Until I was eight years old I lived with my sweet extended family with family close by. Within a block and a half radius mostly.
A few uncles had farms a state away.
We had a flower garden.
I loved the peonies. Daffodils , tulips, the rhubarb.
The roses and lilac bushes too.
One day in early spring age 5, I stuck a lilac through a maple leaf. Then wanted to sell it door to door. I felt full of comfort and like I knew a secret about myself. I didn’t know there as a word for what I glimpsed I was, a conceptualist, but that is it.
By the time I was 11 I’d traveled out of the country, well by the time I was 5 actually. And by 11 to many other states as well. I’d spent quite a lot of time in 3 nearby states and moved a ways away…(Over the course of 20 years I lived in many places, many states east, north and south and eventually west)…Eventually I knew some people with young children who needed a baby sitter so started sitting and in a short time I was in great demand. I also cleaned their houses. I fixed the hair of many of my mothers friends.
I’d go to the cosmetology school to get my hair cut etc and stick around and learned how to cut and style hair.
Then I started working at a snow cone stand too summers and weekend days.
I gave my mother half my money. And if a friend babysat with me I gave her half. ( then my mother got half of my share). And I started saving money and I bought my own clothes.
As time went on I found other jobs to fill in here and there. I’d work after school down town and then at a fairly young age I started work for a publishing company. My first time working for another business besides those of my own construction.
I was always putting clothes on lay away and then later on, I started having my clothes made.
I bought the finest textiles and two German women sewed my clothes.
I had a nice car and before long I was married and had kids so I started making their clothes. And I was learning to sew for myself. I also worked and I’d change jobs based on a need to be challenged.
I worked for a aircraft company and also I did design work for vintage railroad cars being sold to corporations on the side. I bought furnishings, silver, china etc.,for these railroad cars.
* I also wrote articles and did interviews and wrote about those for a small local paper. I threw papers too. It was all in a days work.
There wasn’t a lot of side time some years. But I had a lot of energy and interest in life. I managed to start a few more businesses, one a service business landscaping indoor plants for some large business in town plus then outdoor landscape maintenance etc. as well.
I ordered and sold a lot of plants.I made terrariums and dish gardens for secretaries birthdays at a large law firm to so all this was extra income .
I worked previously for some nurseries and gift shops. I ran greenhouses, bought plants, did the bookkeeping, made wreaths and centerpieces and decorated Christmas trees to sell trees and ornaments and complete tree design for businesses. I displayed the gift shops and wrote copy for ads, everything and made store changes to generate more income for the businesses I worked for. n sold chemicals and trees etc. I enjoyed being busy at work and making money for the businesses.
My landscape business was very lucrative and I made good money with banks, law firms and restaurants. But then I’d waited some time to be able to go to college. So when I was 33 I started college and part way through I stopped doing the landscape business, I had a child to raise again now so I was very busy with everything. Within 3.5 years I graduated with degrees in 3 areas and made the deans list every semester I was then 36 years old. I studied Government, Political Science and international Relations, also Literature with emphasis in Shakespeare, and art, studying art history ceramics, and sculpture.
I had a minor in Spanish and also studied French.
I enjoyed all my studies. I had chosen PhD’s for every class I took.
After that I opened a retail business and sold imports from Tunisia, Finland and Denmark and I shopped in Mexico for their best offerings. I sold Caswell Massey products and Portuguese rag rugs as well and the Japanese Futon. I made the futon covers for my customers.
And I was only open 1/2 days during the week because I had a child to care for I often took her to work along.
In all My businesses I broke even either immediately like my landscape business, or within 3 months.
Life can meet you and that doesn’t mean everything is perfect but that some things fal into place.
While other things fall apart.
Finally a long term marriage that I think should never have existed clarified, I did graduate work in psychology, sociology but then, I left. I went to Japan, the space shuttle wasn’t available. I ended up in the PNW by the time I was 42 or 43.
My family of origin had been gone since I was 33 so it was as a bit of dealing with grief and I didn’t know why I was so emotional crying at times uncontrollably. I really Missed my family. I needed their loving support. I met women who went home awhile and stayed with their families and it was a spring board for them I realized. I no longer had family so no siblings no one. But We two managed, and I moved several times and I seemed to be healing and in retrospect I think I always did better without a person, man in my life to try to take more than their share of control.
