Panorama from inside the Key West lighthouse Photo by Jamie McCartney
Good morning from beautiful South Florida. I know I’ve been mia recently and haven’t posted in over a month. I do apologize. Life just seems to fly by when you’re busy living it. So what have I been up to?
After Fantasy Fest came the Power Boat races. It was not the turnout I had expected and I only made 1/4 of what I made last year. That set me back immensely and I had to change my projected plans. Following the boat races, I was to head to Deerfield Beach where we spent Thanksgiving at my sister’s house. I was lucky to land work with my artist friend Jamie as an assistant.
Over the past year I’ve had this motherly guilt to settle down and give my kids roots. They want friends and all the normalcy that goes with growing up. I couldn’t just settle down anywhere because I’m on my quest for pure happiness and a home meant starting a life I wasn’t ready to live. See, I needed for it all to feel right. I didn’t want to just live somewhere and make it work. I want to live where my soul flourishes. Until I found that magical place, I needed to be free. In all aspects. I dream of a cross-country RV trip stopping and learning along the way. I finally realized, I can still do that. Now though, I need to get grounded.
I feel it. I feel the gravitational pull to a geographical location. I know where I want to be. Home is where your heart is and my heart is split between Key West, Florida and St. John’s Newfoundland. I guess you can say I have a thing for quirky seaside towns that make their own rules.
Me in my happy place…Key West Florida
Last night I went to Art Basal in Miami Beach with Jamie as his plus one. There were some beautiful pieces, some extraordinary ones and then some that made me wonder if they just gave their kids a paintbrush and slapped a Miami price tag on it. If that’s the case, I have a storage full of kids art I need to start marketing.
Over the past month a whirlwind of happenstance has happened solidifying my need for grounding. Last night leaving Art Basal and driving over the Venetian Causeway I had a flashback. It was a flashback of a life I once lived. My life in Miami. Before my husband and children. This world was my world. My everyday and now it seems so distant and uncomfortable. Almost like a book I once read and now just a faded memory.
Walking through the displays admiring all of the eclectic perspectives I noticed what is lacking in Miami. Friendly souls. Your eyes are the windows to the soul and I like to smile with my eyes. Person after person, one overly surgically face after another, expressionless and empty in the eyes. I would smile and see nothing in return. Nothing except a sense of entitlement. I brought this up to Jamie as we were leaving and I told him that If I were a millionaire, I’d rather be a millionaire in the Keys than a millionaire in Miami! What’s the point of all that money if you can’t authentically be happy? Why spend all that money trying to out do and be the best and have the best if you can’t be joyous? If that really made them happy, their eyes would smile. I know people of the same financial worth who are much happier with their toes in the sand and a drink in their hand.
I did manage to find a secluded corner inside Art Basal to make my own art
Discreet naughtiness during Art Basal..photo by Jamie McCartney
So I know where I want to be now.
I just have to figure out the how.
In the meantime I have my art to focus on. My Octopussy has arrived and today Jamie is going to teach me how to play with epoxy and give her a fiberglass coating.
Instagram post of my Octopussy. Mixed media painting
The boys are coming over Johns house to learn plaster casting today. John is Jamie’s client who has an entire home of Jamies pieces among other art. His residence is literally an art gallery. John is one of the lucky individuals who smiles with his eyes. He knows what makes him happy and doesn’t give a fuck about what anyone thinks. It’s admirable seeing all his vaginal and erotic art on display as he doesn’t care if someone doesn’t approve. It’s his house and his happiness. I can’t wait to get my own house so I can display my own vagina that Jamie casted for me last year when we created art together. You might have heard of Jamie. He did this piece called The Great Wall of Vaginas and if you’re interested in seeing more, here is a link to his website.
http://www.jamiemccartney.com/
Namaste from Key West with my friends Jamie McCartney and Jayesh Mani
Now I must go…as the white rabbit sings
“I’m late, I’m late for a very important date. No time to say hello, goodbye, I’m late, I’m late, I’m late!”
Random Acts of Candice 