Episode 18: 2020 & The Language of Art Featuring Diana Place

Look &/or listen as my guest shares a piece of her & her daughters pandemic history through a piece of flow art they created together. As word of COVID 19 spread across the USA in early 2020, everyone was called on to rethink, re-do & rearrange the year that they had originally planned to have. Like many of us we needed to… dare I say it again??? Pivot! One of my earlier guests, Michelle Fishburne, interviewed 100’s of people during that historic year & a half and her book Who We Are Now gathered together the answers to the one question she posed: It’s January 2020, what did you think your year would be like, and what was it like…? Diana had JUST started her new business, Third Act Quest, with thoughts of gathering women together for in-person events & retreats. As she herself transitioned into her third act she had become fascinated with what she was observing around her. She was seeing & speaking with woman who weren’t hiding from, denying or shrinking away from growing older. Indeed they were whole-heartedly embracing this time in their lives. They were having the best times of their lives, passionately embracing their big dreams, with open minds & most importantly with open hearts. But then COVID arrived on the scene. Her in-person business was put on pause and her daughter moved back home. Like many mother’s experienced during the pandemic, Diana was both excited & worried about her newly “un-nested” daughter forced return to her nest. In just her second semester in college, she had friends she wouldn’t be able to see & a boyfriend too. Diana had mixed emotions during the pandemic. She watched as the pandemic spread across the globe, as the death tolls rose & rang out around the world, the bodies, the stressed out first & last responders AND the dolphins returning to the Venice canals, neighbors singing & making music from their windows in Italy & NYC and many other places. She felt lucky to live in rural New Hampshire where she and her newly returned daughter were free to get outdoors without the fear of COVID. As a new empty nester, she felt grateful to have this time with her daughter….. but she ached for all the losses of so many fellow humans. She felt guilty and faced her privilege. Though Diana knew her in-person business model would need to shift, but with the “help” of the pandemic it made online workshops & retreats MUCH easier to promote. It actually was an advantage, since many people where also stuck at home looking to make deeper connections. So she wanted to grab this opportunity AND she knew she didn’t want to miss spending quality time with her daughter either! So they made dates to make art aka art dates! Come to think of it, this art making tradition began with Diana’s grandmothers. With one in particular, Diana remembers spending most of their time together working on various arts & crafts projects. So during this unexpected semester at home, she & her daughter set aside 2 hours once a week to make art together. Diana had heard about flow art on YouTube…. they made large & small pieces and had fun, and laughed. She remembers one particular beautiful sunshine filled day but is sure there were many more. It was such a gift to them both. Art is where they have always connected. Diana’s daughter taught her printmaking, pottery & painting over the years. Diana gushed over what a wonderful artist she is. She’s made handmade cards every year…. Art is their common language. Seems like it was a language of healing during this challenging time in their lives & the lives of everyone. Diana’s work with Third Act Quest is all about reframing the way we look at life… specifically aging. So she saw this time as an important teaching moment. It may have felt horrible for her daughter to adjust to life during lockdown…but with her 3rd act in full swing Diana KNOWS that resilience is created as we go through challenges. She knew her d