A Paper Dandelion a Day - Monique Martin

I had 2000 paper dandelions that will not be exhibited this year, as the exhibitions in public galleries were postponed (Vancouver and Estevan). In lieu of the exhibitions, and so that I still could share this work , I began a post a day on Instagram and Facebook using the symbolism of the dandelion: strength, resilience and perseverance as a theme.
A Paper Dandelion a Day - Snow until this corona virus is over, that’s what I will be doing. I will photograph a paper dandelion in a new location each day. Today is in a snowbank. The dandelion is a symbol of strength, resilience, perseverance and sticking it out when times are tough. It is a perfect visual to carry with us each day. Everyone can relate to the strength of this little flower. Tag people, forward this to people to give them a little sunshine during this challenging time. I will make a weekly draw from those that like, tag and share and will send the winner one of my paper dandelions for free.		A Dandelion a Day - Weigh Scale today a paper dandelion on a weigh scale. Life is a series of choices weighing the benefit against the cost, a risk reward system. Weigh in on the side of love. Love those that fall apart during this crisis, love those that are a pillar of strength and above all love yourself for how you are handling it. The dandelion is a visual link to the strength and resilience that all of us have inside of ourselves. Share this visual with those you love.



A Paper Dandelion a Day – Rolling Stones and “Dandelion” 1966 Today the paper dandelion is with the Rolling Stones single “Dandelion” and little known fact Keith Richards named his daughter Dandelion. The song “Dandelion” is inspired by British Nursery Rhymes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9mlVhJQgTw Today is the International Day for Elimination of Racism. We are all born with a clean slate. At some point, we begin to notice differences. When does that happen? Why does it happen? Ralph Waldo Emerson said that “a weed is a plant whose virtues haven’t been discovered yet”. If humans took more time to get to know others would they be less racist, more understanding and less prone to generalizations. When do people become weeds? What makes us decide when a person is a weed?		A Paper Dandelion a Day - Studio Cat I am sure my cat was at my side for at least three quarters of the 2000+ paper dandelions I made for my “Context is Everything” series. She was often asleep on the job, but she was there supporting me. In hindsight it doesn’t seem like it was that hard to make 2000 paper dandelions. Physical distancing and lockdowns will likely not seem so bad when we look back on them years from now. Right now it is hard for everyone. Be there for each other, even if you are asleep on the job or your eyes glaze over from boredom. If you feel stressed think of a sunny dandelion and keep on going as this strange time we are living in will end. You are strong and resilient like the dandelion.



A Paper Dandelion a Day – We Didn’t Start the Fire Yes, Billie Joel said it well, “We didn't start the fire It was always burning Since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire No we didn't light it But we are TRYING (tried) to fight it” The COVID fire has been moving around the world quickly and we have to work as a team to put it out. It takes all of us, each person, each family, each business and each world leader to put out this fire. Viruses have been recorded in history many times, they come and they go. We can only control ourselves and our reactions to the situation, everything else is out of our control. Since man first harnessed fire, carved a rock to make it more comfortable to sit on, humans have been designing a better, safer world. When our safety is out of our control and in the hands of others we feel vulnerable and exposed. In this time of stress remember the dandelions, they are vulnerable and exposed as they grow in the cracks in the sidewalk, they display strength and resilience.		A Paper Dandelion a Day - Strength in Adversity Today I should have been installing my exhibition “Context is Everything”, for the first time @estevanartgallery curated by @amber_andersen21 I would have been doing 1000+ squats to install 1000+ paper dandelions and of course I would have had trouble walking the next day. Due to Covid19, I’m not doing that, maybe my thighs weren’t ready for it anyway. I hadn’t practiced squats even once, I will start today in anticipation of the future installations. My artwork is about the stories behind the pieces and about touching peoples lives so I am sad the stories behind the dandelion won’t be shared at this time as an installation. Maybe it’s ok this particular body of work is struggling to be exhibited during this global health crisis as this is the perfect time to share the resilience of the dandelion. Social media is not how I planned it or worked hard to share the series but I am shifting gears and rolling with it. The dandelion is one of the toughest flowers I know of on the planet and it could help people through tough times, which is why I made them. The flower is strong and can be a symbol for others to be strong. If covid can spread so rapidly so can the symbol of the dandelion as the visual symbol of strength that all of us have inside.



