A Missing Parcel Inspires Painting Number Eleven

The inspiration for November’s painting is rooted in a missing parcel.  I had the good fortune to collaboration with Kate Stoltz, a popular top model turned fashion designer, based in New York.  Kate sent me a beautiful “Peonies on Marble” Italian scarf to showcase on my social media.  I had a glimpse of the scarf online and was anxiously awaiting its arrival.

I was excited when I opened up my email and received a notification of confirmation of delivery!   The parcel had been delivered ten minutes prior to me reading the email. I rushed to the mailing boxes at our apartment complex. (As a reminder and for clarification, Big Rich and I split our time between our apartment in Los Angeles and our home in Arizona).  I eagerly opened our mailbox, but it was stone cold empty. Whaaattt??  I searched for a key to open the larger parcel compartments, but no key.  I searched every floor of our complex and checked with neighbors who answered the knock at their door. Nobody had seen it.  Discouraged and disappointed, I emailed Kate to let her know that although there was a confirmation of delivery, I did not have the parcel in my hands.  There had been mail thefts around our complex and I was concerned someone had stolen it. 

The next day, I waited for our postman to arrive and spoke with him about the missing parcel.   Apparently, he wasn’t on duty the day of delivery, a temporary worker had delivered the mail.  Perhaps the temporary worker had put the parcel in the wrong box and a neighbor was in possession of it? It was the beginning of the weekend and we were heading to Arizona. On Monday I checked with neighbors again, but no solution to the mystery.  I contacted the post office and filed a report of the missing parcel.  I forwarded the information to Kate so she could pursue action from her end. 

Another week went by with no resolution.  Then, the following  Sunday evening, I opened our apartment door with trash in hand enroute to drop it in the trash chute.  I glanced down and there was a parcel lying outside our door!  I quickly disposed of the trash and hurriedly returned to investigate the parcel.  The parcel was in a large bubble wrap mailer with the top portion cut open to about the halfway point. The label was addressed to me.  The contents of the mailer had not been disturbed as it took some coaxing to remove the narrow box which was snugly packed inside. I pulled out the box and written in large print was the Kate Stoltz label.  I untied the luxurious black ribbon and gingerly opened the box, removing the beautifully wrapped tissue paper and unveiling the luxurious silk scarf.  Pulling the scarf out of the box, the cascading peony patterns came to life, as if breathing a sigh of relief they had finally found their home.

I paused a moment, taking in the beauty of the huge blossoms adorning the scarf.  I have always loved peonies. They remind me of living in Canada where these beautiful hearty perennial flowers bloom annually in the spring with huge, prolific blossoms.  They bloom early in the season and paint the landscape with a burst of elegance and color. This explosion of beauty after the dormant freeze of winter serves as a great reminder that seemingly dormant stages in our lives serve a purpose, for it is during the dormant stage our bodies and minds are hard at work regrouping in creating a new beginning. 

There have been stages in my life where it seemed as if time was wasting away, day after day with no purpose.  I have learned the purpose is sometimes waiting in the silence and it is in this stillness where new creations are secretly at work.  If you’re like me, you’ve experienced stages of dormancy in your life where you feel stuck, doing nothing, having no purpose, at a loss for how to get on to the next stage. Especially now, at midlife, I experience an urgency if I’m still too long, as my biological clock reminds me of my mortality.  Yet, like the peony, the pauses of  “winter” in my life, where I must be uncomfortably still are of equal importance to the times where I flourish and bloom. Many times I have felt as lost as the missing parcel, waiting for the problem to come to a resolution. As I age and grow wisdom, I am learning this gift of time does lead to “more”. As the peony trusts the silence of winter, we too must trust the times in our lives where time seemingly stands still.

With no technical training, still life is not my strong suit, but the the peonies from Kate’s scarf touched me deeply, and I felt drawn to attempt to come up with something. I decided to focus on stylized art, rather than real-life. Stylized in the art world means taking natural forms and altering the color, shapes, lines and features. My peonies definitely have their own unique style, as do each of us in “real life”. Painting number eleven of 2019 is entitled, “The Grace of Peonies”.

Click here to shop the Kate Stoltz “Peonies on Marble” Italian scarf.