Happy People

At the checkout of every grocery and convenience store I've been in for the past few years there is a feature article on mindfulness. Mindfulness is the 2000 version of the 70's fondue pot. Everyone is doing it, I had better do it too. Mindfulness sends people off to retreats, yoga camps, monasteries and libraries full of self help books. Music is my biggest form of mindfulness. I love to listen to great singer song writers. A cheap bottle of wine, a nice dinner and the tunes turned up on Saturday night is my retreat, yoga camp and the monastery that I worship in. I bet y'all can tell that much of the inspiration in my blog is music driven. Often times I think the songwriter wrote the song just for little ole me. Today I listened to Lori McKenna "Happy People". Happy people don't cheat Happy people don't lie They don't judge or hold a grudge They don't criticize Happy people don't hate Happy people don't steal All the hurt sure ain't worth The guilt they feel [Chorus] So if you wanna know the secret You can't buy it, gotta make it You ain't ever gonna be it By takin' someone else's away Never take it for granted You don't have to understand it Just do whatever puts a smile on your face Whatever makes you happy people So it ain't Saturday, it's Tuesday and I went out and bought a cheap bottle of wine and I'm going to draw and paint. It's what makes me happy. It's a collaboration. Collaborations are stressful. Here is a wee teapot I collaborated with Heather Smit during our residency at Starworks. Heather put 5 teapot bodies in my space and I deliberated over them for 5 days before I could do anything. It was a wonderful time with dare I say it "mindfulness".

So my friend Louise brought me home this absolutely beautiful hand made paper book from Bhutan(the happiest people in the world). I stared at it for a month and wondered how I could make it more beautiful than it is all buck naked. A week ago I decided I would write sentences in it that connected with me. Tonight I'm going to draw and paint pots over the words. I've always wanted to write a narrative on my pots. This may be the beginning of writing on pots. Only The Bray will tell.