Take Your Art to the World


I do not know why people write books. I only know why I wrote one. I had no choice. And while the expression “I see dead people” was made hugely funny and popular because of the movie Sixth Sense, I don’t see ‘em, but I sure love talking about one of them!

My dead person is my dearly departed mother, Rita. Gone but not forgotten. Missing but not lost. Dead but alive through her wisdom. (shown above is Dead Rita, circa 1985 with her grandson, Josh)

Dead Rita’s Wisdom is profound. You probably don’t know her unless you’re related to her; worked with her in Ft. Wayne, Indiana; or grew up with her in Norwalk Ohio. But I knew her as I will never know another human being.

She loved me from the moment I was born in 1957 until the moment she died in my arms in 1998. And in her dying I realized I knew nothing. Because prior to her death I only knew one thing for sure: she and I would grow old together. BZZZZT! (wrong answer game buzzer) Now what? So I know nothing for sure. But I know this: wisdom must be shared, from the living and the dead.

She freely shared her wisdom with me. I was always there to hear it, reject what was not true, and act on it. While my life is not without difficulty or challenges, there are no regrets. No major face plants. No undoing of wrong. Just slow and steady. Nothing I consider spectacular. But certainly some extraordinary moments, with many many more to come.

And so I wrote a book. And the wisdom from her is simply blow-your-hair-back profound. The catalyst for this blog is Dead Rita’s (aka Mom aka Gram) grandson whom she reverently referred to in hushed tones as one of her “exceptional” grandchildren.
An example of that wisdom.

Exceptional Grandson #1. Josh. Born in Ft. Wayne in 1985. Dead Rita’s artistic talent was real and appears to be hereditary. My brother Jeff showed artistic talent. And while he never pursued it, his son Josh began to show a tendency for art. And Dead Rita noticed. She admired the art he created as a little boy. And then one day when Josh was 10, Mom sat down with him. And she said, “Josh, I have hidden my talent from the world. I don’t want you to do that. Take your art to the world.” Mom died when Josh was 13. I didn’t see Josh after that until he was a senior in High School. But when I visited him we talked about his Gram, Dead Rita. By this time, his talent was well established, and he was receiving awards for it. And he told me he wanted to get an education in art. And when I asked him why, he told me about Mom’s words to him. And he said to me, “That’s why I’m becoming an artist, Aunt Vicky”. Mom had that kind of influence on me, but here was a young man, a boy when she shared those words: “take your art to the world”. And his world was changed forever.

He inspired this blog because yesterday he called to tell me he had been accepted into Rhode Island School of Design Graduate School (RISD) for printmaking. RISD is #1 in the nation for fine arts graduate programs. One of 7 students accepted into the graduate printmaking program this year. Josh is truly taking his art to the world. And it was the words of a loving grandmother, a woman who refused to limit his world as hers had been limited, that were the guiding words for his passion, art.

When Josh called me to tell me, we were both in awe. I am so proud of him. Dead Rita lives on in me. And however heaven works, it is so clear to me that in Josh’s balcony of life, sits Dead Rita. Front row, hanging on his every victory, feeling his pain, and believing in him. I can imagine the cheering of that SMOKING section. Ridiculously happy. Riotously ecstatic for his victory. And so sure that it was always going to be.

Take your art to the world. An example of her simple and profound wisdom. And I always wonder, what art must we each take to the world. My art is not of canvas or clay. My art is of inspiration and wonder. Truly, anything is possible for anyone. You cannot be too poor, too hurt, too damaged, too privileged, too intelligent or too ignorant to not be able to bring your art to the world.

But you do have to think about it. And I’m thinking about it all the time. This is my journey of taking Dead Rita’s Wisdom from mind to paper to book. And I look forward to watching this art unfold.

To Josh, you are an incredible inspiration to me. To look at you reminds me of your Dad, my brother, whom I love so much, and of Mom, whom I could not love more. You and I will journey together through Dead Rita’s Wisdom. I look forward to your illustrations of the book, your support of me as I support you, and the art you will bring to the world. And I say in the most hushed and loving of tones, “you are exceptional”.