A Paper Dandelion a Day – Infodemic Today’s paper dandelion is beside stacks of handwritten letters. The one stack is real letters from 1944 between a man in Strasbourg and a woman in Paris. Through their letters I was able to follow their relationship from dating to marriage, to children. The other stack of letters are clay ones that I created for my exhibition “Paraph”. Artist Statement: “The touching through handwriting, pen and paper across a distance, the effort to write, enclose a letter and mail it makes it a cherished object, a special gift, to be held with a type of reverence.” When information came through the mail or even by telegraph, it was thought about, pondered, transcribed carefully and then read in the same way. People made themselves comfortable to read a letter that came in the mail, it was an event. The infodemic that surrounds the Covid19 virus is causing heartache and distress among many of us. Information is recorded and sent out quickly sometimes without careful thought, or it is sent out as false media on purpose. We sometimes read this information in passing, not fully digesting or questioning, we take it as true and valid because it is on the internet. SEND A LETTER to Someone, YOU HAVE TIME. Send a letter a day like my dandelion a day. I challenge you to do the exchange of information the slow way, the contemplative way and the cherished way that will make the letter you send a gift to be held with reverence. Infodemic: a surfeit of information about a problem that is viewed as being a detriment to its solution.		A Paper Dandelion a Day - The Luxury of Travel Today’s dandelion is brought to you from my stairwell photo shelf. I have had the luxury of travelling to many interesting places in the world, which this picture captures one of them. Today I was to be headed south to Puerto Rico for a printmaking conference. Super sad that I am not there. Having travelled, mostly alone, as much as I have has led to me being more resilient and strong. When I first began travelling if I was delayed or my flights didn’t match up, my hotel was terrible, or in a bad area or I didn’t enjoy the food, I was unhappy. After many years of chasing my art around, I have adapted. Missed flights no big deal, food I don’t like, whatever. As humans, I believe we are very adaptable, a bit of Darwinism here. Right now, in this crisis we are all having to adapt. We aren’t changing colour like a chameleon, well at least I hope so, but we are all adapting to the new routines. We are becoming stronger, more resilient, maybe more patient, maybe more understanding. I believe something good can come from every experience, sometimes it takes time to see how things have change us. All of us have a different relationship to time, our circadian rhythms, our use of time, our understanding of the influence of time on others and our vision of our lifetime as a whole are all different. The photo is of me in Paris when was creating there with Disneyland Paris as Artist in Residence. It was taken on a 1953 Brownie by @trint_thomas I was wearing a vintage coat that was given to me by my good friend Getty, that I still wear and love. The photo was hand developed. The handmade, the painstaking, the patient. All that’s precious and might easily be forgotten in this digital age, it is important and valuable. Take time today to look back at old travel photos, see the passage of time, think about how much stronger you are now than years ago.