Some things are easy when living one’s own life but others often want a piece of another’s life for reasons I’m not sure I understand and that can impede one’s progress significantly. There are people who seem kind and good who are so charming and deceitful. I don’t know how they live with themselves. No courage, no heart, no conscience, actors in play gone wrong.
I had many best friends both male and female. Many proposals, one or two engagement that I ended them in favor of maintaining friendships. At any rate I’ve always worked in many capacities at home; online investing, working with others as a coach, being an artist. I studied art as one of my degrees and entered shows and competitions.
Money is not what makes one a successful person. It helps with some things of course but can limit a person tragically crippling them from knowing their greater purpose.
I have an international show record as a ceramics artist and I’ve been published in art magazines like Ceramic Monthly and American Craft. Also my work is in collections. Corporate and others.
For some time I was a member of a states commission on the arts making policy for arts education in public schools. It was a good place for me but I was always taking on a variety of positions and eventually some were left behind. This was left behind in a move to another state.
I can’t list everything I’ve done. I’ve met people who don’t know what I do, they don’t seem to care and I don’t feel compelled to tell people them, or those who make assumptions and who are presumptuous and not worthwhile to my life much of anything very personal. There are great people in the world, and petty ones who would never have ones back. Desperate people exist, and desperate people do desperate things. I understand how insecure some people are and how they project their insecurities. It’s sad they can’t look inside. Beware!
And…
I just received a show of Silk Road textiles back from a museum where they were being shown for 3 months. I catalogued the whole show myself and it took 2.5 months working night and day and sleeping in between processing how to proceed. I’d never catalogued before and it was an interesting challenge. (Which I always love).
I’m inventive and creative and I don’t share much like this but this is how I live my life.
I study and do research and write as well, and I love the outdoors; plants, colors, life! I’ve put together several other collections concerning the Silk Roads so I believe I have around 6 total collections.
I’ll continue to catalogue all of them into one catalogue and send them to museums. In the meantime I loan collections out.
Eventually I’m going to do an enormous catalogue in canvas that will be a work of art in itself .
My interest involves the Sogdians and Banjara tribes plus the Turks. I’m interested in the movement of goods across the Silk Roads and the trials and amazing goods that were developed as well as stories told.
Meanwhile my time is often spent reading papers by scholars looking for connections and stimulating my imagination to really have an in depth knowledge of their lives and this engaging antiquity. Then writing when things come together.
This is a one of a kind mention of my life and How I live it. Few people really know me well at all yet I’m Not keeping secrets, but some live in a different world and we all have our challenges, mine are mostly doing many varied interesting businesses and studying, writing scholarly papers and so forth. It’s not how most people life, many stay in one job for many years taking no risks, not learning more than absolutely necessary and that’s fine for them. But thankfully we don’t all have to live the same way. Many people are the misery who love company in their lives that aren’t particular satisfied with their work. This type will do whatever necessary to foil some others lives because they lack the courage to make a change. But I love everything I do. This is why I don’t expect others to Relate. I really don’t care to be limited by the ways others live and think and what they do that they think others should like them. Everyone should be themselves and be happy about that. I wish them well in their endeavors.
At any rate I may need some writers for a project and I’d like mentions to regional museums to show my collections to fire up communities being introduced to antiquity. I think my collections and presentations are life giving for communities.
These are some items in my shows that can be on loan for your communities.
Other collections will be ready for shows soon and these two can be reserved currently. I would consider loans and shows to corporations and companies as well.
Banjara and Kuchi 56 Items https://glasstire.com/events/2022/07/06/banjara-textiles-and-jewelry-from-the-jerez-collection/
Some pieces not shown here are Zari work brought to India in 3000 BC from Persia. Mentioned in many Hindu holy books.
A choker necklace.
Rare needlework items.
In the museum cases were lit but other lights were off. It was presented very well and I was there and noticed people were quite intrigued and interested in the entire collection. The staff were very helpful and friendly.
This necklace is made using beads and Cloves.
At one point in history Cloves were more expensive than gold. It was believed they protected young daughters who were sent to other tribes to marry. Their daughters were precious so necklaces were made with Cloves to protect them.
We should do more to protect our daughters. Always.
Below, a camel necklace.
