This is a journal page for Catherine’s round robin "journal," which is actually a heart-shaped box with pages cut from heavy watercolor paper. The theme is non-romantic love and it is filled with immaculately beautiful art.
I really didn’t feel up to the challenge this morning. You see, we’re setting out with our second son to look at schools in New England this week. New England is an awfully long way away and as much as I know it is what is best for this particular child, I’m heartbroken about it. I’m also terrified of both myself and the Judge being on the same plane and leaving the other three behind — a sort of latent mommy-fear-of-flying that is far more potent than anything the terrorists could impose. In any event, I haven’t been at my best this week and it seemed like a theme of things I love wasn’t going to be anything beyond pathetic.
Ellie and I worked on her Valentine’s this morning, so i decided to take out one of Catherine’s pages and play with texture (I gessoed tissue, a Nepalese paper, and some pieces torn from a glassine envelope onto the page). I liked it, so I thought I would experiment with tar gel and had fun spreading some tinted tar gel onto the page with a palette knife like it was a fondant icing.
Ellie’s Valentine’s were coming along nicely and as I was helping her, I remembered that Michelle Ward’s current Street Crusade is to journal about evidence of your every day existence. There is nothing I like better than little everyday things when I’m feeling blue. I took a long, cold walk with Ollie this afternoon, through the alley behind our house, and that was fun. He stomped through the leaves and stopped to look at the ferns. I looked through my collection of vintage lace and fabric pieces, thinking I might find something to finish my "emerging violet" collage. The little everyday things worked their magic. I finished my piece for Catherine and wrote "hot chocolate" on the last tag before I glued it on. I’m off to make some for the kids.
I hope that long after I’m gone, they’ll remember my home-made hot chocolate in winter as evidence of the love and fun we all shared.
hey joyce, thanks for entering the crusade with your heartfelt piece. just terrific to see it and hear your story. hope all goes well with the college search and bravo to you for supporting your child’s interest to go so far from home. (i was one of those flyaway kids too) loved your comment on my blog about having ‘evidence’ tags on your desk at work….now that’s cool, and you better use some in your art soon (or send some to me!) thanks for playing.
What a beautiful piece your work is always amazing!!!and also hope the trip goes well and it is hard to think that far ahead and of course we worry that’s what we do!!!! so hang in there and all will go well!!! have a safe trip and wear warm clothes!!it’s cold in them there hills!!!!!! Hugs Linda
oh, what a special heart story! hope all goes well. and i’m sure they will remember it all!! look forward to seeing your tagged evidence online 🙂
Joyce, This was such a touching blog entry! I think your children know you are the best mom out there and will always remember it. The homemade hot chocolate brings back memories of my grandmother making it for me. The interesting thing is living out in the country, they usually kept buttermilk but not sweet milk. So she would use Pet’s evaporated milk and Hershey’s cocoa to make my hot chocolate. To this day, that is the way I prefer it – with evaporated milk!
Try not to worry — you’ll have a safe trip and be home before you know it. And your heart for Catherine’s journal is gorgeous! You should put it on our homepage. Love, Karen
It’s so nutty what kids remember. I remember my mom’s fried bologna with Velveeta cheese in the middle… and I HATED it! My brother and sister loved it and they’d beg her to make it. If she ran out of milk, she’d mix up dried instant milk and then make us like it by making it into hot chocolate. She seemed to have an endless supply of warm dry mittens. And there was always a place to sit on the warm floor in the utility room (a bright nice room, not as bleak as you’d think) and put your frozen, played-out-in-the-snow feet up against the side of the furnace to get toasty again. It’s snowing there today. I’ll have to call and remind her of that!
I was a flyaway kid too. My mom cried when I left PA for GA but I was so excited to be leaving, I don’t think I even said goodbye! Don’t take it to heart. Your trip will be fine and your children have a loving mother who makes wonderful things. Just don’t re-pack their trunk and take out the favorite comfort novels and put in more underwear like mine did! Marilyn
Oh Joyce this is such a lovely piece for the crusade. It is so wonderful that you support your son in his dreams.
XO
Kristen
What a wonderful heart box, it’s absolutely lovely. I love the texture, the softness, the colors. It’s beautiful!