A Paper Dandelion a Day – Breath-turn Breath-turn is a word I invented and which I am using in a song that I am currently writing. A breath-turn occurs when you are really stressed, upset and someone you love holds you until your shoulders relax, your breath slows and your hearts beat in unison. Our own breath and the breath of others has taken on a whole new meaning in the last while. Physical distancing has caused all of us to think differently about breath and the breath of others. The dandelion today is on a window ledge in my studio below a blown glass ball that my daughter made for me, gave to me as a gift. It is and was a very special gift as I always have her breath with me, captured. Today think about your breath, take deep breaths, hold them in, marvel at the intricacy and functioning of your body. Some of you will be breathing new cleaner air, a positive by-product of this challenging isolation time.		A Paper Dandelion a Day – The Little Things A Dandelion plant produces an average of 15,000 little tiny seeds. There are usually 150-200 seeds per flower and up to 10 flowers per plant. The dandelion is a tough and resilient plant but it also produces a lot of seeds and these little seeds don’t seem like little things when they take over a garden or a lawn. However, it is often the little things we miss when they aren’t there. The little things in our lives or the little things about people that we can’t be near. There are many things that I miss in my life that I had before quarantine, but there are new little things that I am enjoying. Things like: I read a book in a few days, I move more slowly, I sleep more. I miss: talking face to face with others, popping into the art store, stopping for a treat from my favorite restaurants. The little things mean a lot. My husband complied a small book about the little things he loves about how I run my life. Some are hilarious, some are touching and some I didn’t even realize that I do. Think about the people around you and all the little things you love about them, sometimes even the things that annoy us are the things we would miss if they weren’t there. In the spirit of physical distancing send an email or text and give a loved one a list of the little things you enjoy about them. Draw a dandelion seed or seed head, take a photo and send it to them as well. Ps. I would love to see your drawings. The little things do count in this world. I am including my dandelion seed head as an image. It is one from my one of a kind dinner napkin series. And yes, the paper dandelion looks like it has been pulled from the ground in the photo. The little things like dandelions do get a bad rap in a garden. Remember like the dandelion you are tough, resilient and you can adapt well to change.



A Paper Dandelion a Day - The Endless City The Endless City book presents a unique survey of the contemporary city at the beginning of the 21st century. It is one of my favorite books. I bought at the Tate Modern after seeing an exhibition on population density. Dandelions live amongst us in our densely populated cities, in cracks, crevices, lawns and gardens. They put down roots and grow where they are planted in spite of air pollution, cramped spaces, herbicides and gardeners. Right now we are all planted in quarantines and are still trying to grow, nurture relationships, do our day jobs and remain hopeful. It is hard but we can look to the dandelion that survives among us as a ray of sunshine and a beacon of hope. I have been lucky enough to visit and live in numerous major world cities, the congested, the beautiful and the picturesque. This crisis has made all of us much more aware of other humans, I wonder when this is all over if it will be possible to go to a big city and feel anonymous, I hope so as some of my best art has come from walking congested city streets in foreign cities alone.		A Paper Dandelion a Day - Woven Together We are are all part of the large tapestry that is the world. We are all woven together. Each thread in the world tapestry is vital. Each decision we make affects everyone around us. Indirectly the threads of our lives touch people we don’t even know because they are connected through another. The strength of the dandelion is also woven into all of us around the world. We will get through this by being strong for all those around us.



A Paper Dandelion a Day - Ludique (Playful) Meet “Ludique” my rocking horse, I bought as an adult. I bought it in a second hand shop in Vancouver and named her Ludique, and when I see her I remember to be playful, to enjoy the act of doing things for no purpose other than enjoyment. The rocking of a horse going no where as it moves back and forth, imagination being the journey. Isolation feels like we’re going nowhere, except maybe backwards, physically, financially and mentally. Well, maybe mentally we are all going a little bit stir crazy. Many of us are in tough financial times. Friends and family being laid off. This will change all of us but we can visit our child inside us and play today in some way. Doodle, dance, skip, play UNO, tic tac toe, puzzle, LEGO... What was your favorite game as a child? “Once I played hopscotch.” Ray Bradbury, Dandelion Wine		A Paper Dandelion a Day - Mother Earth The paper dandelions come to you today from the top of my piece called “Times Up - Butterflies”. I made it in response to the every precarious balance of nature and humans. I am creating a whole series of these with different things inside the hourglass, see additional images. Mother nature is getting a bit of a break from humans during this time. Every action in life has a consequence whether it be for the planet or others around us. Maybe this “pause” is good for the planet. We need to look for the positives at this time as there are so many negatives out there.



