You still have to sign this.
No.
Are you sure??
Yes, I like it the way it is.
Ok....?
I had a week to get my piece framed and dropped off for the show I'd been accepted to. Barb on White street was amazing at helping me select a frame and she had sent me home after we met, instructing me sternly to sign my piece.
I had signed the back but she told me I needed to sign the front because people like to see that.
But I don't like to, I told her.
You need to get over that - she eloquantly shot back. So I took it home and promptly stared at it for three days.
You can do this I thought. And like a bull determined, I tried to figure out where and how to sign. I signed it three times; erased it three times before I decided I liked it the way it was and a signature on the front stuck out like a sore thumb. It didn't work into the piece at all.
So I dropped it off sans signature happy with my decision. I know its mine, I'm good.
Until Barb called me at the restaurant last night leaving a message that I still needed to sign it before she sealed it up. It had to be dropped off today so I called quickly to tell her it was fine as is.
Went back to a fully flat seated section and started to get aggravated. I knew she was right. I had to sign it. So I called her in between dropping off drinks and taking 5 orders.
"Hey Barb? Can I maybe stop by a little early to figure out a way to sign it??"
I haven't sealed it. I knew you needed to sign it and I want to see you do it. I can help you, I have a couple ideas of where you can put it.
Hell, gotta love a framer who knows what's best for you in oh so many ways. She's an artist too.
I go in with pencil in bag and take a first peek. It looks amazing. She points out a few places I could put it without it being intrusive to the image. As she points near the fish going up the side of the painting, I know that's the space. Sometimes you just have to look at it differently and not sign it in the old ways she sagely tells me.
She even offers to turn around so I don't freak out over the pressure to sign.
That's ok. I turn up the scripto and easily scribble out the signature in one shot and it looks right.
Finally.
Penelope 2017
She carefully wraps it up with butchers paper like the baby I feel it is.
Swaddled and ready to drop off at the Custom house. As I wait for the curator, I see another artist I didn't recognize at first. She's got a Barb sticker on the back of her frame too.
As the artist hands over her piece, as soon as I saw her work, I finally recognized her. I think back to when I was helping her sell her work in a outdoor show I had co-created with my sister. Now, I'm showing work with hers. A nice full circle.
After she's done I start to unwrap mine and when the frame is handed over the curator gently says "Oh Penny...I love it"
And what great framing! A very big shout out to Barb and her fantabulous work gets delivered with the final product. I'm so happy.
I feel like I'm being seen for who I am. And I'm finally seeing myself too.
Lots of good things coming together these days. Been teaching more yoga and really loving it. Had a woman book two privates this week. Weeks ago, I could hardly walk. Lower back pain that felt like an energetic block which has finally moved.
I couldn't do yoga. I could work and then it seized up. Looking for help I used my tools and asked for help from my healers to move it out.
First Reiki, then acupuncture but it didn't finally relieve completely until I taught an unexpected private yoga session with someone who does privates with my yoga teacher.
He happened to show up on the beach last Saturday for class. At first I wondered if my class could hold up to Sofia's but then I didn't even think too much about it and we just started to flow. He had injuries and since I had just experienced my own immobility it was easy to take it down and move into poses. It was probably one of the most natural, varied practices I've taught yet.
And that flowed into an unexpected private request on Monday. She liked it so much she booked one for Wednesday. Ultimately, I teach what I do for myself and lately its slow conscious movement with breath which I love.
Saw a last minute notice for a closing sale from a crystal cottage up the keys I'd been meaning to visit. I actually got a piece of quartz from this laday second hand through a store in town. As soon as I picked it up I got a weird feeling in the top of my head and promptly purchased.
Same thing happened with this little piece of pyrite that entered my world. In a bin, I saw it, held it and had a feeling of being pushed down into the earth. Grounding... Which after my reiki session I found out is lacking on an island built on pourous limestone rock. How perfect.
I've been attracted to this stuff ever since I started to do some side marketing for a psychic. She had a crystal home grid set and out of all the gems, this one I was immediately drawn to.
It was in my pocket as I signed my painting today and is currently my vibrational security blanket.
So these days I'm learning to let go a little more. Trust in the process. Open space for all the new to flow in and old wash out. Cycles. Circles. Trying to move more freely in the flow of life. Not being afraid of the shift and embracing all that life has to offer.
So far, so good