Author: Martina
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Of Past Cars and Past Words
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I am in the process of rebuilding my Galleries page and my Poetry page, so while I work on that project here is a repost from the archives to entertain you. It is a tale of truth, although the name of the restaurant has been altered for the sake of…
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Of Creativity and Chronic Illness
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It was January 27 last year that my mother died. We had been estranged for just under 15 years. I asked my sister what she needed me to do, and at her request I reached out to mom’s brother, our uncle Robb. But he was missing somehow, and his baffled…
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Of Sunshine and Sadness
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I had moved 2,027 miles from home when I started therapy for Complex PTSD. While I wished to discuss my recent divorce, it seemed like my therapist was focused on my mother. What we ended up working on was how to get me back to the west coast and reconnected…
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Of Figures and Foldlines; or, The Origami Suit
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I had a lot of down time that year. It was not in the sense of having no pressing obligations, but of being indisposed and thus unable to fulfill obligations. My body had decided there would be no more pushing through. It seemed to realize that there has been a…
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Of Bulkheads and Backstitches
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We have spent the past 10 Sunday mornings together in her sewing studio creating dress forms made specifically to our personal measurements. My friend is creating a new cover for an existing form so that it better reflects her current size. As I have never owned a dress form, making…
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Of Plantings and Pencils
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There is a section of ground by the front door that has been sheltered by the overhang since this house was built in 1954. When we moved in it was desolate and adorned only with a layer of dusty bark mulch, to the delight of neighborhood cats. I was determined…
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Of Currents and Coverlets
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Last week, as I was getting up to leave my own therapy session, I paused to take a quick photo. The items that sit arranged on top of a low bookcase, including a box of tissues, were backlit by the uncovered windows. Whoever had last pulled a tissue from the…
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Saturday Art Adventure: Coffee Shops and Creativity
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My daughter was just old enough to have the vocabulary needed to express the intense opinions that she had spent the first few years of her life cultivating. She was full of ideas and plans, and we created a new ritual between us. Every two or three months I would…
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Of Rules and Rebellions; or, A Tahoe Lodge Sweater Quilt Adventure
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Quilt making is not my primary focus in the sewing room, but more than a few quilts have come together under the presser foot of my sewing machine over the years. It had been forever since I had finished one when I was asked if I would be willing to…