There is no space between Maria, the person, and Maria, the artist.
She is always an artist, when she sleeps, dreams, walks in the woods, eats, loves, finds shells, crystals, rocks, and stones, talks to her plants, tends her gardens, sketches the world around her, visits her friends, wanders the deep woods with her camera spotting things I would never see or notice.
She talks to trees and fungus and spiders, she reads and reads, listens and listens, and everything she sees or feels or does shows up in her art one way or the other, sometimes months or years later.
To live with Maria and love her, it is essential to support her work and recognize the power and importance of art in her life.
Here art is everywhere in our home – on every windowsill, every painted wall, every curtain.
Maria and I have little use for people who dismiss creativity as a severe or sensible way to work and live. When I was eight, I decided to be a writer, and I swore I would never be anything else. She has made the same decision, only as an artist.
Failure to support this – to never be jealous or insecure about it – – would harm her and probably blow up our marriage. Creative people need support, not pity.
I do this out of love, not fear, but the bottom line is that it must be done Supporting one another is the cornerstone of our love and relationship.
And her happiness is my happiness, as mine is hers.
I meet too many gifted women who seem unsupported and get discouraged. I am committed to Maria having a very different story so far as I can help.
Her life as an artist was fragile. Now, nothing could stop it. She did that herself through bravery, hard work, and commitment to her art.
How to capture this in a portrait?
To capture the spirit of Maria, it is essential to catch her as an artist; I went into her studio this morning, drawn by the light and shadows. There she was, practically surrounded by a pile of batting made for her new quilt.
The batting next to her made the picture especially beautiful and revealing. Here, she was pretty literally engulfed in her art.
She was happy and at peace. Art has saved her life in many ways; art fees our love for one another.
I think this portrait captures an essential part of her, and her focus, and her DNA. She is all artist all the time. She is never anyone or anything else. This may be the most important of her thousand faces.
you certainly capture *the artist* perfectly, Jon. Beautiful photo
Susan M
Lucky lady, I too am a creative type, scares off even the bravest of the brave….
Thanks, Teri, but I have to be honest, I’ve seen how hard she has worked, day and night, seven days a week for everyone of the 10 years we’ve been married. I don’t think luck has much to do with it.
Saved my life too. Love the phrase “all artist all the time.” Thank you for this lovely celebration.
I love everything about this photo! The subject, the light, the composition! My mother was an artist (alas, I am not) and she was creating something every day of her life. Just amazing to watch beauty come out of nothing. Like Maria she was also very connected to nature–she would have little nature displays on her kitchen counter–some nuts, a feather, a special leaf–things that she would look at and touch, add to and subtract from. We lived in ten different houses all over the South and she planted a garden in each one. She loved animals and they loved her. A real creative. Creations just flowed from her fingertips, like Maria.
This is a beautiful monument to love and to the love you and Maria share. I love reading you.
Jon…
Persistence and perfection are fretful companions. But I’ve come to wed these attributes. As a kid, I would reluctantly conclude a play session because to me, it wasn’t playing. And during education, I needed to adopt the perfections assumed in math and science, that endowed each problem with one solution. . . .
As one’s creativity generates endless new ideas, the commitment to artistic pursuits requires increasing time and effort. So, I stopped to wonder: is the extra effort needed to produce a personally acceptable product more an expression of creativity and skill, or of excessively high standards?
Ultimately, in the realm of real-time programming, the boundaries between content and time cannot be compromised. With software operating to control aircraft and spacecraft, the adage must be applied: “late is wrong.” Unplanned software delays could result in catastrophic failure.
However, nature has the last word. Computers, rockets, and automation all operate in man’s time. But, in nature’s time, these concepts don’t exist. How many milliseconds does it take for a rose to bloom?