Rock it Out!

I’m on the phone discussing a speaking engagement when I hear something like: “It’s not often that we get an art rock star in town!”  This makes me very excited, because I love art, and I’m instantly looking forward to meeting this rock star, and then it occurs to me that who he is talking about is me, and this sense of disappointment washes over me. Not only for me, because I’m not going to get to meet some legendary art icon, but for him because while I don’t know exactly what he is expecting – I do know what he is getting. I take a quick mental photo of myself as I stand in my studio holding the phone – jeans tight along the thighs, but the knees have worn out to the point that they have ripped all the way to the bottom. It looks like I am wearing riding chaps, but have them on backwards so that whenever I sit my knees pop out and the pant legs just dangle.  I am wearing a black t-shirt two sizes smaller than the long sleeved jersey shirt that is underneath it making the jersey seem like it is erupting out from beneath the t-shirt like Play-doh being squeezed through the fingers of a child’s hand. This also makes the jersey shirt tight until about halfway down my bicep, and then it billows out like some frilly pirate shirt.  If pirates played baseball this is what they would look like; which is why it is a good thing that Pirates don’t play baseball (no disrespect to the Pittsburgh Pirates – although after checking their stats I think my statement stands). On top of all of this; everything that I’m wearing, including my hair, is smeared with paint.

          “It’s going to be awesome!” I say into the phone. It will be too, not because I’m going to be there, but because the event is for Easter Seals and everything they do is amazing. I’m going to talk, and do demonstrations, and children will be sending in their art from all over Indiana to be shown. I can’t wait!         Show me your cigarette lighters Indianapolis!  (they still yell that at rock concerts don’t they!?)