#113, Art Envoy


She draws, I stitch.
She is my developmentally disabled sister-in-law, Nancy, 
and I am Jeanne, the woman who flat-out loves her.


Hey look everybody! Wholly Jeanne featured ME as one of her envoys to get the word out about the art project she's doing with her develomentally challenged sister-in-law, Nancy. Check it out, here.

 First Nancy draws (in her favorite color purple) then Jeanne embroiders the design on small white cloths. Art, I think, is in the eye of the beholder. In Nancy's case, there is no filter. Her designs are free from personal critique.  When you see them you can almost feel her joie de vivre.

And I've got to say that as anxious as I felt at times in Seattle, when I was photographing drawing #113 it kind of took me out of my scared self.


Wholly Jeanne and I quickly became blog buddies. I think it was the first time she responded to me as "Sugar." I can't hear the sweetness of her southern drawl, but I always feel like we're sitting on a big wide plantation veranda, surrounded by Magnolia trees and sipping cold iced tea, topped off with a scoop of sugar and a pinch of mint. Hmmm, maybe even a whisper of Kentucky Bourbon.  I love how Jeanne writes. And I'm unabashedly tickled when she says things like:
"Listen, Sugar: DO NOT TOUCH THAT WRITING SPACE OF YOURS. If you can write like this from a table shared with a sewing machine or a closet where you've carved out enough space for your computer, you can write anywhere. So don't waste your time with that kind of stuff, just write. Oh my god, woman. You had me shedding tears of nostalgia, tears of sadness, and tears from laughter. You've got just the right mix of detail to ground it and let me settle in before getting to the heart - not the heart of the story, but the heart of me."

 I'm laughing cause in some of our earliest exchanges Jeanne promised to help me clean up my writing space. She gave me several assignments to sort of clear out my head first. All of which I promptly put in a pile and forgot about. Then I moved from the messy office to my chair in the den, which I can now rightly call son (daughter?) of messy office. 

 Jeanne has also encouraged me to keep sewing, to turn some ideas into a small business, to remember my family's history by keeping records in the form of stories and to save room for serendipity. Sometimes she uses words. Mostly she blazes a trail and invites others to come along with her on the journey.

 Thanks Jeanne, I'm honored to be one of your envoys.

 Wishing for you a sunny smile and someone to call you "Sugar"
Merry ME

Comments

AkasaWolfSong said…
Well Miss Merry...I'm with Jeanne on every front! I'll go over and check out the feature to be sure.

I love the photo of you by the Totem Pole, (which reminds me, I got your post card and Thank You!)

You know I've said you can turn those sewing projects into money...I'm Wholly with Jeanne on that one, and who knows where it could lead, eh?

As for the Sugar thingy, I don't have one of those but it's perfectly alright, lol.

Here's wishing for you lots of sewing days with family history weaved in the threads...or thoughts or your heart, or wishes to another, or...the list is endless. :)

I'm Lovin' Ya Woman!
xoxoxo
October 13, 2012 at 12:14 PM
AkasaWolfSong said…
Mary...I didn't want to join Discus to have to post at Jeanne's blog so here is my comment and hopefully Jeanne will see it here?

"Merry...you truly are a pioneering woman! Jeanne...your love of Nancy shines through! Nancy, when I look through your eyes I see nothing but Creator illuminating all of us. What a Sisterhood of women!" :)
October 13, 2012 at 12:25 PM
jeanne hewell-chambers said…
My travels (finally) led me here today, and while I have been kicking myself for being so behind and out of touch, I am exhaling that away cause this is proof positive that we arrive when we need to arrive. I needed a Merry fix today, and I needed these words. I'm copying this in its entirety and tucking it in my Heartwarmers folder, you know, the one I dip from when I need to. I stand behind what I said about the writing, too - what you mentioned here and the other things I've told you - you just keep writing and don't waste a nanosecond on trying to create The Perfect Writing Space. Pfffft on that, Sugar. I'm so glad our paths crossed.
October 25, 2012 at 1:13 PM
jeanne hewell-chambers said…
And AkasaWolfSong . . . I LOVE your name, your words, and your spirit.
October 25, 2012 at 1:13 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Every Little Bit Helps

Image
UPDATE:  I'll be picking a winner on Thanksgiving Day. So make a donation and leave your name in the comment section below.  ME UPDATE:  I see a tiny problem but it should be easy to fix. Commenting anonymously doesn't get your name in the drawing. And there's no way to tell Anonymous A from Anonymous B. Are you different or the same? I need to be able to get back in touch with you somehow. We can exchange email addy's later. But please at least leave your name. If you still comment as Anonymous, just say your name in the comment.  You can use first name and last initial. Or last name alone. Or an Alias. Just so I can get your name in the hat. And really, thank you. Thank you again and again. Merry ME _____ I always breathe a sigh of relief when a storm veers away from Jacksonville.  At the same time it's hard not to feel guilty that it went somewhere else.  I was in no way prepared for Hurricane Sandy. Like a lot of others, I felt like the meteorologist
Read more

An Easter Miracle

Image
How is it that after someone you love dies, time moves on even when it feel like its standing still? Philosophers, poets and writers have tried to answer that question since time began. I don't have the answer. I just know that, by what I can only imagine is the Grace of God, it does. When you heart is broken into something resembling a 1000 piece jig saw puzzle and there are no directions on how to put it together, somehow it mends. When some else dies and it cracks again, God stitches the old wound and the new wound together into a patchwork of healed scars. Fifteen years ago, when I watched my mother draw a breath then counted the seconds before she took another but none came, I sat by her bed and tried to imagine being a motherless child. Then I did what any kid would do, ran down the long hospital corridor sounding the alarm. "My mother isn't breathing." "My mother isn't breathing."  Want to see doctors, nurses, CNAs, and cleaning ladies tur
Read more

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY BLOG PARTY

Image
In honor of women everywhere ... Welcome to the International Women's Day Blog Party (Turn up the sound: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuB3_HLcFfk ) International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. To this end, this party is a way to honor those special ladies who have inspired us and made us better than we ever thought we could be. It is with gratitude and pride I welcome you to my blog. I'm anxious to hear your stories and celebrate your choices. All you have to do is go down to the bottom of this post and click on the comment section. That will take you to another page where you can write your tribute in the space provided. You can use your Google/Blogger user name or remain anonymous. There is nothing to join. If you choose to post anonymously please leave your name in the comment section so we'll all know who you are. When you're through hit publish and voila your lady is o
Read more