What We Keep

A New Collaboration With A New Friend

I’ve heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason bringing something we must learn…..Yes I have Wicked (For Good) on my mind. In part because I saw it last week with my aunt (Ga)Linda and my daughter (Re)Becca but also because I am planning to teach a writing (and art!) workshop this month with my new friend and creative partner, Jane Zamost, who I do believe has come into my life for a reason. Read on. It will make sense (I think/hope!)

I’d heard Jane’s name for many years but did not meet her until two summers ago. Jane is married to my late father’s doctor, Gary. I’ve known Gary for years as I took my dad to countless appointments with him. In the last year of my dad’s life, I took my dad to see a lot of doctors, but Gary, he was our “main guy.” That is what my dad used to say, and I understood why. Gary made my dad feel good even when the news was not so good. And so in turn, he made me feel good. At these appointments my dad always asked Gary how Jane was doing. And then on the ride home, my dad would tell me about Jane and that she was “a great artist.”

Jane came with Gary to my house to pay a shiva call after my dad died. I thanked Gary for coming but really for being my dad’s “main guy.” He told me something that night that brought me more comfort than anything had in those difficult days. “Your dad wasn’t your dad anymore,” Gary said referring to our last doctor’s appointment together, the one where Gary squeezed my shoulder on the way out of the exam room. He was right. I teared up, gave him a quick hug and then exchanged pleasantries with Jane the “great artist.”

A full year later, I received an instagram message from Jane. She read my essay in an anthology that had just come out into the world. She said lovely things about my work, and she invited me to see some of her paintings at an art exhibit in town. I happily agreed. I guess you could say that was our meet cute?!

Jane and I stayed in touch on instagram and then through email and eventually we started texting. I had this feeling about Jane through our communications — like she totally got me and what I was trying to do through my writing and creative work life in a way I didn’t even fully understood at the time. And when Jane explained her art to me, I felt like I understood her.

She suggested that we might collaborate on something. We brainstormed. We texted. We emailed. We met in person. Jane invited me to her house. She told me to wear old clothes and to not be afraid to get messy. I wore an old flannel shirt of my husband’s much like I used to wear an old button down shirt of my dad’s as a make shift smock when I was a little girl for art class in school.

Jane and me collaborating and creating!

Jane and I created art together. We made collages. We talked about what they represented. We talked about creating other things together, perhaps with and for other people? And then our venture was born.

It’s called “What We Keep.” It’s a joint art and writing workshop about the items we keep. It’s a powerful reminder of how the past lives within us and how it can shape who we are today, broadening the meaning of our present-day selves.

Jane has worn her dad’s cashmere jacket for four decades. A locket of Jane’s holds strands of her Grandma Tillie’s hair from a trim done more than fifty years ago. In her drawers, there are mementos — unused handkerchiefs from her grandmothers, jewels she’ll never wear. She can’t part with them, though she rarely touches them.

I wear my mother’s small platinum wedding band every day and my father’s oversized tank watch almost every day. I wear my grandmother’s antique gold earrings on special occasions only. And I wear the Burberry Happy Scarf that my mother bought for me on a sad day. It makes me happy even though I thought it would have the opposite effect.

Jane and I fully understand that these treasures aren’t just objects; they’re connections to the past. Our stories aren’t just ours. They’re everyone’s.

We decided to share this understanding plus our knowledge of art and writing with others so that they too can learn from these connections and become artists and writers in their own right.

We want to help lots and lots of people. We will be teaching our first of many workshops later this month for a hospital foundation.

Jane created this amazing logo. She included a painting of my happy scarf, the one that I thought would make me sad, but really makes me so happy.

Jane created this logo for “What We Keep.” She is indeed a “great artist.”

I promise to report back on these workshops. And If you or someone/an organization you know want to know more about “What We Keep,” please let me know.

And also be on the lookout for those people who come into your life, for a reason. I am so glad Jane has come into mine.