before reading it. Perfect, Tommy, perfect!

Shackles Of Losses

In the process of cataloguing my works, I got reacquainted with this large piece painted in 2011, a dark period hanging on for dear life. Whew, glad I worked through that! My artistic expression was and still remains a godsend and catalyst for transformation.

Bicycle

Now I love riding my road bike. It’s fun and gets me from place to place; however, it’s not my beloved vehicle. Why? Because there are difficult hills to maneuver, I cannot transport groceries, dry cleaning, shopping bags, artwork, etc. And, it cannot protect me in stormy weather. SF officials, each has merit.

Compound Oops

The other day, I went down memory lane revisiting miscalculations. Knowing that the path of self-awareness and joy involve altering mental habits, I quickly said Oops in succession. Repeating it brought a smile to my face, laughter to my heart and release of the negative hold of the memories. Oops really is magic for me!