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Confession: What is Your Secret Skill?
My friend Rosie is a beautiful artist and I’m obsessed with her work.
She creates paintings with pets inside terrariums… and beautiful animal portraits (perfect as gifts for someone you know who loves or misses their pet)… and even striking stills of women with flowers and succulents in their hair. I don’t know why, but I cannot stop obsessing over her work and want an entire wall of succulent images with animals and butterflies and beauty.
She sent me some curated paintings this past weekend, and I am so thrilled to hang them on my wall and pay homage to a living artisan who does something so niche. Although she doesn’t lead with it, Rosie has CF (and had a liver transplant a few years ago), and she and I met at a CF event. Since then, we’ve found small ways to connect with one another- whether her coming to a show of mine in New York and hanging out with my Dad and I, or just “DM-ing on the reg”.
One of the things I love the most about her is how many interests and passions she has… and most have little to do with her illness. Not because she should be ashamed of it, of course, or because it isn’t a critical part of her… But because she is a really dynamic curious person. She is a trained jewelry maker, went to design school, funneled to and from the city over the years to pursue her education… and much more, despite declining from liver disease. Amazing, right?
Although this wasn’t meant to be a plug (but please go view her artwork and support if you can!), and she doesn’t know I’m writing this, sitting here with my laptop and seeing her beautiful work sitting off to my side is making me think about all she’s taught herself over the years.
So here is my question for YOU…
What is a skill you have fought for or taught yourself, despite your health or the health of your loved one?
What is something you wish you did more? Something you wish you could be better at and want to try to learn?
I’d love to know one of your secret (or not so secret) passions and the “why” behind it.
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1 Reply
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A beautiful artist indeed! Thank you for pointing her out.
Although Debbie is the real artist in residence (painting and drawing), I play the piano a little since I was 7 (Chopin Nocturnes, that kind of stuff). I wish I were better at it but I am still making a little progress and – more importantly – enjoy it very much. And I like to write poems as well. You can find our creative utterances on our website (see profile). I never related these things to my health, but if anything I think doing they were beneficial.
I also make a great cappuccino and am very proficient in catching spiders and flies (they all survive and are sent back outside).
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