A Dana Thread

So here I am, awake too late, mind too stimulated to go down. I give up! I was reading another post of Dana Dee's Blog
and it got me thinking all about old cemeteries.
She brings up the idea that celebrating Decoration Day , honoring your dead ancestors is part of a full spiritual life. I concur.
At the very least I find visiting old cemeteries (even crappy new ones) to be the nicest little break in normal life; a visit to another realm if I may be dramatic.
I love looking at the gorgeous scenery, wondering about the changes the landscape has gone through since the oldest tombstone dates, speaking out loud the names, figuring ages at time of death, wondering about each life. When these old places are properly tucked away, it's easy to imagine what their funeral may have looked like. When you're standing right where mourners of decades or centuries ago once stood, just the thought honors those lives.
Here's a little diddy by my man John Lee Hooker about Decoration Day.
I think it's a pretty sweet way to pay homage to human life, your own included.
In the next, oh let's give me 3 years I am taking myself a little vacation up & down the east coast, from Philly back down. I will stop where ever I dam-well please to ponder and photograph. The "anchor" stops will be cemeteries. I plan to do it solo, but who knows, maybe I'll take someone along. It isn't the kind of trip you need a friend there to have a good time.
But, I don't know, I can think of a few people who would be a blast to take along!
Eh, whatever; "it's my funeral"-I mean vacation!

Please do yourself a favor and pop on into my dear friend

Dana Dee's Blog. ...(right there!)

Her ever growing writing style is beyond inspirational to me. She is an excellent story teller and writes about the coolest observations in the most original way. Best of all worlds!

Studio 136

Welcome to Studio 136 of Concord, N.C.'s Water Works Studios!
My sister Brandi & I have been waiting for this day, plotting, planning, envisioning, conjuring and waiting some more for this. It's 1280 sq. feet of climate controlled inspiration!
It has tons of natural light coming in from a row of windows with southern exposure, overlooking the greenway. Perfect.
The site is two old buildings that were first the city's stables for the coaches, then the waterworks, and now finally a group of art studios started to revitalize the old downtown area and hip-up Concord. The buildings are old and the areas that have not been renovated still have all kinds of cool stuff everywhere, including infrastructure for water purification. The light under this pipe is beautiful.
Beauty and inspiration abound; look at the patina on these doors.
This area is the gallery where all the artists (me!) will be showing their work.
Brandi & I met with our friend Sean there this morning to show us around. He's one of our neighbors! It will be worth the rent just to have the luxury of his company and the opportunity to pick his brain. He scoffs at us for saying so, but I want to be him when I grow up. He knows how to do everything! You'll be hearing more about him and his overabundance of skills in days to come...
I can move all my woodworking tools and everything else in here and finally have no impediments to creating. I can't say what this means to me. All I can say is "It's about damn time!"
And also that I am filled with gratitude and excitement. I can't even do it justice in this blog post. Just take my word for it, this is a big step in the right direction and Brandi & I will show that space some art-action like it never dreamed of.