Wrapping up on love, toxins and art.

How she loves tennis balls!

The call to Pet Hospice has been made and Monday will be Lila’s last day.  Tough call, but Lila’s been talking to me.  Her dying has snapped me out of my own detachment and has given me a purpose during this nebulous time.  All my dogs have taught me about dying and living.  Lila is no exception and she’ll be missed by many.

I’m grateful to you for your words, stories and voices as I go through this with Lila.  Seems my little Flat Coated Retriever touched many lives.  Much love.

My father was an English major and continues his love for the classics.  Over the phone, he read to me a passage from Book 1 of the poem,  by John Keats.  The classic line is the following:

A thing of beauty is a joy forever: its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness. – John Keats (Endymion)

Still haven’t returned to Instagram.  It feels like a distraction from the heartfelt life I want to live.  Will figure something out to keep showing up for the art world.  That’s all we can do really; is show up and strive to put our best selves forward.

Wanting to stay in sight of Lila I’ve not been in the studio.  Before her rapid decline I was able to make 15lbs of medium and start prepping one of the big boards.  Will need to make another batch to tackle the size of these panels.  Very pleased with the medium making process this time; very little debris in the final medium.  My cheesecloth filter system worked!

So clean and pure!

In the meantime I started experimenting with some horse illustrations.  Riffing off my gafieira birds which I draw when in Brazil, I’m playing with gafieira horses.  Gafieira is a rhythmic partner samba dance.  The music lifts and brings a smile to the face.  You can watch two instructors casually dancing after a workshop here.  We’re lucky to have this dance in the Bay Area!

These creatures keep evolving and it’s a meditative practice.  I often work on these late into the night and watch them transform into mythical creatures.  I have a hunch it’s similar to the pleasure of doing puzzles over and over again.  Not sure why this horse has a rattlesnake like tail though!

I’m happy to be doing.

XOXO,

Francesca