Day 37
The Chair was well-travelled today again and well noticed also. In the paint store one of the counter people asked why I always bring it with me. In a Starbucks I sometimes stop in for a work break, the three baristas gathered when the woman waiting on me finally asked why I bring the chair. They were lovely (I should draw them actually) all crowded behind the one register, eyes widening, smiles appearing when they got it. They were sweet. They encouraged me and said I was very brave. When two of them went back to work, the woman waiting on me asked if I'd heard about the woman at a university who carries her bed with her every day until the man who raped her on it is expelled or quits. Wow. We agreed this was a powerful image and seems like it would help the woman feel her own power and courage in the wake of devastation.
As I'd walked into the Starbucks, I had heard the 5 or six people who were sitting outside. I didn't really listen but it's hard not to hear the word "Chair" when I walk by. I heard it muttered several times as I passed. I was on a quick work break so I didn't pause but went quickly about my business. I did however meet several eyes inside as is my new practice. People do look at me, or at my chair. Perhaps this had something to do with the barista's comfort level in finally asking about it. I was comfortable with it, so they became a bit more-so as well. Anyway, after I got my coffee (plus one for our worker, that was a trick, figuring out how to carry it all -- easy, put them on the seat and carry it like a gift!), I headed out the door. I passed the table of whisperers quickly again, thoughts on work (and not spilling). A gentleman spoke up and asked if I'd made the chair. I stopped. They were curious about the chair because as I'd passed they all had thought of a fundraiser in Portland called "The Chair Affair," at which chairs which have been created by artists (built or painted or whatever) are auctioned off for a non-profit called The Community Warehouse that helps families in need. After hearing my story they wondered if I would consider donating the chair for the auction. Wow! I was honored and delighted! I have since visited the website and am very excited by this idea! Just today I had an idea about what will be painted on the chair next and ultimately how the chair will look. If I donate it however, I am thinking I may paint a twin with a different word on the seat (I'm not telling).
As I excused myself and thanked the people at the table, the woman closest to me said, "You are very courageous. " Omigosh! I bowed to her and said "Thank you, I am working on it." Then she added, "You are an inspiration." "Wow," I said, "Thank you again," I said, and "You all take care!" Then headed off to finish up the 8 hours of painting prep on a house my husband and I and a friend are going to have finished by the 25th of September. Those encounters were just the vitamin I needed to bolster me through a day of added tasks we hadn't counted on that the owner wanted done. My schedule was thrown out the window for the day; but all was well.
Got home and practiced process-painting for my third day of the 30 in 30 challenge. I was so exhausted it was the best way to let G.U.S.S. take over most of the work, :) while I just squeezed tubes, dipped and brushed. I am happy with it. Process-painting is actually VERY difficult for me. I am a thinker and a judger when it comes to my own painting process so the "paint whatever you want to paint, no judgements, no expectations" of process-painting is super hard. The only two process-painting workshops I've attended, I've sobbed within 15 minutes of starting. Not because I'd judged my painting and found it lacking but because the prospect of allowing when it comes to art has been so squelched in me (by others or myself it really matters not) that finally allowing myself to allow makes me break down in public.
So tonight I did finish the painting and I like it but I see that it is really only a beginning. It is a fun concept. The title is "Sunshine Struggling to Organize a Rainbow." Something in the struggle, eh?