I have this stress monitor on my watch. The whole trip it’s been completely green. I decided to check while waiting for the guys to finish getting ready, and it was nearly at the peak. I’ll attribute it to excitement, more than anxiety. Sure, I wanted to get there perfectly on time and all, but, seriously, I wanted to savor every moment.
I put on my mom’s crazy socks, to bring her with me on this journey. I think her heart would really have been filled with pride and joy at where Oscar and I were heading.
Then I wrapped myself in the green velvet jacket, the one I wore to the memorial of my dear friend David. In my head, I could hear the excitement of his voice, reminding me just how far we’ve come. I miss those phone calls, and him, so very much!
We headed out with plenty of time. It was all good… not even the cold rain could dampen the joy!
Missing the train was also just the way it was meant to be. Google maps tells you to wait for a particular train, so you typically lose the opportunity to jump on the one right there, that’s going to the same stop, simply because you trust the app more than your instinct.
It timed out perfectly, with us stepping through the doors at 6:30pm.
It’s a small space, so it was already “packed” with the dozens (dozens, I tell you!!) of friends and well-wishers.
We were greeted warmly and went to search for my art. It was all the way in the back, around the corner, but there it was! On wall! In a London Gallery!!
I was next to a series of what looked like graph paper, with squiggles and dots, and really wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.
After meeting the artist, he explained that he is a hair designer, and that these were diagrams for braiding hair. The whole world opened up! Suddenly every dot had meaning. I would’ve loved to see the corresponding braids, but enjoyed the conversation with Joel, the artist.
I love art and meeting artists… founding out what inspires them, what techniques they prefer… their stories.
From Rachel Coltz who just flew in from Italy for the day, to Montana Cooke, whose thickly textured Basquiat-esque sculpture/paintings adorn the front… the quintessential Brick Lane art.
Oscar has RBF (Resting Bored Face) so it was hard to tell if he was enjoying himself. However, he stuck around and talked to people about my art while I mingled.
Later that night, I caught a glimpse of his Instagram posting. A photo of my art, with the caption “My dad’s art gallery in London.”
Don’t tell anyone, but I do believe that meant more to me than the show itself.”