"If it will keep my heart soft,
break my heart everyday."
Warsan Shire
I've been told I wear my heart on my sleeve for the world to see. You could probably ask me anything about me and I would tell you straight up, which surprises me because I am an introverted recluse. I skirt around social situations like an aloof and camera shy fox. There are almost no existing photographs of me and I certainly would never take a selfie. This was a problem, I discovered, after I was invited to participate in a selfie inspired art show.
It's true, I do often see myself as a fox. Foxes are small, autonomous, creative, flirtatious, inconspicuous and best left alone when angry. I sculpted this little girl wearing a fox mask to represent me at an upcoming art show.
The Proust Questionnaire
Your favorite virtue. Integrity
Your favorite qualities in a man. Trustworthiness
Your favorite qualities in a woman. Kindness
Your chief characteristic. Patience
What you dislike about your appearance. I don’t really think about it
What you appreciate the most in your friends. Openness and
vulnerability
Your main fault. Insecurity
Your greatest achievement. Being
a mom
Your favourite occupation. Being
an artist
Greatest extravagance. Expensive yarn.
Your idea of happiness. Time alone to read a good book or do whatever I want
quietly
Your idea of misery. Being in a
crowded room or around too many people at once
Greatest fear. Dying young while
my children are still young.
If not yourself, who would you be? A
more secure version of myself.
Where would you like to live? In a cabin along a river, fly fishing, knitting, painting and reading good books.
Your favourite colour and flower. Green, Peonies
My favorite bird. Ravens and
crows
Your favorite prose authors. Whoa,
too many. I adore reading and I do it every day. My favorite novel is The Road
by Cormac McCarthy because it is the perfect love
letter to one’s child and tribute to being a parent. Plus it is a gloriously dark and grisly post-apocalyptic tale.
Your favorite poets. Warsan Shire, Stanley Kunitz, Mary Oliver, Derek Wilcot, and Rumi
Your favorite heroes in fiction. Owen Meaney, Robin Hood, Atticus Finch
Your favorite heroines in fiction. Jane
Erye
Your favorite painters. Jenny Saville, Matisse
Your heroes or heroines in real life. Anyone who conquers their fears or
fights for the rights of others, animals included. Also, I’m madly in love with
Virginia Woolf.
Your favorite food and drink. Cinnamon buns and hot chocolate
Your favorite names. Penelope
What I hate the most. People who judge and hurt other people and animals
The natural talent I'd like to be gifted with. The ability to sing
How I wish to die. Old, happy and
surrounded by loved ones
What is your present state of mind. Curious
For what fault have you most toleration? Moodiness and sadness
Your favorite motto. It’s not really a motto but my favorite quote is by
Virginia Woolf, “Fear not, says the heart”. I also carry with me at all times a poem by Stanley Kunitz which says, " The heart breaks and breaks and lives by breaking. It is necessary to go through dark and deeper dark and not to turn."
Favorite
journey. The French Alps. I’d still like to
visit Scotland and Ireland.
