Abstract and Landscape
In the end, it’s the not just the content of the racing thoughts that drive people to a swallow that bottle of pills – I think it’s a desperate to escape the noise inside your brain. I realized that a few weeks ago as I got out of bed just past midnight and padded to my office.… Continue reading Hot Mess, Cool Brain
When Thing1 was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis six years ago, his doctor told us, “This is a permanent diagnosis.” We thought we understood what that meant, but even after a year of unsuccessful treatment and the discovery that he would have to have surgery — not to cure but to manage his illness - we… Continue reading Navigating by Stars
I told myself to find something, anything to draw while this virus has me couch surfing for a few more days. The master’s degree is done, and I’ve set my sights on writing and illustrating books kids in my classes can read. For now, as ideas and word lists germinate, I’m practicing by picturing my… Continue reading Picture this…
Kissing Thing1 goodbye two years and one pandemic ago as we dropped him off on the corner closest to his dorm was tough but good. He was doing what kids are supposed to do. He was trimming away the apron strings. But then, yesterday, he shredded them. He had been back for two weeks after… Continue reading The Hardest Best Day
I've been delivering Special Education services remotely since September. Some of my students are learning in school. Others are learning from home, but all of them are teaching the adults in their lives an inadvertent but valuable life lesson. Even if you've only accidentally clicked one news link in the last eight months, it would… Continue reading The Kids are Alright, pt 2
I was already stressed by the time we got to the checkout line yesterday. It was the first time since the start of the pandemic that both boys and I had been to a store together, and standing in line made the afternoon feel like a holiday. We chatted with another middle-aged mom and a… Continue reading A Way Out
One of things I love about having two kids who are getting older (one is almost 20 the other is almost 14) is that, as their different strengths emerge, I am ending up with two very different and wonderful partners in crime. Thing1 one is my builder. I contract more and more construction projects out… Continue reading Garden Surprise
So here I am in the backyard, shooting flowers again, wondering where my creative life is going. It might look like I’ve come full circle, but, when I look closer, my loop has the twists of a Möbius band. Fifteen years ago, wanting a creative career, I ran a wedding photography business. I sucked at… Continue reading Me and Imogen
When he was little, Thing2 was Prozac in Pampers, a tight bundle of goodwill who could tease a smile out of Ebenezer Scrooge. As he got older, he was a flight of fantasies, a constant comic, David winning over Goliaths with a well-timed burp or fake fart instead of taking them down. Optimism as hard… Continue reading Covid 13
My favorite picture of the Big Guy and Thing1 doesn’t show their faces. To the casual observer, it’s a picture of them replacing the radiator on our 20 year old Volvo wagon. for me, it’s the moment when our oldest kid learned that sometimes you get the best education when you roll your sleeves up… Continue reading Self Schooling
I've been pretty faithful about protecting and curating the figurines my kids have made over the years. I keep them on the shelf least likely to be jumped on by the cats. In my new office I’ve added another shelf -- the one I use to display greeting cards at art fairs. Right now it's… Continue reading Gallery Management
Someone on Facebook wryly observed that, unless you’re socially separating yourself in the Quarantine region of France happy, then you’re really only engaging in sparkling isolation. I’ve had to segregate myself somewhat from my family since being diagnosed with pneumonia earlier this week. I’m still close enough, however, to be able sit for a few… Continue reading Sparkling Solitude
Rachel Barlow Art 