FlamingO Ranch and Studio

This is a long story.  It's my favorite and first true piece of art.  I created this in the time I waited to hear from Kevin.

It's the jumble of tiles I'd been throwing in buckets for years.  It's really complicated and kind of endlessly wonderful - to me anyway.  The Desiderata is written in small pink tiles that take the shape of flamingoes.  You can start at one end and read your way all the way to the end where it magically ended in a cross as I was writing the name of the church where the poem was found in Baltimore.

Each rose is a story in itelf.

Felipe's is the strongest; it's rich and spiritual and textured.  The words take kindly the grass weave their way through his rose. The last words you see before stepping foot into my house are be yourself.

My friend, Trey, put in a rose right at the entrance way; his has yellow tips.  I'm so thankful he has a rose in my piece.  David Jewell made a turquoise rose beside Trey's.  Maybelline left her little paw prints across his; they are very close.

I dedicated one to my sister since she couldn't be here to do it with me.  Hers is mysterious and dark and unique.  Franny has one in there, too.  It's small and bright yellow and perfect.  It's my favorite one.

Denise put one in.  It's madness.  Every color.  Sharp angles.  Every tile has significant meaning and is there for a reason.  It's grouted with a light pink in honor of the breast cancer treatments she was receiving at the time.

Tommy and Jason did one together and even collaborated with David Jewell on it.  That one is the rainbow rose.

Megan's is unlike anyone elses, except Trey's.  Theirs are the only ones that have sharp triangles on the ends.  Hers has a little tiny bowl in the center where she set a perfect square of mirror.  I try to keep a little piece of mirror in there for her all the time.  The little bowl was made my her sister in the throes of dealing with infertility.  Barb came over and we made little tiny bowls and spoons that day while she talked about what she was going through.   Not coincidentally, but unknowingly, Megan chose one of the bowls her sister made as the centerpiece of her rose.   I dedicated one to Barb right next to Meg's; it's clean and white and very pure.

Diana and David, from down the street, added their touch on the piece, as well as endless amounts of enthusiasm.  Hers is chickens ... of course.  They are orange and are the center of her purple rose.  His is this wild black and dark green and blue piece at the end that looks exactly like something he would make.

Just wild how the descriptions of their flowers is describing my friends so perfectly;  funny how that happens.

Steph Nance and her art school self put in an amazing green one.  It's so strong and full of life.  It's one of two that aren't the whole rose.

Tommy also put one in that was just him and when he was done he told me that he felt like he'd just picked me a bunch of wildflowers.

David Jewell made a collection of cactus roses; they rock.  And one small perfect hot red rose honors my relationship with him.

Right at the front door is one for my mom.  It's got soft edges and it's turquoise.  The one for my dad is more serious and it's yellow; his favorite color.

So, I'd found the son I gave up for adoption when I was 17.  I had mailed a letter to his parents' address and was waiting to hear back.  You can imagine the energy I was working with every day.  I was up at 6 and working until way past dark with lamps pulled outside and candles lit.  I dedicated the center rose to him; it was one of the final ones put in.  It's pale blue and pink and now when I look at it I feel like I was waiting for a baby.

The whole project kind of felt like that.

Well, he ain't no baby.  He's an awesome 23 year old man.  He's happy and healthy and I got to spend his birthday with him last year.  His parents came here to meet me and asked how the mosaic was connected to him.  I was practically unable to come up with words to say how but it was the experience of "the doing" and the waiting that makes the whole thing about him.

There is a pink one near his that is for me.  That felt good.

The Rolling Stones get their due.  Theirs is black and has lots of dead flowers in it. haha.

Tam and Autumn came over at one of those significant moments of doing a big project - the what in the hell am I doing moment - and their two beautiful flowers kind of kicked us off.

Darshan was spending tons of time over here then and his signatures are throughout everything.  I have these great pictures of us standing around looking at it at different times of day.

Shell is in there.  Hers is red and white - got some chickens.  It's a little bit country; it's a little bit rock 'n roll.

Amanda's is green and yellow, wholesome and bright and forthright.  Awesome.

Anyone who has hung in here this long and still wants to know more should just come over with a bottle of wine.  But I'm going to go ahead keep writing.

Seemed like an awful lot of 22 year old young men walked by during this period and I'm looking for one in particular, right?  One who would be looking back; one who looks like me ... turns out most white guys look a bit like me.  It was a very euphoric process.

David was around a lot.  Seems like he showed up with tacos, water, encouragement, grunt work and patience every time it was needed.  Thank you DJ!

Everyone showed up.  I had told everyone I was doing this and invited them to stop in and visit or make a rose and it was a 3 week open house.  It was such a spiritual project. There's a little chicken head that stands up and looks out; it's really unbeleivable how much that chicken head looks like our friend Jason. We've laughed to tears many times looking at him.