Why I Love Jo-Ann's

I love Jo-Ann's Fabric and Craft store.

Here's why.

Something is always on sale. Something I need is on sale, and something I didn't even know I needed until I'm standing in front of it.

The women who work there look like my grandmother. Or, like that quiet girl who sat in the back of the room and had all the right answers. Oh, wait, that was me.

Jo-Ann doesn't care if your work is any good- Jo-Ann just loves that you do it. Jo-Ann values your project solely because it exists, not because you have achieved some level of success or artistry.

Jo-Ann does not judge.

Today I meet with Dave. Then I'm going to Jo-Ann's. Life is Good.

Hauntings

Writers are haunted by voices. Voices of characters wanting to come out. Voices of people we know. Voices of people long gone. Artists are haunted by images. Visual art appeals to me, because the stories are still there, but instead of voices, I'm conversing with images. Like the words in my head, the images are different when I put them down, but the heart of them remain. I write about isolation and loneliness. I'm finding that to be true in the images I'm drawn to as well. They say artists tend to return again and again to the same story, the same threads of ideas winding through each pass they take on the page, on the stage, on the canvas. While not all my stories are about dead people, I am definitely dancing with ghosts.