Lucky pants, two kinds of illumination, and perspective...
Well it's D day, the last day to finish the tree so I am wearing my lucky pants: mustard yellow corduroys. I made good progress yesterday, though the lights continue to short out, as do I. As a teacher, I came to realize that the things that made some students stand out, their less than appealing traits, are the flip side of their gifts. This project illuminated (no pun intended, you'll see) something about the yin and the yang of my personality.The foresight that enables me to picture a completed project has a dark 'worst case scenario' side. So, when the tree lights shorted out the first time, I dissolved into a puddle of doom convinced that I would never be able to finish the tree and that somehow my very life was at risk. Ah, perspective. What an allusive yet invaluable coping mechanism.
I read Dave Egger's What is the What recently, and went on to watch the documentary God Grew Tired of Us about the crisis which continues in the Sudan. My friends the Masons adopted a group of five Sudanese children. I got to meet the youngest, Leek, who came to the U.S. when he was twelve and has just finished completing his Master's Degree at The London School of Economics. If you ever want a healthy dose of perspective I highly recommend both the book and the movie.
So, I'm off to finsh my joyous project. My new friend Ailene, who teaches the wonderful ESE kids at Edgewater High School, is coming to my rescue. Her husband John is a lighting specialist and is going to stop by the museum today to solve the lighting problem. I wish he could solve the tree skirt situation as well. At the moment it looks like a child's egg carton project gone wrong. I stuck a Michael's coupon in my purse in case I need to chuck it and start over.
I am arranging the colors similarly to my installation in Michigan and it is working well. The colors move from one to the next, swirling up the tree and finishing in an explosion of white and silver. I like to think it's reminiscent of the old fashioned aluminum trees with the color changing wheely light. So far the tree is a hit with the volunteers and designers working to get everything ready for opening day. Here is a link to the Festival of Trees schedule. I hope you get a chance to come see my biggest tree EVER (but don't look too closely at the skirt.)