A Paper Dandelion a Day – Maps Someday in the future I hope all of us can look at this time and remember it with a little bit of fondness. Hopefully, it was time for family, a time to sit in your little nest at home and make it as comfortable as possible. Even if your nest is a little bit crowded, like the second image or maybe you’re all by yourself and this is a really difficult time to be alone. Or, maybe you are in the medical field and this is a super challenging time and you worry about bringing the germs home to your nest. Remember the dandelion is tough, just like you, you can survive this, you are resilient and you will be stronger for these experiences.		A Paper Dandelion a Day – Rocks, Pebbles and Sand Years ago, my children received a gift like this one because of its meaning. The jars I made are minus the sand but that was just logistical as I wanted the words on the golf balls (rocks) to be visible. A philosophy professor once stood before his class with a large empty jar. He filled the jar with large rocks and asked his students if the jar was full. The students said that yes, the jar was full. He then added small pebbles to the jar and asked again, “Is the jar full now?” The students agreed that the jar was indeed full. The professor then poured sand into the jar and asked again. The students then agreed that the jar was finally full. The professor went on to explain that the jar signifies one’s life. The rocks are equivalent to the most important things in your life, such as family, health, and relationships. And if the pebbles and the sand were lost, the jar would still be full and your life would still have a meaning. The pebbles represent the other things that matter in your life, such as your work, school, and house. These things often come and go, and are not permanent or essential to your overall well-being. And finally, the sand represents the remaining small stuff and material possessions in your life. These things don’t mean much to your life as a whole and are likely only done to waste time or get small tasks accomplished. The metaphor here is that if you start with putting sand into the jar, you will not have room for rocks or pebbles. This holds true for the things you let into your life too. Hold onto the big things in life, your health, like a dandelion you can survive tough times.
A Paper Dandelion a Day - Candles At least we have light. We have the Internet. We have lots of ways to communicate quickly. We can see your family and friends on Skype, see their actual faces. During the Spanish flu which was the last major illness that took over, people couldn’t see each other like this they had to write letters and it could have been months before they found out that someone was ill. We need to be thankful for all the little things. Light a candle tonight and be thankful for all the conveniences we have during this. Although sometimes the 24hr news cycle makes it worse, just saying. BTW this is my organic, ever growing and changing candle. It used to be one which I got from the beekeeper I worked with on my bees series. Now it is many. I love how it evolves. Check out the lace lattice like structure that happened this week.		A Paper Dandelion a Day - Music Good or bad music can take us back to where we were at one time. Our lives, like movies do have a bit of a soundtrack. We can pull up memories of events, people, places and all through a song. I wonder what the Covid19 song will be for the country of Canada, your family or just you. Music has a way of making the bad times not so bad and good times even better. Dance around to some music today be like a dandelion dancing in the spring wind with not a care in the world, because a dandelion can grow just about anywhere, and so can you.



