The History of a Home in the Time of Corona

Posted on April 23, 2020 by Art for Housewives

Living Room TV

The existential question of “where do I end and where does the rest of the world begin?” is even more difficult to affront these days because the distinction between one and the other has become a big blur.  Never before have I felt the outside coming in like I do now. All it takes is the existence of one infected person to contaminate another (myself included) who then contaminates another who then contaminates another and so on and so on. Like lined-up dominoes where one fall leads to total collapse, the destiny of one person potentially defines that of others.

So I stay home because, by staying home, I can protect those contours that distinguish me from the rest of the world. My home is my haven, my anchor, an extension of myself. Being forced to stay home does not make me feel, under these circumstances, imprisoned. To the contrary—it helps me continue to be me.

As an expression of gratitude, I’ve begun writing and illustrating the history of our home. As opposed to a house, a home’s history has nothing to do with who built it and when or with who’s lived there before. A home’s history begins with the moment you move in and evolves with the experiences you live and express within its four walls.

The history of a home in the time of COVID-19 begins, for me, in the living room. Because it’s here that Pierluigi and I have spent so much time sitting together for the Civil Protection’s daily briefings. It is here that we learn how many have been infected, how many have died, how many have recovered. It is here, knowing that we can depend one upon the other, that we continue to create a history of our own.

-30-

Posted in Art Narratives, Drawings & Paintings | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Catering to a Seed

Posted on April 20, 2020 by Art for Housewives

My Balcony Garden

Every morning I go on my balcony to see if the seeds I planted from my store bought cherry tomatoes have started to grow. Despite my desire to do things in a hurry, the seeds grow at their own pace, not mine. That I could be under the thumb of a little seed is a humbling experience. The seed doesn’t care about who I am, my race or my political/religious preferences or how much money I have or what my job is. For my little seed, there are other values, other priorities.

Every morning I talk to my planted seeds and when they start to sprout, I talk to them even more—mainly questions like did you get enough rest, do you need water, are you getting the right amount of sun, etc. I even caress them very gently. And if the seed doesn’t grow, I ask myself “where did I go wrong?”

The seeds have taught me that change is constant and, without change, nothing happens. Only via a constant metamorphoses can a tiny seed become something that will nourish and help keep us alive.

Change is important in other aspects of life as well. Take, for example, opinions. Opinions (which are not the same thing as principles and ethics) can adapt themselves to new experiences and the learning that comes from them. And since, hopefully, we are always adding to our experiences, our opinions should embrace change when necessary. That’s why many opinions we had when young are now démodé.

Unfortunately, there are those unwilling to adapt to the present tense. For example, those participating in protests against the coronavirus lockdown. Their minds, sterilized by dogma, cannot understand that some rules are meant to safeguard communal wellbeing.

In Italy, in only three months c. 130 doctors have died trying to save the lives of those infected by COVID-19. Their freedom to live was terminated, in part, by those who violated the lockdown and continued to spread infection. The protesters’ desire to put the lives of others at risk is not freedom but a calloused recklessness.

Dogma is deadly.

-30-

Related: Secret Life of Plants, Peter Thompkins’ book on Archive free reading + Me and Bobby McGee

 

Posted in Art Narratives, Rome/Italy | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Pulling Back the Curtains

Posted on April 15, 2020 by Art for Housewives

The Curtain

Every morning, once out of bed, the first thing I do is open the shutters, pull back the curtains, and check out the sky’s mood. What I see outside the window will, in some way, influence my day.

For 37 days we’ve been living the lockdown. Every evening at six we have a briefing from the Civil Protection so we can have an idea as to how things are going. Yesterday’s good news: the number of people in intensive care continues to decrease and the number of “cured” continues to increase. But “cured” has its ambiguities as we’ve seen in China where “cured” can be followed by “relapse”.

Here in Italy massive testing for COVID continues although it slowed down a bit over the Easter week-end. People continue to be infected but, percentage wise, 20% less than a month ago. Luckily, the number in intensive care has drastically gone down and 65% of those recovered there survive. As before, the sooner you are diagnosed with COVID, the more possibility you have of surviving.

