From Ashes to Art Shows

When I was accepted into the Study Abroad Program in London for my Junior year, I was a bit hesitant. Because of the way my major was structured, there was a possibility I’d have to attend an extra year just to graduate. I could hear the disappointment in my mother’s voice at the possibility of not going. “This is the chance of a lifetime!” she said repeatedly. My Guidance Counselor agreed. “You’re bigger than this college,” he began, “an extra year would be worth the experience. Besides, you might not want to come back!” Going to London was the best...

One of my mom’s biggest dreams was to be a grandma. I just expected that it would be my brother, but Life had other plans and took his wife away too soon. My mom and I talked every Sunday since I was in my 20’s and if I ever called her during the week she’d immediately ask, “What’s wrong?” I called anyway. She was overjoyed, to say the least, and couldn’t wait to hear how my next chapter was going to turn out. It took about 6 months before Oscar came into my life, and another couple of months before...

Shortly after the Kid came to live with me, he wrote an essay that revealed how God cared for everyone else but him. God abandoned him. I guess in the same way that everyone else had. He also had abandoned himself. D’s and F’s were the norm. The schools pumped him up with tutors and full of meds, trying anything to “fix” him. That wasn’t the way I saw it, and I took a moment to sit by his bedside and quietly talk it over. Me: So why do you think God abandoned you? Kid: (Shrugs) He just cares about...

My inspiration. My everything. As I stared at “A Mother’s Love” I knew that Stu Rosen Art was born. My mission and my muse now merged. It not only felt like the right expression of our new normal. It gave me a way to create a world of safety, tenderness, strength, and love. This 12-year-old was rapidly turning into The Teen. I think this was a way for me to hold on to the memories, as the Cuddly Days were quickly fading into the Call of Duty. People warned me about video game, telling me how it was going to...

“This new normal is lonely.” I didn’t want to admit it, but I felt it. Eating alone in my room formed a little dark rain cloud over my head, but it wasn’t as lonely as eating at the kitchen table after the kid gobbled down his food and couldn’t wait to get out of there. So, we ate alone. Him with his Xbox and me with my Art. One day I came across a photo of a wolf, and it called to me. Being my spirit animal, I felt the connection and so I jumped right into the challenge of...