A Plum Heart

my art

Today a new friend in my life puts her heart out into the world. Her heart should be lifted up and celebrated.

Well, perhaps every heart should be.

Forgive the potential sappiness. But sometimes sappiness is okay. We don’t have to be all edges and armor every day of the week.

(Anyway, I don’t know why black holes exist in space any more than I know why black holes exist in some human hearts, but those lost souls–the ones that suck in and destroy everything that comes too close are a problem for another day.)

As I was saying, the determined and caring Niamh Clune, author and founder of Plum Tree Books, is putting out a very heart-filled project today. Niamh has a great deal of personal experience with the drought and troubles in the Sahel in Africa.

You can find out more about events here and even more about the work Niamh is doing on The Plum Tree Blog.

Art is part of the solution too. Plum Tree is hosting an art auction–and one piece of mine is included along with several other beautiful pieces (I’d buy the Geisha right now if I could). The auction is the 16th.

And then there is music. A live radio show by the talented Claudio Fiore will be (is) in progress to support the auction and the book. Music is available to buy as well.

Oh. And the book. The book!! A book of poetry, stories, essays, and art is for sale. Song of Sahel. My art is in the book and a poem. Well, a sort of poem. A few tiny words to go with the art.

The proceeds go to help the people of the Sahel. Niamh has written more movingly (and knowledgeably) than I can, so if you go to the blog or the Plum Tree site, you can read the history and about the organizations that are helping in the region. Or if you have any questions, please ask.

Niamh has put heart and effort into this project. It’s an important cause and maybe you could do something to help. At the very least, share the word. The more people that know, the better.

Wow. I hope I covered everything.

Thank you!

Plum Monday: Perspective

The troubles in the world overwhelm some days. My own troubles take enough energy, don’t you think?

Well, not really. I mean, they take lots of energy, but I don’t have to worry about if I will eat. Perspective. Perspective may be one of the most commonly lost things.

It’s late. Do you know where your perspective is?

Well, someone I know who seems to have a great perspective on important things is Niamh Clune. She is organizing a book for a cause–Songs of Sahel. Here is a cause. Yes, causes flood the world and where to begin? Well, begin here.

Sahel. You could submit a piece (story,poem, art, photography) or maybe later buy the book. Share the title when the book is released. It wouldn’t take much to matter to someone. How important it is is a matter of perspective.

Anyway, once I get my laptop back (from an unfortunate fall), I’ll submit something too.

What’s your cause?

The Butterfly Effect and Dreams

At 17 I put away my dream to be an artist. Art turned from dream to hobby. Sometimes people mistook me for an artist–usually because I wore a scarf or long earrings or too many bracelets. I don’t know. What do people mean when they say, “You look like an artist.”

rabbit on the moon

I figured they meant, “You look weird,” but “artist” was more polite.

But I also wanted to be a writer and was happy enough to pursue that dream instead.

When I was 39, the barista in charge of scheduling art for my favorite coffee shop asked me if I wanted to hang my art on their walls. She was scheduling a year out and she had a spot. She’d only once seen a few sketches I’d done, and an art show…? Since when I had ever thought of having an art show?

But she and a friend talked me into it.

The idea was crazy. I’d never had a show. I wasn’t an artist. Although I was terrified. Well, I reasoned, have the show and move on with life.

But someone came to the show asked me to apply to the fine art festival. I couldn’t do that! I wasn’t a real artist. I let my husband talk me into it.

Art City Austin

Someone from the festival introduced me to a shop owner. The shop owner asked if she could sell my art. Well…okay.

A musician saw my art online and asked me to design his CD cover.

Someone else commissioned me to do art for an anniversary gift.

I sold quite a lot of art–and much of it not to friends and family, but people who’d never met me.

And now I’ve met Niamh Clune, the founder of Plum Tree Books. Plum Tree is her vision, her dream, and she’s invited me to be part of that. I would never have met her if it hadn’t been for that barista. She was my butterfly.

That barista moved on to another city a while ago. She doesn’t know how she changed my life. I doubt a butterfly knows it wings are rumored to cause hurricanes. What a butterfly that would be if it knew.

Maybe you’ve changed someone’s life, and you don’t even know.

So, Niamh and The Plum Tree have published an anthology–The Butterfly Effect. Who knows what might happen if you took a look?

The Butterfly Effect

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Other participants in The Butterfly Effect are C.C.Cole

De Ann Townes

Niamh Clune, and

Nicole Smith. More to come.

you know the unicorn is there

In April of 1989, seven months before she passed away, my mom wrote this.

You’ll probably call this weekend, but I wanted to ask you how your reading went. Talk about being on the spot!

To just say “I enjoyed your poetry” sounds rather insipid. I wish I were not your mother so I could write you a real letter about how I felt about what I read. Well, can’t do that, but I can explain it like this as a parent. As just an emotional response, which I happen to think is the only proper response to poetry, I want to keep my own images, What gave rise to the words is in your own brain and soul–as a parent, trying to get a glimpse of the person behind, underneath and through the visions one’s child appears to be, it was like: if you walk through the woods and you hear the following hoofbeats, but you can’t see the unicorn for the trees. And yet, you know he’s there. And one day you see a flash of white. And you know he’s there.

What is ever the proper response to reading anything?