Actualizing a Vision

I have done 3 cleanups since Ric died in 2015 but then I got stuck. Though I was able to move enough stuff out of the way to give Jeff Frost some studio space for his audio-visual endeavors I was left dumbly wandering about each time I went in and saw the state of the rest of the studio. It was part museum of our life together, part memorial to Ric, but mostly storage. I couldn’t imagine how I could sort through it on my own nor could I see how I could ask someone else to. But it happened. Apparently my distress was felt by the universe and the cavalry arrived to release the logjam.

Having Jeff use the place as base camp for his California on Fire project reawakened the satisfaction I feel having a working artist on the premises. It also helped me realize that’s Ric’s vision for having The Number Nine be a temporary haven for artists could really work and it was time to take the next steps. So I was ready for Jeff’s plan to clean up the studio and make it into a truly workable space for artistic endeavors. I can’t get over how fast he got it done. The bare white walls are back and there’s open floor space for reconfiguring as needed. We found a home with encaustic artist Harrison Fraley for boxes of beeswax and encaustic paraphenalia Ric had accumulated and we consolidated all my stuff into a 1/4 of the space on shelves that I can easily manage to cleanup. I feel so much lighter and as though Ric was whispering in Jeff’s ear to kick me into action. Now, I’m ready to move on to the tool shed and then, maybe, my closet! 

This exercise reminded me of how Ric was always reorganizing or moving his studio. It was time he spent taking inventory and evaluating each item based on his present needs.  It was a time he spent making room for new things and ideas to move in. He liked to have empty vessels around the house to remind him that you have empty out in order to be filled. It was also usually a precursor to a big new creative effort. Now its time for me to be emptying and allowing the new to arrive!

I write this while on a family trip to Philipsburg Montana. We are socked into a week of rain which frees us from the burden of great weather that we feel we should be out enjoying. Now we can lounge around and read a book cover to cover, watch movies, listen to podcasts, savor the fragrance of soup simmering, and daydream. Its a time to look from afar to reflect on what has happened and evaluate possibilities for The Number Nine. I see that what was Ric’s vision that I had no idea how to actualize has manifested itself with very little effort on my part. I see it is not Ric’s dream alone anymore and it is already working. I see how each person who has come to stay has brought their own special energy and insights that have enriched the dream. Hopefully, they will be infused with the magic of The Number Nine and take it with them. For me, I’m looking forward to this next part of the path.