After women, flowers are the most
lovely thing God has given the world.
—Christian Dior
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| BoHo Home / @bohosusan |
Flowers are beautiful things, and I recently had occasion to buy myself some.
You may remember last month I ran an interview with ceramicist Cara Jean McCarthy of Cara Jean Clay. She emailed a few weeks back that she wanted to send me something, asked for my address and if there was something amongst her work that spoke to me. That was like asking me to choose between roses and orchids—I love all of her clay!! So I told her a few general preferences—for color, for embellishment. I knew she made beads, too, and I love beads, so I mentioned that as well.
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| BoHo Home / @bohosusan |
I left it up to her to pick something and surprise me. I thought she'd choose some one thing from among my preferences. But she went and sent me what seems like one of everything—a pitcher/vase, two goblets, a sweet trinket bowl, and a string of her moon beads. Am I complaining? Certainly not. My cup runneth over!
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| BoHo Home / @bohosusan |
It felt like Christmas unwrapping it all! And there was a lovely card and note, too.
I don’t remember specifically how we met, but she was part of a group of girls I came to hang out with eventually. A lot of them were in band with me, so maybe they introduced us. Second semester we ended up in the same science class and eventually became lab partners after I brokered a swap involving two other pairs of classmates.
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| Cara's moon beads strung in the "hair" of my mass-produced goddess planter. |
I was smart. Cara was smarter. I always had more trouble with science than other subjects, and having her as a partner helped me understand it better.
I never will forget that our teacher—Mr. Feister? Mr. Finster? Mr Feinster?—suggested one of us may have cheated on the final because we missed the same questions. (Just a few, as I recall getting an "A.") I always felt he meant me, that I cheated.
I’m far from perfect—if you knew me, you’d count the ways and run out of fingers—but I can honestly say I never cheated on a test. Once in fourth grade I copied a book summary from the back of the book and handed it in as my book report because I ran short of time. But that’s the extent of my school dishonesty. I was so terrified I'd get caught and so thankful I didn't that I never tried anything like that again.
I know my parents had a chat with Mr. Whatever-his-name-was, and I think Cara’s did, too. Either way, he had us retake the test seated apart from each other.
The results were identical. It always made sense to me that partners who did experiments together would see the same results, right? Or be confused about the same things.
I’m quite sure I got a better grade because I worked with Cara, but I know I never even glanced in the direction of her paper. And I’m just as sure she never needed to look on mine, nor would she.
I don’t know what high school was like for the rest of you, but I couldn’t wait to get out! Sure I loved choir, musicals, and enriched studies classes. But it was a HUGE school—900 in my graduating class—so there was plenty of cruelty to go around, too. Sometimes a nobody like me ended up participating in it indirectly just to avoid being picked on even more by the really scary girls (Donna Snow, I mean YOU.)
Cara left high school after our junior year to start college early—something that never occurred to me. We ended up attending the same university, and even though it was a small school, our paths never crossed.
In high school, we stayed friendly but had fewer classes together.
I don’t know what high school was like for the rest of you, but I couldn’t wait to get out! Sure I loved choir, musicals, and enriched studies classes. But it was a HUGE school—900 in my graduating class—so there was plenty of cruelty to go around, too. Sometimes a nobody like me ended up participating in it indirectly just to avoid being picked on even more by the really scary girls (Donna Snow, I mean YOU.)
Cara left high school after our junior year to start college early—something that never occurred to me. We ended up attending the same university, and even though it was a small school, our paths never crossed.
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| BoHo Home / @bohosusan |
As you connect with people on Facebook, you begin to search for certain people.
I started hunting through the friends lists of classmates I'd already found for someone who might be Cara because I remembered her as a uniquely kind and genuine person. I never heard her say or saw her do anything mean-spirited. She was someone you rarely come across and have no idea how to value adequately as a teenager.
I, sadly, have not won the Pulitzer Prize (at least not yet, but don't hold your breath).
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| BoHo Home / @bohosusan |
Written words are MY clay. Speaking, I've oft suffered from foot-in-mouth disease. I'm sometimes abrupt (cluelessly) and my professional curiosity (always asking questions) sometimes puts people off. I haven't any natural grace in social situations to carry me through, and even if I keep my mouth closed, my facial expressions give me away. Maybe that's why I took to writing early on; It helped me communicate what never came out right.
I truly think Cara may have met Christian Dior on one of her dancing gigs, and she was the woman in his mind when he made the statement at the top of this post. But that's impossible because he died when she and I were both babies, right?
So please take a few minutes to check out Cara’s website, Etsy shop, Instagram feed, and/or Facebook page, and buy a piece of a beautiful heart. Your flowers will thank you.
But if Dior HAD met her, he’d agree.
So please take a few minutes to check out Cara’s website, Etsy shop, Instagram feed, and/or Facebook page, and buy a piece of a beautiful heart. Your flowers will thank you.
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| BoHo Home |
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