Life had thrown me a bunch of curveballs and I was kept out of the studio.  That whole time I continued to accumulate objects and "this and that" and I just kept putting STUFF in my workspace to the point at which I almost couldn't get anything in the door... including ME!

It took me three solid days to clean out my studio and make it a comfortable space to work. I collect objects, yes. I do stained glass, yes. I make large scale mosaics, yes.  I do ceramics, yes. I make neon, yes. All of those interests require me to have a lot of STUFF. Everything had to come out of my studio and then get put back into the space in the appropriate bins. I essentially Maria Kondo'd my studio and boy am I just thrilled. I dusted off several pieces that were in process from days past and I'm finally back in business with a rolodex of ideas I've stockpiled in my mind for when life didn't require my attention elsewhere.

I am energized. THIS is my life.

Here is the letter that was included with each quilt:

The Story Behind This Memory Quilt
 “Families are like quilts, stitched together one piece at a time,
and the quilt tells a story, one piece at a time.” ~ Unknown
 
You are the recipient of a memory quilt made from clothing worn by Mary Ellen Pinkowski. Five memory quilts were made – one for each of her children and one for each of her siblings. The printed/patterned triangles are made from her clothing and represent her. The blue is chambray because she always wore a chambray shirt as a jacket. You know - with California weather and all! The heart exploding represents the hearts of all of the people who loved her and the negative space heart represents where we hope we can all get to - loving her in a different way. The waves represent the ups and downs of our emotions as we work through the grief and shift from physical love to a spiritual love and memory of her.
 
I started the quilts in June. Once I began to take apart the shirts to iron on the interfacing, I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to do this project. I had made seven memory quilts for Josephine, but this was different. By August, I had asked an amazing textile artist, Laura Sapko is she could execute my design. She is the only person I would have trusted with this task and she executed it with the most impeccable workmanship. You will not find someone who can free motion long arm as beautifully as Laura.
 
Prior to sending Laura the fabric, I dropped off some squares to be embroidered with “In loving memory of Mary Ellen Pinkowski”. The Chinese lady that took my order wondered why I wanted these fabric scraps embroidered. I told her what I was making not knowing if she truly understood me (her English was very broken).
 
A week later I went to pick up the squares. I gave my name to the man at the counter. His eyes lit up and he came around the counter and gave me the most gentle and sincere hug and whispered in my ear, “I’m so sorry for your loss.” I was touched beyond imagination. I expected a business transaction and I experienced the most beautiful human exchange.
 
When I looked at the embroidery I realized that there was an error. The order sheet was sitting on the counter and it was correct, “In loving memory OF...” but the embroidery was incorrect and was missing “of”. What to do…
 
I paid for the squares and left the store knowing that his compassion for a complete stranger needed to be part of the story of my mother’s memory quilts. After all, mom wouldn’t have made him re-embroider those squares so I wasn’t going to either.  Not a single stitch had been stitched but her story, and how she lived her life, was already being told. So when you see “In loving memory Mary Ellen Pinkowski” this is why.
 
You are now the caretaker of this quilt and this story. May my mother always be part of your memories, lives and homes (or cottages).
Merry Christmas to you all.

The illuminated art community is a small community. When a venue is interested is exhibiting illuminated art, the word spreads within the community and like minds come together.
Stay tuned for more about an upcoming show at
The Bellevue Club in Oakland!

I will be exhibiting Silent Song and Exploding Time in a show titled
"Illumination and Art" which will feature local artists who create work that include light. I'm really looking forward to this exhibit as it will be a nice time to see many friends who I have been missing since I haven't been in the studio as much recently.

Illumination and Art
The Bellevue Club
525 Bellevue Ave, Oakland, CA 94610
April 7 - August 10

Please come to the reception!
Sunday, April 7, 2019,  4:00-6:00pm

As soon as I thought the coast was clear, my mother had a PET scan and it showed that the cancer has spread all over her body. As such, I have to focus on other priorities.

The past year has been a very busy time for me. In addition to some pretty substantial changes at work, my mother had a surgery, a diagnosis, and a move. The time that I typically would spend creating art and being creative had to be put on hold, to support my mom.

While stepping in to advocate for my mother's care, I took on the role of Construction Project Manager to orchestrate a massive foundation replacement project followed by interior updates which included both a kitchen and bathroom remodel a new roof, window replacement, hardwood floor refinishing,  etc.

