Inalienable Rights – Inspiration 3

Hidden Under the Leaves

I continue to research, meditate, and watch for the ‘secrets hidden under every leaf’ (part of a Native American prayer I recite from time to time) surrounding my next mosaic – Inalienable Rights. Over the past month I have had a few interesting synchronistic experiences that left me with a question, and after the third time 'it' happened, I asked, “What does this mean?”

First Time

I found a very interesting book on African Masks on Amazon. It was quite pricy but, based on what I could tell, well worth the asking price. As Amazon can be quite dizzyingly swift in delivering most items, it came the next day. It was a paperback version costing over $70. At that expense I resisted highlighting phrases and folding pages to mark interesting ceremonies surrounding the use of a particular mask. So, instead, I put colorful sticky strips as bookmarks and page holders.

When my mother moved in with me quite a while ago, I rented a storage unit to store furniture from my apartment to make room and, of course, for some of her belongings. She passed about a year and a half ago. It’s been an ongoing process of organizing and dissolving the items in storage.

My mother was an artist and kept a library of books on artistic expressions and artists.

This particular week I had gone by there to repack and send off some art books to a non-profit art school – The Chicago Mosaic School.

As soon as I opened the storage unit, to my right, I found the same exact book I had ordered from Amazon, only in

hard cover. I had set it aside for me from the books I intended to donate about a month ago.

Second Time

Most of my mosaic materials have been stones, minerals, found objects, and Smalti glass. I had not used stained glass in my work for years. I had given away “most” of my stained glass and only kept pieces that were extremely interesting in color, texture, and swirls of coloring. However, for my current piece I decided to include a section or two of stain glass.

Now… where did I put that glass cutter? I looked high and low and then remembered that I had thrown it out because the oil I put in it was leaking. None of the craft stores in my area sold glass cutters, so off I went to Delphi Glass, an hour and ten-minute drive, to buy a new one. I found out later that I could have just replaced the washer or not used oil at all. Oh well, at least I also got a chance to visit a friend who lived in that area, found some must have stained glass, and had my new tool. I love a new tool.

It was a nice drive and visit. I headed back home in time to get there before dark with my new glass cutter in hand. When I got in the door I was very pleased with myself; I was going to include materials I hadn’t used in some time, and sat down to commence cutting – no oil this time.

I’m cutting and designing, deciding my shapes, placements, as well as my how-to-do solutions. I pick my head up to take a breath, staring at my tool pegboard and low and behold there it was… The glass cutter I bought – of course through Amazon – right after I threw the old one out. It had been sitting there, draped across two pegs at the top of my pegboard for years.

Third Time

I’ll share the third episode with you later.