Wednesday, October 26, 2016

10. Between the real and the imagined

February 1, 2007

And now for a few more new drawings! First, here is a sketch I did from my balcony in Osu (Accra) of the childern playing outside. It was hard to capture them, so I'd wait until they'd run by and then quickly try to sketch out one of them as they flew by!

This drawing was about a difficult realization I had on Friday while sitting on a hot bus in traffic. It finally hit me that I'm not going back to my wonderful life in Virginia when I return to the States. I'll instead have to pick up again and start a new life in New York. Wham--there it hit me like a cartoon anvil. Because when I was leaving Virginia in December, I was so busy convincing everyone that my departure from Charlottesville was no big deal that I never let myself realize the full impact of my decision. I started to then think about the life I've left behind me the past few years, and they don't seem like my memories. Like all the moments behind me have fallen away into the dangerous realm of my memory, where it becomes hard to distinguish between the real and imagined moments of my life. Was I really an art teacher? Did I really have a painting business? Did I really have a boyfriend, or a lover, or a cat, or my own apartment, or wonderful friends who I'd meet at our regular haunts? Yeah, it's when I'm strong that I make these lofty decisions. But it's when I feel weak that I have to carry them out...

This panting is about the people of Ghana, especially the kids. Because they're overall surprisingly short-sighted. They're not free thinkers or dreamers because they're raised being told what to think and knowing their limits. But there is so much potential, there is a spot there in the sky just waiting for them to start building their castles. They just need to realize that they do have the power in their own hands to imagine and make things happen.

As I always do, whenever I receive flowers I like to draw them. Some students gave me some floers from the bushes outside, but unfortunately most of them ilted too fast in the heat! So Patrick picked a few fresh hibiscus flowers for me. I like drawing in Mucha-style...

Tomorrow I'm embarking on my own solo adventure around the country before I settle into my next teaching post. It should be interesting to venture up North and see so much more of the country! Keep your fingers crossed for me, because traveling around in Ghana is any thing but smooth or predictable...

PS--I miss home.

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