ANNIVERSARY
Painted bronze and wood, 2007, 34" x 11" x 7".
A thirtieth anniversary seemed as far and improbable as walking on the moon. But days accumulated into years, we matured, memories piled up and problems that need solving continued to crop up. We built a partnership. We became each other’s ballast.
At 68, Elizabeth Layton took a contour drawing class that inspired her to draw prolifically for the last 14 years of her life. Layton laid bare her fears and fantasies with colored, wavering lines in frank and unflattering self portraits. Her husband Glenn appeared in many of the drawings, bemused and bewildered. When I first saw her work in the late 80's, I was fascinated by her image and story. Now it is the portrayals of Glenn and their life together that brings a knowing smile to my face. Layton wrote in the caption for Husband on Scales, “Glenn is game to pose for me however I need. He may balk at first, ‘I can’t stand it. You want me to be a bunny rabbit? NO bunny rabbit.’ But he always comes through”.6
Lonnie does not pose. He has always been interested and supportive, and over the years less threatened by the all consuming thinking, experiments, revisions, and starting over that begets each piece. He is more confident that I will make it back from these forays. He might say, “You want to pull those wires through that oxygen tubing? No way!” Three tries later, we devise a plan, and he always comes through.