A Paper Dandelion a Day - Not an Orchid just an Ordinary Dandelion Today I am a dandelion. An ordinary, tough, struggling to find space dandelion. I just want to be left alone and survive. Some days I am an Orchid, feeling beautiful, admired, and reaching for new heights. But not today. The book The Orchid and the Dandelion by Thomas Boyce describes the differences between Orchid children and Dandelion children, and it resonated with me as there are times in our the course of our lives when we respond to nurture and care and thrive, and sometimes we just don’t have everything lined up and we are just pushing through and surviving. So today’s post is from the Dandelion me. I am tough. I am resilient. I am going to come through this day and face tomorrow and maybe be an Orchid. There is the risk reward to life in all aspects – to be an Orchid requires risking it all and facing a bigger chance that it may not come out all right, or to be a Dandelion and be less sought after but knowing that your chances of getting through it are greater. I think my current mood is in part because I have had so many of my exhibitions cancelled or postponed, another one today. I am actually inspired by this now to think of the flowers in the middle, between the wanted and unwanted, between the ones that take incredible nurturing to bring forth their beauty and the ones that left alone still manage to be beautiful and productive. Where would a zinnia fit? Nasturtium? Rose? Sunflower? The flowers on a pea plant? And no matter what people judge them as, they are all sought after and attractive to pollinators.		Paper Dandelion a Day - Trapped So, we are trapped, just like a fish in a tank. We are trapped in our homes, maybe with people we love, maybe with people that make us crazy (could be the same people/person) and mostly we are trapped with our own thoughts and fears. I created a series of pastels long ago called “Treasured Hurt” while I was Artist in Residence in Nice, France. I used the perfume museum at Grasse for the images. I sketched day after day. The work looked at how we try to hold onto so much: people, moments, things. We hoard, we take zillions of photos, we trap smells in our perfumes. Dandelions are often trapped in the strangest of places and make the best of it. We are trapped like a dandelion in the crack of a sidewalk, a fish in a tank, we can make the best of it. I am going to try and come out of this at the other end a better person and I am trying to learn new things, not trying to cut my own hair though, that would be silly.
A Paper Dandelion a Day - Cooties Yes, I had them. How did you protect yourself? Did you stay on the blue tiles only in the hallway in school to avoid getting the Cooties? Did you ever lift your feet up off the floor in class when someone yelled, “ Cooties on the floor!”, or jump onto a chair, desk or table to avoid touching the surface covered in Cooties? We are currently avoiding getting the Cooties, or now called Covid 19. We wear masks in the store, we avoid touching things, and keep physical distance, but now it’s not a game anymore. It was funny when we were kids, and we survived the Cooties, and when you were the one labeled as having the Cooties, you had to be tough, strong, resilient and know it will end. You had to be a dandelion. Cooties is based off a group of paper and pencil games called “Tu-tee”, in the 1920s, derived from games played by soldiers in WWI in the trenches between 1915-1918, same time as the Spanish Flu. Definition: Cooties - a children's term for an imaginary germ or repellent quality transmitted by obnoxious or slovenly person. COVID19 - the biggest game of cooties ever!!!		A Paper Dandelion a Day - Buttons So apparently, you can buy dandelion buttons. I googled it. How come? Well, a former student and now a good friend of mine made a joke about staying in quarantine and not having worn any clothing that requires a button in days/weeks/months. After I stopped laughing, I thought about this, and how online clothing is a possibility because you can size it using the current clothing you have and replace what gets worn out and it doesn’t have to fit perfectly as it will stretch into shape and give where it needs to give. Also, a dandelion is not dressed up in your garden, it doesn’t end up in a formal bouquet or vase (unless it’s from a very little person). Once this is done we need to support our dandelions, the small businesses that are in our community, the resilient, and strong local people who will need us to put on those clothes with buttons and get away from the online delivery option and get back out there. So consider this a public service announcement. Go get some real clothes with buttons and zippers, try them on. If all goes well, tomorrow can be another “no buttons fashion day”. If not, you have a new goal during this time out from normalcy, and tomorrow will still be another “no buttons fashion day”. Good luck. My studio jeans are in the photo. I wear my studio jeans until they are transparent or disintegrate. I love how demin becomes soft with use. I try to buy the same style and type of jean each time so that I feel the same each day in the studio. Buttons or not I don’t want my clothing to affect creation. I also have several of the same T-shirt it is just easier.