Unfortunately, people are becoming restless. When the weather is lovely (as it has been lately) people get itchy and want to go outdoors and mingle. But going out only increases the possibility of contagion.

Massimo Galli, director of the infectious diseases department at Milano’s Sacco Hospital, was asked the other day if he couldn’t be more precise as to when the lockdown would end and everything would be opened again. He replied: “Reopen everything? Get the virus to give us a date, and then we can talk about it.” It’s obvious that most people still don’t understand that COVID offers more questions than answers. There are so many variables to deal with that scientists cannot honestly give specifics at this time.  Maybe those eager for a quick superficial answer would be better off consulting a fortune teller.

One of the many things that has emerged from lockdown is that so many people have difficulties being alone with themselves and are mentally rigid. They have no flow. They continue to believe that it is their right to impose themselves on the world without understanding that it’s because we’ve imposed so much that we’re in this situation.

And the problem is not limited to Italy.

The state of New York is c. one third the size of Italy. Nevertheless, it has 202,208 COVID 19 cases compared to Italy’s 162, 488 (data from Worldometers). Why? It had so much more time to prepare itself.

In Italy (but in Europe in general), the people are overwhelmed by what they see happening in the U.S.—the homeless sleeping in parking lots, the dead buried in mass graves, and the long lines of people in line for the food bank—how can this be happening in the world’s richest country? It would seem that America is the world’s fastest growing slum.

-30-

Posted in Art Narratives, Drawings & Paintings, Rome/Italy | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

Balcony garden update

Posted on April 7, 2020 by Art for Housewives

The Balcony

The weather in Rome has been fantastic making it all the more difficult to stay indoors with the lockdown. Luckily, we have a balcony and I have decided to spend more time there than on internet.

The sun is a magician and can transform the cholesterol in skin cells into vitamin D. Vitamin D is not only good for the bones, but, for adults, also helps the immune system, regulates blood pressure, and fights against depression.

Container Garden

Our balcony is populated mainly by yuccas because they are easy to care for. But I am trying to find space for a Victory Garden. So sometimes I just stick a smaller pot into a big one. Luckily I had some lettuce seeds and planted a few in a place where there’s just the right amount of sunlight. Too much sun makes the lettuce taste bitter.

Balcony Garden

It hasn’t been easy finding space for the new plants but I have managed to make room for some tomatoes and bell peppers using seeds from store bought vegetables.

Balcony Garden

And I’m also using the bottoms of lettuce to grow more lettuce.

I’ve had to clean out much of my aloe vera (the most versatile plant around). I use egg shells and coffee grounds as fertilizer.

This is an update on a previous post: The Garden of Eden on a Balcony

-30-

Posted in Lifestyle, Plants & Gardening, Rome/Italy | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The Windmill in my Mind

Posted on April 2, 2020 by Art for Housewives

The average age of those who’ve died of COVID-19 in Italy is 78.

Sixty percent of those infected are men. Seventy percent of those who die are men. Women, for reasons not yet explained, seem to be more resilient. Maybe it’s their biology and the fact that their bodies are engineered to create and sustain life.

Parian Windmill

Last summer we would take our evening walk on a road that followed the sea. At a certain point we would sit down on the little wall flanking the road just to watch the sunset. Once the sun disappeared behind the horizon line, we’d sigh then continue our walk past the windmill that’s now a bar. We knew then that we were lucky and that made us even luckier. Because if you’re lucky and don’t know it, it’s like not being lucky at all.

Despite the lockdown, we continue to be lucky. First of all, we have one another…I can still get a hug when I need one. Plus we have Volver, our cat, who continues to purr and rub himself up against us. Food is not lacking nor is a warm bed with clean sheets. There’s no shortage of art supplies and internet helps keep us in touch with family and friends. Of course I miss and worry about my loved ones. But they are safe and holding out psychologically.

It’s another beautiful day to be alive!

-30-

Posted in Art Narratives, Lifestyle, Paros | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment