Art Heals: Sky

Working at my table in the window, I spend a lot of time looking at the sky these days. The street is quiet, the sidewalks almost empty.
So the sky is my beacon. Remember the old lyrics “sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy”? The sky directs my mood. Clouds portend rain; perhaps I won’t be able to take my daily walk. The occasional sighting of a plane tells me that somewhere someone is on the move, something I long for. A helicopter flying overhead makes me anxious; is that someone official carrying bad news?  I used to work in an office where I never saw daylight; my schedule set by tasks to complete.

Sunrise and sunset set my rhythm now. I am an urban woman, but this connection to nature is nourishing. My friend, the artist Najib Joe Hakim quoted June Jordan in the title of a piece he made (for me! and for my last exhibition) “I was looking at the ceiling and then I saw the sky.” That says it all. Here is his piece, and some sky from photographer Mohammad Zaanoon. Art Heals.