It was late November 2018…I got a call from Nathanael Fisher, co-chief of Emerald Coast Theatre Company. I’ve been a long time supporter of ECTC and am always willing to help this grrreat non-profit! Nate’s telling me that he’s got a ton of great supporters, helping in his (and Anna’s) vision for the longevity and prosperity of theatre in our area. And, he wants to honor them. He has an idea for a piece of art that will somehow pay homage to each and every sponsor of ECTC. As he’s talking…a ton of light bulbs are going off in my head! I know exactly what he wants! I patiently wait for him to finish. But in my head, I’ve already formed the exact piece of art, the size, the colors, everything. It’s right there. I know EXACTLY what it should be! I explain to him everything. I tell him how that even the frame and board that we’ll do this on was donated to me by another ECTC supporter, Stacy, from Beau Esprit Framing! It’s been sitting in my studio for MONTHS and I’ve been wondering what to do with it because it’s HUGE!
In the creative process, timing is everything.
Fast forward to June 2019. We gathered a tribe of willing participants; Nan, Jan, Ella and Anna, and not-so-willing participants, my twins, and Anna’s twins.
We created a Giving Tree. A tree made from remnants of things we found on the floor of ECTC’s props department, and from my unending stash of glass. It was fun, and uber quick. Poor Anna! When I got there, I could tell she was nervous. She said we could work on it over the next couple of months etc. I said…hmmmm?! (I’m thinkin’…Anna…I’m CRAZY busy! Months?) Sweet Anna has never created with me before! Neither had any of her helpers! I preached to them about the importance of “not over-thinking” art. If we spent months on it, then it would be tooooo perfect, too contrived, unnatural. Dear reader, art is not perfect. Read it again. Art is not perfect. Art is the intention to create…to be a little wild..to let your hair down and just toss things around for a while. Think, pray, meditate, throw stuff, repeat. That’s my creative process at least.
So, on a hot steam day in June at ECTC in Grand Blvd, we did just that! We tossed around the glass, a few bullet shell casings, old bottles, a broken paint stick, feathers, of course. We chatted, we debated, we shared, we created. And, we did it all
In
One
Hour!
My kinda art!
Pictures are below.
PS…This piece will proudly hang at the entrance of ECTC. Donor names will be added in the shape of leaves! Be a leaf and donate… Yay!
