really thrown off track with the events that I was faced with at the opening of 2020. My younger sister, Kathy (oldest of my there younger sisters), passed away unexpectedly on January 13th. She was 58 years old. We were very close when we were younger. In a way, we were kindred spirits. Both, always up for a good time. Both, hard workers and career-focused. Both, always quick with a smile. Here's a photo of us in our prime. I walked her up the aisle to "give her away" on her wedding day (this was back in 1993). She was an organ donor, and today there is someone walking around (I hope) with her heart, beating away. The grief I experienced and the effort I expended to make sure we "sent her off" honorably, took its toll on me. Immediately afterward, I started a new semester at school and travelled to Baton Rouge for a conference presentation. I had virtually no "fuel in my tank", physically and emotionally, when we found out that my dog Frida... my "baby girl"... had liver cancer. After 15 wonderful years of unconditional love, we had to "put her down". That was devastating as well. It has been a tough 2020 thus far... it's been traumatic. In fact, I just started taking blood pressure meds as a result.
BUT... last night, after almost 5 weeks away from any effort at making art, I went down to my studio and created this piece. It came together quite quickly (although I had already had the pieces coated in December). I'm hoping to "get back to Steve" soon; and I'm looking forward, once again, to creating new artwork. As I said in my eulogy to my sister Kathy, "She often reminded me that she 'didn't get' my art... but she made it to my openings whenever she could". She would want me to keep creating artwork... and I will.
Rest in peace Frida...
Create in peace, one and all...