A Paper Dandelion a Day - First Food The first food of spring for many pollinators is the dandelion. It may not be the most colorful, best tasting, or well-presented meal, but it is nourishment for the insect. This past Easter Sunday many had no big turkey meal with the large family gathering. But to put it in perspective… Questions at meal time in a poor family – “Did you have enough?” In a family where the question of enough food has been answered, it becomes “Did it taste good?” When that question is answered, the remaining question is “Did you enjoy how the food was presented?” Dandelions are more than tough, strong and resilient, they are a vital part of the ecosystem. We need to appreciate all that we have been given, not just at Thanksgiving, but at every meal.		A Paper Dandelion a day – Are we there yet? It’s on everybody’s mind, when will we get to get out of this isolation. It’s like riding in the back of a car on a hot summer day, no air-conditioning with a sweaty brother on both sides, not fun. The end is in site, I know it is. Each breath and each blink of your eye brings you closer to the end of this experience. Myself and I’m sure many of you included, used to not like the alarm clock because it meant you had to get out of your nice warm cosy bed and put on clothes with zippers and buttons. Right about now having something to do that is meaningful would be quite good and not working from home would be even better. "The dandelion is called the rustic oracle; its flowers always open about 5 A.M. and shut at 8 P.M., serving the shepherd for a clock." Source: Folkard (448. 309), from "The Child and Childhood in Folk-Thought," by Alexander F. Chamberlain Legend has it that the number of breaths it takes to blow off all the seeds of a dandelion globe that has gone to seed, is the hour number. Time, anyone? (I wonder if this works with days left in isolation).



A Paper a Dandelion a Day – The Measure “The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good. “ - Samuel Johnson Stay the course, you are doing good things for people you don’t even know. Back in the 1700s when he quoted this, there wasn’t a social safety net, you had to rely on others and yourself to be strong and resilient, and to persevere like the dandelion. By the way… this is old school geometry gear that teachers used. Very different than the current tools used, it isn’t a smart board, an ipad, a google classroom, it was hands on learning made out of wood. Can you imagine a pandemic without the internet? I can’t and I make art every day, so the time goes by quite quickly for me.		A Paper Dandelion a Day - Mirror Mirror If dandelions could talk, they would look in the mirror in the morning and say “ I got this!!!” You got this!!!!



A Paper Dandelion a Day - The World Keeps Turning The earth rotates once for each day, spinning on axis. The unknown for so many people on this planet is hard to deal with especially as we have more time to think, or less if you are trying to work from home and manage children. The space between whatever has happened already and whatever is to come hovers in an invisible borderland, often in our minds. The known on one side and the unknown on the other. The unknown future of each of us, each country is stressful. All we can do is be strong, resilient and flexible like the dandelion. The world may be a little different when this is over and we will need to be flexible and adapt. Yesterday, was a tough day for me but the world kept turning and a new day began, there is always a new day. And ....today I can announce the Dandelions and the Bees are going to a joint exhibition called “Pollen-Nation” in Australia next June. I have known about this for a while but today can formally announce it. The dandelions have travelled just like their seeds into the unknown. Each seed sets off not knowing where it will land. My dandelions have been in the UK, USA (x2), and Austria so far. Onward to Australia.		A Paper Dandelion a Day - Wishes Ironing cloth napkins to create more “Golden Wish” napkins. The last set sold out and I enjoyed hand stitching the golden wish dandelion seed on each one, so I am making more. I wanted some for myself, friends and my family. I am standing in the hot sun in my front room thinking about the past and the future and our wishes for the world. Our wishes for the world right now are uncountable. Each dandelion seed searches for the sun, the wish of life, even though people want to eradicate them. If when this covid19 time has passed and you are healthy and can resume your life, I think your golden wish was answered. The rest will work itself out. Sometimes, we have to careful what we wish for because not all wishes are answered in the way we thought they would be. I always wished for more time to make art but I didn’t want it this way, with the world in such a terrible place.



