Beginnings

A journey. A blank page. An empty canvas. A web address. There is always so much potential in beginnings and some risk too. It has taken me a long time to get to the beginning of an online conversation which is the way I see putting up a website and posting a blog. It is not because I didn’t see the value in a digital presence, but because I wasn’t sure who might really be interested in looking at my work or reading what I had to say. And… realizing that many who would visit the website or read a blog would be strangers to me. 

In my life, I have not been particularly shy about talking to friends, but it has taken me quite a while to feel comfortable talking to folks I don’t know. When I was young, my mother used to insist that I call my grandparents to thank them for birthday and Christmas gifts and it terrified me. It was not because I did not want to talk to my grandparents, but because they lived in a BIG apartment building in Philadelphia. Every time I had to dial their phone number, I realized that if I dialed the wrong number there were hundreds and hundreds of strangers in that building, not to mention the entire rest of Philadelphia, who I didn’t know, who might pick up my phone call, and with whom I would then have to speak. 

Aside from the risk of needing to engage with people I do not know, for me, one of the challenges of putting a website together, was seeing the pathway that would connect my work coherently and give voice with any kind of clarity to the meaning behind my work. In the process of reviewing images for the website, I came across some photos I’d taken of a portfolio of my elementary school drawings, paintings, and collages. I realized that even as a child, I loved trees enough to draw them. Certainly, this is a current adult focus, but I was surprised to see how early it emerged. Where did it come from and why trees? I have some guesses, but I think I have still more to learn about this passion. The rediscovery of my early artwork has made me realize that a website and blog can be not only the opportunity to have a conversation with strangers, but also with myself. I began to see the possibilities of this adventure into the digital world and realize they outweighed the risks.

I have done lots of writing in my career working in schools, but this past pandemic year my urge to write seems to have evaporated. I’m hoping that committing to writing a blog on a somewhat regular basis (my goal is monthly) will pull me back into the world of text and will connect me to the world in a new way. Though I’m still mildly uncomfortable about the potential interface with so many people I don’t know (in numbers that are undoubtedly larger than the number of people who lived in all of Philadelphia 60 years ago!) I am anxious to explore the possibilities ahead. So, “Upward and onward!” as my grandmother used to say at the start of every adventure. I’m on the way, with many thanks to Sarah Fowler my photographer and Kari at Ashley Creative for helping me through the process!