Rafferty goes to Denver

Although I still have some older stuff to post (promise I will get around to it!) Victoria seemed to take a hiatus from drawing, she just stopped.  She would draw something if asked to, she might even doodle with crayon (or as she calls them 'krans').  But nothing of consequence.

Last week her niece Rafferty moved to Colorado with her parents Ian and Gretchen, we will miss them as they have moved far from us.  So we prepared a small home warming package for Rafferty.  As an avid reader we figured she would like some books, but Victoria also took the time to do a portrait of Rafferty to include in the package.

Rafferty is wonderfully energetic, kind, and insightful.  She has recently had her gorgeous hair cut short, but only after it was long enough that it would be accepted by 'Locks for Love'.  So Victoria's portrait has a fair skinned Rafferty, with short light colored hair, and greenish eyes, surrounded by new style clouds.

Rafferty age 7 by Victoria, August 2013

 

The flowers are a new touch as well.  No surprise they emerge with Rafferty who loves to be outdoors.

When I told Victoria I would post this she told me she might do some more drawings, I know I hope she does, can't wait to see what emerges!

Thanksgiving 2012

I asked Victoria to produce something to illustrate the holiday, so I could post it.  She asked 'Like what?' I said, 'I don't know, a table, people, turkeys, whatever...'  So she produced the below.  She wondered what a turkey might look like, I assured her whatever she produced would be fine.  She hesitated only briefly -

One table, two chairs, one meal for which to be grateful.

 

There is a table and two chairs, probably because no one should be alone at Thanksgving (sic).  There is a turkey, sweet potatoes, and a pumpkin pie.  There are two glasses for drinks, for what is a meal without a toast.  I once again hesitated and almost asked her to 'try' again.  The stark simplicity of her rendering seemed rushed and not as 'thought out' as I would have had it be.

Again I had to stop myself.  All she does is for me to appreciate, rather than for me to 'correct'.  I must be grateful for what she can do rather than for me to insist she adapt to what I might think is 'right'.  My expectations of Victoria are consistently blown away, as they should be, my expectations are a gross underestimation.  She continues to develop at her own pace, assimilating that which is right for that moment in time.

Victoria works twice a week at a dining hall at a military installation.  She feared she would have to work Thanksgiving day as that is her regularly assigned shift. I assured her that could not possibly be the case, but she was (again!) right.  She was expected to work on Thanksgiving day.  I spoke to her supervisor and offered that if she could have off Thanksgiving Day she could swap with someone for a Christmas Day shift.  He understood and accepted the offer.  My next challenge would be to tell Victoria.  How to explain to her that she might have to work Christmas day?  Nothing for it, I just did.  'Victoria, in order for you to go to Thanksgiving you might have to work Christmas Day.  I hope this is OK with you because that is what I worked out with your supervisor.'  A brief silence, a heavy sigh and then words that blew me away. 'Ok, I'll work Christmas Day if that is what I have to do to go to Thanksgiving.'

There are a lot of things I think I might change - but if it all means I get to moments like that I will change nothing.  And I am grateful for every moment.  I hope you are too.

Robby, Kirstan, and Emerson

My baby brother, his bride, and their baby

 

Victoria drew my brother Robby (who is well over 6 feet tall) and his bride Kirstan (who is well below 6 feet tall) long before they welcomed wonderful Emerson Eloise aka Emme.

Uncle Robby and Aunt Kirstan - holding hands, of course.

Thanks to Victoria's rendition we can see uncle Robby IS in fact taller - AND making a smashing fashion statement.  Aunt Kirstan is a stunning petite who rules the roost and, as ever, they are holding hands.  Victoria completed the above drawing in the fall of 2010.  When Emerson arrived in the spring of 2012 I asked Victoria to fill out the family portrait.

Ok, ok, I confess I lost the first drawing of Emerson, it's here somewhere, I just can't tell where.  And as I looked at it I remember wondering if it was good enough to post.  The quality of the lines was off, the colors were faint, and the legs and arms were more like bubbles than, well, the sticks that Victoria's people usually have for appendages.  I probably lost it on purpose hoping Victoria would revisit the interpretation and make Emerson the way I figured she should be.



So I had her do another image, prepared for the image to be what I figured it should be.  Well, surprise!  The image is exactly the way VICTORIA wants it to be.  Emerson of Victoria's people is yellow haired and has very thick arms and legs, and a newly defined nose.  She is as perfect in Victoria's drawing, as she is in person.

Emme, perfect.

I truly regret losing that first drawing - it was Victoria's interpretation and clearly exactly what she meant her to look like.  Emerson is beautiful, dark haired and perfectly proportioned.


As ever, I still have much to learn from Victoria.

Victoria's Halloween

Happy Halloween Pumpkin!

Victoria loves Halloween - she is 25 - 250lbs and wonders if she can get away with going trick or treating.  I DO tell her she looks very young, a fact she exploits on occasions like, oh I don't know like say perhaps... trick or treating?  I don't encourage her, and don't walk her around, but if her buddy Daniel were in town she would be knocking on doors the whole month of October!  Victoria and Daniel - her very best friend in the whole world since she was 4 - have been fanatical about scary gory gross movies for as long as I can remember.  As soon as they were allowed to watch gory movies they did.  Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, Freddy Kruger, The Shining, you name it they have watched it, and tried to get me to watch it as well.  I will not - can't stand 'em!  The movies that is.

