Invitation to the Dance

Working out life, through art

Departure of the Winged Ship by Vladimir Kush

I saw this incredible painting online a few days ago, and, between my inordinate love for the sea and for butterflies, I just had to share it. It is an example of what the artist calls “metaphorical realism.” Imagine my surprise when I learned that Kush’s primary art gallery is located in Lahaina, Maui—the Hawaiian town nearly destroyed by this week’s hurricane-fueled wildfires. I have been praying for the people of Maui as they cope with such massive and heartbreaking destruction and loss of their history. The fires attest to the fury of climate change, but maybe we can look ahead to the possibility that, like the legendary phoenix, this lovely town can arise again from the ashes…and contribute to a worldwide tipping point in the right direction. We are killing ourselves, and our planet, faster than anyone anticipated. It can, it must, stop.

Speaking of wonderful artists and Hawaii…

CAROLYN MAJEWSKI

It is past time to introduce you all to my super-talented sister, Carolyn Majewski. C attended the prestigious Ringling School of Art in Sarasota FL, and over the years has worn many career hats—department manager at Neiman-Marcus, realtor, web designer—while continuing to paint whenever possible. C and her husband Rob moved to Honolulu from Lewes, DE a dozen years ago, and I miss her terribly. Now (almost) retired, she continues to blossom as a watercolorist. Hawaii and the sea inspire her award-winning paintings. Here are a couple of her beautiful creations…

ESSAY: PHOTOSYNTHESIS

A picture, as they say, is worth a thousand words. Here are my thousand+, about three photographs that mean a lot to me, for The Broadkill Review…

My grandpa Jack Berrigan (center), shortstop for the Bronx Giants, with Babe Ruth

A TRAGIC LOSS:

The recent death of Sinéad O’Connor hit me hard. I adored her gorgeous voice, I admired her courage, and I identified with her long struggle with mental illness. Much of her music is widely known, but here’s a lesser-known gem—her rendition of “Danny Boy,” sung on Irish TV 30 years ago.

RIP, lovely.

BLOG PREVIEW: DIVIDING IT UP

As I wrap up the summer at the shore and plan for my next writing season, I came across a suggestion for Proper Pitching Percentages (say that three times fast!) 25% of your pitches/submissions should be to “sure things” (publications very likely to be “yeses”), 50% should be to do-able but more challenging outlets, and the final 25% should be reach-for-the-stars dream pubs (The New Yorker!) How do we divide up our time, whatever we’re doing with our days? Grab a calculator and join me over at Working Title tomorrow morning!

INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

"The more we persist in misunderstanding the phenomena of life…the more we involve ourselves in sadness, absurdity, and despair. But it does not matter much, because no despair of ours can alter the reality of things, or stain the joy of the cosmic dance which is always there. Indeed, we are in the midst of it, and it is in the midst of us, for it beats in our very blood, whether we want it to or not..we are invited to forget ourselves on purpose, cast our awful solemnity to the winds, and join in the general dance." —Thomas Merton

Shall we forget our cares and worries this week, my friends? Shall we dance?

Photo by Ricardo Moura on Unsplash