We didn't have the money to hire a designer and we didn't have the money for landscape architects. We had to make do. We hired the trades for the work that was well beyond our expertise, and we DIYed where we could: interior spackle and paint, carpet removal, landscaping, and the mountain of odds and ends required after you disrupt a home like we did.

We found tenants. He has his masters in sculpture from San Francisco Arts Academy.  How ironic as this was a competitive Master's program that accepted me.  It's as if the universe was giving me a sign... and I listened and they are great tenants!

Now... back to my mosaic mural and completing the series, The Melody of Light.  There are two pieces yet in this series that remain half made in the studio and it's time to get back at it.

Mom moved into an exceptional Assisted Living residence on Oakland's Lake Merritt.  From her balcony she has a view of the lake.  The people who work there are fantastic and friendly and most importantly, she is happy.

....but it's wicked expensive.  My word I had no idea that senior living was THIS expensive.

A complete foundation replacement was underway before her health decline and the diagnosis. The contracts are signed and work began in March. We made some updates to her kitchen and did a complete gut on her bathroom in February and after the foundation work is completed we will attack the hardwood floors, interior paint and landscaping. It's a massive undertaking but for her, it's nothing. I'm no landscape architect, but I think this turned out pretty good!

Landscaping before and after!

You may notice that I couldn't help myself and added a decorative tile accent to the steps:

 On any normal day, you look at your calendar to make space for a vacation or even just a day off and you find yourself mumbling, "I really can't move that meeting." The next thing you know, the most convenient time to take your vacation is months away and even then you wonder if something more important will pop up.

...and then life happens.

Something far more important than your normal routine occurs that makes you look at your calendar differently. Suddenly everything on your calendar is movable and quite frankly, unimportant.

My mother has cancer... and a really nasty cancer at that: Anaplastic thyroid cancer.

I am her advocate. I am her rock. I am her number one fan.

....and she is worth putting everything in my life on hold.

Excitement!

 Practice firings done, and now onto production!

One of the reasons I bought my kiln and paid a good chunk to have the juice run to it was so that I could make handmade ceramic tiles for a mosaic I had imagined in my mind's eye.

I have  the perfect place for it... an area near my deck where Dave and I often sit in gravity chairs at the end of a busy day when the weather is nice.  It's one of my favorite spaces in my home (outside of my studio).  This is a place where we relax and toss the ball for our dogs and imagine our next vacation, hosting our next gathering, talk about the challenges life tosses our way and dream of our eventual retirement.

The mosaic will be 4' wide by about 16' tall and will include leaves and flowers from my garden pressed into clay, fired and glazed and affixed to my home. Included will be some of our favorite life quotes... not unlike the bronze plaque that adorns our deck funded largely from Home Depot gift cards we received at our wedding from those lovely people in our lives who can't accept the instruction, "No Gifts".  The plaque reads... "Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our soul blossom." ~Marcel Proust

The mural will also include mirror a la Isaiah Zagar. The last Isaiah Zagar inspired wall, Dave and I completed in 2 days.  We were in our yard which is beautifully landscaped. One section of fence remained in cinder block because the neighbor that shared that stretch of fence, Elmira, was in her late 90s and didn't want a wood fence.  As you might imagine, we viewed the cinder block as an eyesore especially since the rest of our property had a beautiful good neighbor fence but the relationship with Elmira was far more important than the fence!

It was on a Saturday morning at our local coffee shop that the idea to do a large coverage Isaiah Zagar inspired mural on the cinder block all popped into my head.  We raced around town getting materials. Dave slathered the wall with thinset as I strategically placed the tile and in 2 days, we obliterated the eyesore with marbles, leftover tile from our bathroom remodel, and a little bit of this and that: bicycle sprockets, broken mirror, etc. 

This turned out to be a temporary installation because three years later, Elmira died and the house was sold and the new neighbors wanted a wood fence.  While we were sad to see the mosaic go, the relationship with the new neighbors was more important than the mosaic wall.

I was thrilled to see Exploding Time pictured in the Marin Independent Journal!

The show is in honor of International Sculpture Day which is on  April 24th.

“A Sculpture Exhibition” features 72 sculptures in a wide variety of mediums from wood to clay to welded steel. Many of the 49 sculptors whose works are in the exhibit are from the Bay Area, including Novato’s Peter Keresztury and San Rafael’s Barbara Andino-Stevenson and Allen Lavee.

The free exhibit runs through April 30 at the gallery at 1515 Third St. in San Rafael; noon to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. A celebration party is from 5 to 9 p.m. April 14 during San Rafael’s second Friday Art Walk. Call 415-454-9561 or go to marinsocietyofartists.org.