A Paper Dandelion a Day – Scissors What??? How many pairs of scissors do I own?? More than shown here. I know, I have a thing for scissors and rulers, I sort of collect them. However, I hand cut the petals on over 2000 dandelions so I switched scissors often so that my hands didn’t hurt. Sort of like changing shoes when your feet are sore. When I look back on it now the determination I had to make the dandelions was quite something. I was cutting dandelions anywhere and everywhere, gluing them every night. Bonus of this is that I finally watched some of the TV shows people spoke of. I hadn’t sat in front of a TV in years. While working on this project I had this little box I carried around with me that had dandelions in various stages in it and if I sat somewhere too long I would work on them, often I left little shreds of paper (the cutting errors when I didn’t make my lines straight). We are all cut off right now, from our families, our friends, our work, our playgrounds/parks and our sense of life’s rhythm by the pandemic. Nothing makes sense, the lines are blurred and we don’t know which lines to follow, which news to believe and what actions to take. The plants that live outdoors constantly have to adjust like this and regroup based on weather, gardener’s whims and other factors like the feet of children. If we think of ourselves as a dandelion that is strong and survives all that life throws at it, the lines ups for groceries, the online classrooms, the isolation, the fear and the not knowing what’s next might be easier. Think of yourself as a bright yellow dandelion. You can shine through this. The changes are making you stronger.		A Paper Dandelion a Day - Waiting When was the last time you had people over for dinner?We are all waiting to resume all the fun things we used to do. The wait seems long and tedious. A dandelion seed can wait up to nine years to germinate. They take 14-21 days to germinate and they flower in 56 to 105 days. Let’s hope isolation isn’t 105 days.



A Paper Dandelion a Day - Online Meetings These dandelions are on my work/light table with the light turned on under them. I am waiting to join a work meeting. For those that don’t know, I teach part time at a fine arts school so have had to switch to online art teaching. Routine is gone for all of us. However, right now the rhythms of days have disappeared. We now do meetings by the light of a screen not face to face. None of us look at our best this way and if you talk with your hands this a most inefficient way to communicate. Maybe through all of this we will become more accepting, patient and encouraging of others as we work through this thing called life. For those not computer savvy this time has been very tough, extremely stressful. So, today the dandelion is for those of you that struggle to sign into meetings, can’t figure out the codes, go to meetings where attendees see your face from below, that forget to turn their mic on or off. Be strong, you can do this, keep in mind the dandelion that has to adapt to new surroundings all the time.		A Paper Dandelion a Day- Boomerang As our emotions bounce all over the place during this pandemic. I thought that dandelions near boomerang was a good fit. My children made these when I was Artist in Residence in Australia. This pandemic causes a torrent of various feelings and it seems they keep coming back again and again. Just like the dandelions in your lawn the dandelion season ends and this pandemic too will end, it will not be forever. Dandelions are able to produce 10 flowers on the same plant coming from one seed. So if you don’t pick the root of a dandelion you get to try and pick it out 10 times, they boomerang right back. Hopefully your emotional boomerang isn’t more than 10 times and this is solved soon.



A Paper Dandelion a Day – Making Room Today I have begun planning my vegetable garden. I started to think about how we make room. We make room for flowers, chocolates, the victories, fun people, jokes, movies, vacations, books, art and beautiful objects. Will you make room for the dandelions, the real ones in your garden and the ones in your personal life. Will you make room for those people, those in your life that bother you for a reason you can’t even explain, people that take too long to explain, those that are messy, those people that don’t follow through on their promises or those people that are always late. And will you make room for; the work, the defeats, the losses, exhaustion because life is about all of those things. The dandelion flower and the dandelion people are very comfortable with rejection but maybe we have to give them both some room to grow and glow in the light of the sun. Also, accept the dandelion within yourself. Accept your failings and shortcomings. Let your own glow, I know it is there, brighten the world around you. Focus on the amazing wonderful parts of you.		A Paper Dandelion a Day - Undefended Borders The Canada-USA border is the longest undefended border in the world. The dandelion has no borders, it floats wherever it wants. Can you imagine how many are crossing the border today, right this minute? We are not crossing any borders, but I am sure we will again in the future. We need to stay the course trust in the medical professionals, be strong, be resilient and persevere. We will get there! The book contains images of the Canada-US border. It is a wonderful book. It was purchased second hand. Note: I didn’t do this to the book, although I do destroy books at times, writing in them, drawing in them, ripping pages out to post in my studio, cutting them up for collages. When I travel I buy a cheap second hand book and take pages out as I go along so that the load gets lighter.



