Thursday, July 9, 2009

Lucy the Master Weaver



This is a painting of my great grandma Lucy. She was one of the first women to become a "Master Weaver" so I used a sort of tapestry inspired background. My family also calls her a "hippie before her time" because she would make salads out of weeds from the garden and spin dog hair and make sweaters. So its sort of a psychedelic version of art deco because she was a young woman during the 1920's.





art

art

today

Things are going good here. I finally found a job, teaching swim lessons. It was so hard to find a job this time, which is something that I have never struggled with. But it showed me first hand that the economy really is messed up. I love teaching the lessons. The students range from ages three to adult. The little kids are great because they already know what to do. So they squirm and move like little fish through the water. They mostly just need to learn how to rest and breath every now and then. The older people are more of a challenge because they have learned to fear the water. Even though they know exactly what to do instinctively, they panic. They feel like they are falling and are deathly afraid of the deep end. But it is fun to help them get past that. I love swimming. To me,water feels more natural than land. I feel free when I am in it. I know I have said this before. But I feel like when I am in water I am floating in God's perfect love, just suspended there, being held by something so big,something that you can feel and know but never hold onto, something that moves without restraint covering and bringing life, also something to be feared and respected. Anyway, it is good. Unfortunately, because I spend about five and a half hours a day in the pool I have developed a rash. The other teachers say it is because they keep the pool at such a high temperature. Its like when you stay in a hot tub for too long or something. I don't know. Yesterday, one of the instructors bought me some diaper rash medicine and told me to spread it all over my chest before I got in, and wear a rash guard. It worked. So I am having fun. Morgan, our friend Pragya and I are taking a swim class at Laney College. Its pretty much just like being on the swim team. The teacher writes a set on a white board and you go through it. If there is time at the end she will give you a little more to do. I love it. I feel like I am in sixth grade on the Five Cities Swim club all over again. Its making me strong, and giving me a great and guilt free appetite. Anyway, I think I am going to post my art on this blog. I don't want to make a website for all of it yet. So here it is. I have also set up an etsy account where I can sell the bags that I am making. If you are interested, check them out at pearlcentennial.etsy.com. That's all.