Victoria loves to be seasonal, so as holidays approach she often takes cues for drawings from what surrounds her.  For Halloween she tries scary and since she loves those scary movies she once tried to draw Freddy, yes THAT Freddy - I don't know where THAT drawing went, but below you can see what one of people looks like as a vampire.  Victoria's people trying to be scary?  Not likely - but a sophisticated vampire, man about town?  Definitely!

Victoria's Vampire!

Famous vampires of the world beware, Victoria's vampire is here.  He is stylish purple pants and all, as vampires seem to be, and you can tell he's mean because his mouth is down turned and, of course, bloody.

 

My favorite by FAR however is the witch (wich?).  Yes, she is green, has purple hair, and what is supposed to be an over sized hat is hardly that, but she definitely has character.  She looks like she has her hands on her hips and even a smirk, yes that blue thing is her broom, which looks to be a LOT more likely to comfortably hold the weight of a person than those skinny jobs Harry Potter and his crew ride.  I'm just sayin'

 

And what self respecting witch doesn't have a cat and a bat?  Not this one!

  



  

One Cat - check.

One Bat - check.

 Halloween planning - check!



Some Things Fabulous

Team "Some Things Fabulous"

 

Next weekend I am walking the 60 miles with the Susan G. Komen organization to continue the work needed to find a cure for breast cancer.  This year two more friends were diagnosed with this scary, unpredictable, and still at time incurable disease.  My friend Donna and I are team "Some Things Fabulous" and in order to involve her in this effort I asked Victoria to draw me something that helped illustrate our team. 

In her infinite wisdom Victoria picked up on the fact that I wanted pink (ok, I told her).  She struggled with the spelling - with which I did not help - and wondered how one draws a ribbon, 'You know like THE ribbon, the pink one!' said she.  I told her to do what she thought would be right.

The result is the above fantastic bubble letter interpretation.  As you can see we use three words, Victoria used two, and the ribbon is in various shades and hues relevant to the cause.  In her drawing is the imperfect perfection that may be the answer we have not allowed ourselves to see.  Maybe we are looking for three words, where two will do.  Maybe we just need to let the ribbon unfold.

The cure for cancer may be similarly hidden just waiting for someone to look at it diferently.  Just recently I learned that studies dedicated to Down Syndrome actually ended up helping Alzheimers.   

For those three days it's just Donna, me, and about 3,000 other people!  There is no prize at the end, this is not a race, but the need for a cure is pressing.

Hearts

Victoria creates like any other artist.  Our floors have been littered with pages half covered in semi recognizable shapes, colors, forms.  Drafts, sketches, often cast off for reasons not totally clear, sometimes forgotten.  Some are what look like scraps of paper, some are in sketch books, some are simply in stacks, not good enough to present as a gift, not bad enough to discard. She creates and moves on.  I often catch myself, as I am cleaning up, looking at the pieces she creates and find little gems like these hearts.  She often can't tell you what she has created, but create she does!

For years I listened to a radio program called 'Music From the Heart's of Space', yeah - it was on NPR, Space music they called it.  I loved it.  I often tries to envision what Music from the Hearts of Space would look like.  These hearts happily seem to fit the category nicely. There is no predicting what will inspire Victoria, I don't even think SHE knows what inspires her. Her creations are, always bold, touching, and inspiring.  So here are Victoria hearts with my titles and interpretations -







The Flying Heart
Kinda like the bumble bees whose wings are not supposed to be able to make it fly,

these wings seem too thin, too flimsy, and yet there is it, flying!





Crayon heart, pink wings
The Crayon Heart has a difinite Picasso-esque feel.

And then there is the Satellite Heart.  Notable for the fact that Victoria has so boldly signed her name to it.  When Victoria writes her name it is often very fast, and often much too big for the designated space.  Despite years of effort, she misjudges space and often ends up writing her last name down the side of the page.  She is unaware of physical space norms as well - when talking to a person she will get uncomfortably close.  She may well sense the listener is at odds, but will probably not change her position.  On her Satellite Heart image her name in strong, bold block letters is in just the right place.



Satellite Heart

I believe Victoria's hearts represent her joy, abundance, and giving nature.  All our hearts should be this full of color and optimism.




The Cousins - 2 of 6

William, Lorna, Kelly and Davis

The elder of my two baby brothers is William who is married to Lorna, who is built like your standard everyday super model.  They have two boys who fall squarely in the category of too cool for most anything, but they don't know it.  Kelly and David are accomplished musicians, and handily master most anything that has to do with computers.  My brother William is a businessman, and commercial pilot who systematically comes up with entrepreneurial ideas he turns into successful enterprises.  I should try to keep up!

Uncle William and Aunt Lorna

Lorna is not really taller than William (who is 6'3" at least) but she is wearing heels, so her 5'7" frame stretched!  Not sure why they're not holding hands - Victoria makes up her own mind.  She is careful to make sure we know these are her Aunt and Uncle!

Kelly, um William's Kelly - of course! 

Kelly is now much taller than his statuesque mom.  Self effacing, but quietly confident he performs as a musician very comfortably and VERY well.  He is one of the three Kelly's in our family.  We try not to have Boy Kelly (aka William's Kelly), Aunt Kelly, Alex's Kelly (you know HER!).  But Old Kelly, Little Kelly and Girl Kelly didn't fell right either.

Davis - the only

Davis wears glasses, and for this image had short hair.  He has had hair to rival the Breck girl's (yes I am dating myself), it was gorgeous.  He has since had a haircut.  And yes, there is only ONE Davis! ;)