My Dad’s three job demanding work schedule limited my time
with him growing up.
During our Michigan summers, he would often delight me with plans for a weekend family picnic. When I was 8, he surprised me with a large bright teal and white striped inner-tube that I thought was just beautiful. I remember him sitting on the tailgate of our station wagon blowing in up for what seemed to be an hour.
We packed up a picnic and drove to a State Park where we played in the water all day long. For lunch, my Dad and I sat underneath a tree, out of the sun, eating our picnic lunch, with me in my inner-tube. I knew it was precious time with him and we made the most of our time together.
The water was a very cold sparkling teal. The sky was bright summer blue with lavender clouds. The golden rocks hurt my feet but glistened and made a rhythmic Michigan music with the mild waves. It was a sense of childhood happiness that I would experience many times, but it was a day that would stand out in my memory with specific emotional colors of teal and purple (my happy colors).
My works “Superior Aroma” (2021 Michigan Cottage Series) and “Abstract Superior Bliss”while photographed in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, were inspired by my inner-tube picnic and lunch with my Dad under the tree.
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