December 31, 2011 – Let Go, Look Forward

Some years on December 31^st I ride the N-Judah out to Ocean Beach. At sunset a small group always gathers for the ritual for the Goddess Yemanja. It’s nothing like the hundreds of thousands who gather on beaches in Brazil. But it still is a nice way to end the year and look forward to the new one. I painted today’s final piece for the 2011 Project from a photo I took a few years back on a previous New Year’s Eve. I attempted to go out there today on this beautiful winter afternoon. Alas, I waited for a train or a half an hour. Some folks had been waiting for well over an hour. A beach trip wasn’t meant to be this year.

This has been a mixed year for many. I am trying not to dwell on the negative. We all just have to let some things go. I prefer to look back on the positive things that happened in the past year and look forward to more great things in 2012. My new mantra as time marches on — Let Go, Look Forward…

January 1, 2011 - The Golden Year

Here it is, the first one. Even though I do not intend to install the finished pieces in any particular order, the first one seems weighted. It needs to be extra special, making coming up with an idea for this one even more challenging.

New Year’s Eve and the entire New Year’s weekend were gloomy, cold and gray in San Francisco. At 4:45 pm on New Year’s Eve I was working at my desk. I suddenly noticed the change of color in the light well in front of me. The light was a golden glow. I looked towards the front of the apartment and could see the entire street was glowing. I looked out in the direction of Ocean Beach and saw the entire City bathed in a golden light. This lasted all of ten minutes.

In years past have spent the sunset on New Year’s Eve at Ocean Beach. There a small group of locals participate in the Afro-Brazilian ritual for the Goddess Yemanja. The ten minutes of light made me long to be out at the beach. Even though I didn’t make it out there, the entire City and the coming year now feel blessed.

So, the color for 2011 is gold. It shall be a Golden Year. As I worked on the first piece on New Year’s Day I wanted to include a reflection of time. The image is of an old, gold watch given to me by my Uncle Walter. He would be 100 if he were still with us. I had gone over halfway through the first day of the year without listening to Yma Sumac. Her five octave voice filled the room as I added pieces of a map of Peru to finish the piece.