This art featured in my memoir, Incandescence: Rising Above Darkness is included as a moment of serenity between chapters and does not necessarily have any literal connection to the story.
Incandescence: Rising Above Darkness Excerpt Chapter #34 Orchids, Apathy, And Understanding
As my mother passed by my floral arrangement, she curled two long, dangling blades of grass back up through the orchid stems, transforming their awkward shape into an elegant form. She was an aesthetic alchemist with a gift for turning the ordinary into the extraordinary. She had an eye for detail while being able to keep the whole picture in mind. Pointing out things to look at but not telling me what to see was her clever way of guiding me to expand my perceptive abilities.
While her lack of vanity allowed her to not notice or be concerned about her own appearance, from across the room she would call me over to remove an inch-long beige thread from my beige skirt. She would insist on hemming my dress to correct the slightest asymmetry, while her own used store clothing was usually mismatched.
I finally overcame any embarrassment over my mother’s humble appearance at one of my exhibitions when I gave her a gorgeous flowing royal blue and silver dress to wear. Wanting to keep it perfect before the opening, she put a stained blouse over the dress to protect it while she ate. While I was talking to Josephine Landor, the artist wife of the founder of a globally successful corporate design company, I waved my mother over to meet my new friend. As we spoke, my eyes dropped to the dirty blouse she had forgotten to take off. When Josephine looked away, my mother said, “Oh I am so sorry, dear. I’ll go take it off right now.”
“No, you are beautiful just the way you are. Don’t go anywhere.”
Clare Cooley
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