Performance Art t Ocean State

 

I took this photo of Papa Callan during a Christmas Past at Ocean State Job Lot. I'll say this--the man knew how to have fun. He never forgot the fact that he survived World War II, while many of his cohorts did not make it home. He was forever grateful for simply being alive.

As his daughter, I saw how the simplist things—the things we often take for granted—were a source of wonder and joy for him. For him, shopping was an adventure, a treasure hunt--the  anthropological search for the silly and the strange. He was fascinated by the flotsam of our American lives.

Here we are in Ocean State Joy Lot having fun with his last improvisational performance art project. He posed. I took pictures. He was a natural actor. And he understood comedy and irony and how to be truly silly.

Can you tell that I miss him? I do.

These are dark days. There's no denying that fact. Nonetheless, every day the world offers you opportunities to engage in your own brand art making. You can find inspiration in the most unexpected places. Christmas is only here once a year and we don't know what next year will bring or whether we’ll even be around next year.

Creative Friends—if you're here reading this--well, you're here, reading this. And that’s something to be grateful for. I wish you all a joyous holiday season, good cheer, good health and love and beyond anything else, the gift of creativity.

Love,

Jamie