My sister Carol Thorspecken Martindale drove us to the Albany airport so we could fly back to Orlando. The small airport was really deserted. Getting through security was a breeze with no one in line. Unfortunately when we got to our gate, the flight was delayed. This flight was a puddle jumper to Philadelphia where we would catch another flight to Orlando. Terry immediately got on the phone to try and make sure there was a hookup flight waiting for us when we landed.
With a stray hour on my hands, I of course started sketching. A woman sat down next to me to ask me about my brushes as I got close to completing the sketch. She had gone to art school, learning printmaking. When she got married and had two daughters, the art was put on the back burner for her domestic responsibilities. She had been visiting her brother who made a fortune manufacturing bicycles. He lived in a fully renovated Dutch Colonial home in the country. He collected modern art and antique bicycles. The art that his wife didn’t want in the house, was kept in the barn with his amazing bicycle collection. She called over one of her daughters. There were photos on the daughters phone.
The daughter had just celebrated her Bat Mitvah. To prepare for her daughter’s Bat Mitzvah, the mom rediscovered her passion for art as she made center pieces for each table using found objects. Soda cans were cut and folded to create intricate, delicate flowers. I was impressed. I told her she should try selling individual flowers on an Etsy site. Her husband and his family got annoyed at her because they felt the centerpieces pulled attention away from her daughter. I was surprised when she told me that basically she got divorced over those center pieces. Her younger daughters Bat Mitzvah is coming up and she is on a roll already prepared to top her last creative en devour. Terry came back and announced that the flight was boarding. I never caught the woman’s name.