Welcome to our weekly art/life trail ride. We’re coming up to the close of the calendar year and as we peer out we can see…up ahead…here on the path; a sign post.
Clear indicator
Notice
Look ahead
The winter solstice on December 21 is a day of equipoise…a day of equal light and dark…
a day to consider the juxtaposition between shore of birth and shore of death. The point on the natural calendar of the year where dark and light are in equal measure. A prime time to consider the ever-mysterious/mystical topic of arriving and leave-taking.
On December 21 you can open to possibility. You can invest the day in balancing your art/life. So much waits to be born. So many parts constantly dying and passing away.
Look
Notice
Acting dead?
Being Alive?
Notice
Look
Harbinger, Ann Vernon, 2012, size unknown, Acrylic/paper, private collection
This week I pay homage to dear friend / art/life colleague Ann Vernon
Ann Vernon painting, Drozda 2014
Ann: force of nature / Wise Woman / Mother to 4 beautiful daughters / Confidant / Mentor / Artist / Public speaker / Curator / Educator / Civil rights – All Living Being rights -Arts rights activist / Community leader / Gardener / Social butterfly / Lover of Living Life
Ann stood her ground as Heroine of highest order…additionally the past four years she has played the role of elegant and exceptional Bionic Being.
‘My Mechanical Heart’, Ann Vernon, 2012, 24 x 18 “, Acrylic/paper, private collection
On Sunday, December 13, 2015 Ann Vernon’s art/life boat bumped up against the shore of death. She returned from an evening at the Virginia symphony with good friends, went to sleep and in her dream-time she slipped through the veil.
‘Did I Dream This?’, Drozda, 2006, 18 x 24”, Acrylic/wood, Private collection
Her passing brings to mind the stunning poem (which I’ve taken the liberty to feminize)
by Stanley Kunitz:
The Long Boat
When her boat snapped loose
from its mooring, under
the screaking of the gulls,
she tried at first to wave
to her dear ones on shore,
but in the rolling fog
they had already lost their faces.
Too tired even to choose
between jumping and calling,
somehow she felt absolved and free
of her burdens, those mottoes
stamped on her name-tag:
conscience, ambition, and all
that caring.
She was content to lie down
with the family ghosts
in the slop of her cradle,
buffeted by the storm,
endlessly drifting.
Peace! Peace!
To be rocked by the Infinite!
As if it didn’t matter
which way was home;
as if she didn’t know
she loved the earth so much
she wanted to stay forever.
Here is a snapshot of Ann’s recent art/life story…
Collapse II, Ann Vernon, 2012, size unknown, Acrylic/paper, private collection
In August of 2011 Ann Vernon collapsed with a heart attack while wandering in her flower garden. She was discovered by her companion in the nick of time whisked off to hospital where it was discovered she was a candidate for an exploratory technique called L-VAD.
Watch a news video here.
This surgery gave Ann a unique distinction. She was one of a select few who would be able to go forward living ‘bionically’…active and engaged in the art/life despite conditions imposed by the L-VAD apparatus.
Life Saver, Ann Vernon, 2012, 24 x 18″, Acrylic/paper, private collection
After the L-Vad implant Ann’s art/life unfolded with the consistent beauty and attention to goodness as it ever had. Then…in December 2012 at lunch with Ann and another dear friend…as the three of us discussed a public art project; the two being my ‘Life in Transit’ mentors. Ann excused herself from table twice and we hoped she was doing okay. She assured us she was fine, nothing to worry about. The following day we received news that during the night Ann suffered a massive stroke.
It was very hard work coming back from that edge and yet we were able to witness Ann and her capacity to slowly acclimate to the conditions that the stroke forced her to deal with; compromised movement and ‘word salad’ speech patterns. However she did bounce back and continued, as this video link shows, to inspire the community.
This week on the trail I share a personal homage to Ann and her extraordinary journey.
Following the stroke Ann and I regularly shared studio time in the atrium of her assisted living facility
Both Ann and I have been actively engaged as volunteers with Tidewater Arts Outreach for many years. In 2013 area artists were invited to turn a donated musical instrument into a work of art.
There had been a solo exhibition of Ann’s paintings at Mayer Fine Arts Gallery followed by a news article featuring images of her work…I used the newspaper images and the donated guitar as my opportunity to salute the beautiful visual music that Ann’s heart-song has brought to the world.
Donna Iona Drozda and Ann Vernon, Instruments of Art Gala, Tidewater Arts Outreach, 2013
Ann Vernon and Martine Strohmeyer , Tidewater Arts Outreach Gala, 2014
This is a beautiful tribute to a life well lived. I first met Ann at Chrysler Museum as she was a docent for my students. She was always an inspiration for them, especially my AP art history group. Anyone that met her was in awe of her beauty, grace, compassion, and knowledge.
It’s true Kay…Ann made an impact upon us all…I didn’t meet her until 2003 and yet from then on she was mentor, friend, confidant and champion…what a great legacy.
Ann lived many lives and affected a lot of us. I first met her when AB Jackson brought her for dinner in end of 70s . She talked me into becoming a Chrysler Docent in the early 1980s. My last talk with her was at the Mayer Gallery in the 2000s where she was a bit tired but still exhuberantly alive.
She won’t be forgotten
Thanks for the memories Ellis…indeed it’s quite amazing to see the ripple effect that each of us has on the art/life of others…Ann was one of those ‘front line’ greeters…making sure everyone felt welcomed and ‘come as you are’ to join the celebration…
Your closing line reminds me of an inscription on an old English tombstone:
“She who we have loved and lost is no longer where she was before:
She is now wherever we are.”
yes, dear Iona, the inscription you you quoted means I’m never alone. Thanks.
Ellis
Thanks Ellis…I have found so much comfort in those words and all that they conjure…never alone.
This week’s blog was quite a tribute, Donna!!! Rather than feeling sadness, I found myself smiling and marveling at Ann’s joyful and indomitable LIVING, DANCING spirit! Soooooo inspirational and beautiful! Thank you for allowing your personal news and experiences to enrich ours! How beautiful her exit and comforting that poem!
Thanks Marianne…your being here and reflecting back means a lot to us all. So often the end of life is down right horrible and frightening…to know that it is possible to ‘go gently into the night’ provides not only hope but also a visual intention…we might begin at any time to consider not only the way that we live but also the way that we will bump or own boat up against the opposite shore.
I was fortunate to have had many a pointed conversation with Ann during her ‘bionic years’…pretty amazing what options might make themselves available as needed. Ann received 4 bonus years through the miracle of modern medicine…and she continued her path which was to shine like a star.
I adore the Stanley Kunitz poem and am so happy it popped into my mind for this post.