Something Beautiful
Journal Brief
YEAR: 2020
START DATE: August 23, 2020
END DATE: November 29, 2020
Beauty. Thoughts on beauty. Something beautiful: Ray Mel Cornelius’s Snowflake Painting from 20 years ago. David McNulty’s murder. Aging—Kelly’s mother’s aging, Sparky the cat aging, my own aging. Love communicated invisibly. Love knows no distance. The intersection of personal nature, initiative, and the choice to make something beautiful. The transient nature of life. “Once in forever.” Sparky. Eye contact. Tender mercies. Janelle and Lea.TikTok—“the game is locked.” Forgiveness. WTF? Mom. Commitment. Training in commitment. Lessons.The Other Shore of 29 Pieces. Suicide project for UNL. Drawing again—suicide sketches and final art. Biden election. Kamala Harris. Question: Does glitter lure the fish or the fisherman? Photos from this period.
Sparky the cat’s aging. Janelle aging, entering nursing care. Biden election win. Kamala Harris win.
In the time of global pandemic, poverty, devastating losses for many people, heinous financial gain for some, political divisions, conspiracy theorists, QAnon, Proud Boys and white supremacists, I wanted to give attention to something beautiful. And while every day was not beautiful, I sought the beautiful in each day.
Suicide project illustrations for UNL Alumni magazine. 29 Pieces murals at 6 schools with Trust for Public Land, Dallas ISD, Texas Trees Foundation, Dallas Parks and Recreation partnership for Cool Schools Project: six Dallas ISD schools. Teacher trainings via Region 10 Education Service Center in 29 Pieces Artists Making a Kinder World Program: Commitment, Sanctuary and
Respect Lessons.