Blog Move (I think)

I'm going to try the .mac blogger for a few weeks to see if I like it... joing me t/here:  http://web.mac.com/jodipatterson/iWeb/Site/Blog/Blog.html 

 

Thanks!

Jodi 

OFFICE
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: Train Whistles From Afar

We've moved.

Claudel now hangs on the wall in my  intimate office.  She is surrounded by articles that inspire me as a teacher, encrypted password reminders, and silver tacks.  She has plenty of company every day.  People inquire about her and we respond.  I think she is happier in the halls of academia than on the silent wall of the old frigid bedroom.  I will post a pic when I get one. 

Endings
Now Playing: "Fools Rush In"
It's been nearly a year since "Claudel" has joined my household. I never guessed life would change so much within one year - hell - within a month. I have accepted a new faculty position outside of D.C. - sold my house and car and am in the middle of packing it all up and moving East.

What will happen to Claudel? She is the only thing left on my walls - surrounded by boxes. The boxes have become blinding examples of what I do not desire in my life. I don't want to be about "stuff." But at the same time, as I look for a new apartment, I can't seem to bring myself to downgrade to a one room apartment that forces me to exclude stuff.

But Claudel represents what I do want in my life. I want to be a mother, to be connected more to Nature and others - to _Tristan.

So the bareness in my home is echoing give and take. Each step reverbs. There is both movement and stillness in the emptiness. The Buddhist saying "Form is emptiness, emptiness form" once again places itself at my feet.

NAMING
Mood:  cool
Now Playing: street sounds
It's been too long since my last post. Sorry, Holly. I have since named the painting. Like my own paintings, I name them for the public and for myself.

I call/nameed the painting "Claudel."
If I were marketing the painting, I'd most likely title it "Blue Mist Playing."

I haven't had it out of my bedroom. I like it there. It makes me smile. It represents trust to me because Holly has allowed it to be here - in a stranger's home. Significantly, trust is most needed in the bedroom - especially if you have a lover named Tristan Thorn.

Movement
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: Phone is ringing

So I moved the room around today. I wanted to be sure the painting was still presented well - was able to keep it in the same position as before. I guess that if children do require routine then the stay is good. However, I don't think of the painting as a child - and I don't see myself as a mother to it. It's more like a presence - a cat - a friend who lives in California and phones every now and again - a plant that needs water - the neighbor next door. Though it sleeps near me, it doesn't seem to need me. However, I'd miss it if it weren't there.

I'm torn between naming it male or female - air or water - even though it was described as being a water sign. It seems more like air to me. The name Claude keeps coming into my head - and then Claudet ... clouds. But, I haven't committed to a name and I feel it's too cold to call it a case or a painting. I notice that I refer to my paintings by their titles and I find that I stare at this often and feel a pressure to formally name it ... the time between what Lippard names "Place and Space" is disconcerting for anyone who desires control. I seem to have problems committing to much and often wish relationships came with statements of protocols and disclaimers.

… followed by decorating and getting new curtains and a new bed... which culminated into a new room for the case:

Unfortunately, I received it in the same week I began a new academic year - AND the same week I decided to gut a closet and turn it into a bathroom. Which led to my changing bedrooms - taking up carpet (and linoleum) - refinishing the newly revealed wood floors and painting the walls...

Day
Mood:  a-ok
I marked the moment by taking a photo of the sky the day it came. There seemed a resemblance at the time:

ALIVE and WELL
Mood:  happy

Well - I have received my case! It's lovely.

Relationships
Holly and I have four emails between us and one post, yet she will mail a "case" to me soon. Are we still strangers to each other? What is a stranger? When entering into a relationship with one thing, how many other things will be included?