A Paper Dandelion a Day – Rulers In this photo, you can see a small portion of the rulers I own, the ones for measuring things. Yes, I love rulers, all shapes and sizes. There is another kind of ruler and each country, business, corporation, educational institute has one. They go by different names: prime minister, president, chancellor. Whether we like the decisions that they are making at this time or not, they are driving the bus. However, sometimes riding the bus requires a seatbelt, a five-point harness like they wear in Nascar races and possibly a handlebar to hang onto. We all have our own perspectives on this situation based on the experiences and personal baggage we bring to it. We can’t change the decisions made by our rulers (leaders) all we can do is manage our little part in the garden of life whether we are a tough, resilient and beautiful dandelion, taking care of ourselves, or a well-cared for beautiful flower, both are needed in the world. Flowers and dandelions are not always valued in the same way but all things on this planet play a role in making it go.		A Paper Dandelion a Day -Compass We are all headed on a journey for which there is not a map and a compass won’t even help. You all know that feeling when driving somewhere and you get lost. I myself, drive faster, which makes no sense. That way I get more lost more quickly. All of us have that little bit of worry about where we are headed. Government leaders, city and town officials are going without a compass each day during this crisis. No one has been this direction before, there are no road signs, no pit stop breaks, no streetlights or lines painted on the ground. We are all like dandelion seeds floating on the wind hoping that we are headed the right way. There might be some wrong turns along the way, there might even be a redo. Whatever happens if we all stand together strong and resilient like a dandelion field, we got this. The finish line is in the distance, not quite the checkered flag yet but getting there. Yes I have a compass collection. My family used to buy me a new compass when I went on trips without them saying, “it is for you to find your way back home”. For years I kept a small one in my handbag.



A Paper Dandelion a Day – Love “Moments of Intimacy, Love and Kinship” was the exhibition that this book is from. I saw it inside Grand Central Station in 2001 weeks before 9/11. Have you ever cried in happiness? Even love, happiness and laughter require strength like a dandelion. Remember the childhood days when you laughed so hard your stomach hurt or your cheeks hurt. Why do happy times require strength? Because they don’t last forever that’s why. Things change. People change. We change. As you go through your changes be strong, resilient and persevere like the dandelion.		A Paper Dandelion a Day - Red Thread The end of the worry associated with the pandemic will slowly evolve. It will not come about as a result of a “miracle” cure that will free us all from the enslavement of quarantine. Araidne is a character from Greek mythology. She gave Theseus a ball of red thread which he unravelled as he ventured into the labyrinth to slay the Minotaur so that he could find his way out. The hero of this story to me is Ariadne. She used intelligence and cunning to solve a problem, with Theseus the power used to deliver the blow. The worry we have is like the Minotaur. It will be slain, but only through planning and research. It will require patience, strength and resilience. Just like the dandelion.



A Paper Dandelion a Day - Connecting (Connect 4 Game) While some in Canada and around the world are reconnecting with friends and family, some are still in isolation. Life must seem very unfair right now, if you are still in isolation. Soon, soon this will end and we can all “connect” again. The little dandelion seed flies away on its own never to connect with another seed again, as did and do many refugees when they leave their countries. Some refugees may never see some friends or loved ones again. At least we know this isolation is temporary and we will be together again.		A Paper Dandelion a Day - Yoga Even if you don’t do yoga, many of us have been sighing a lot lately. The bright yellow dandelions give way to round puffy white seed globes, that are sent off into the air with the sigh of the wind. “When the winds of change blow, some build walls and other build windmills.” Shakespeare Bob Dylan said “The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind.”



A Paper Dandelion a Day - Dictionary In 2008 “to make way for modern tech terms such as BlackBerry, blog, voicemail, celebrity and broadband, the latest edition of the Oxford Junior Dictionary has opted to drop terms pertaining to old nature. No longer can a child check this dictionary and learn more about the dandelion, acorn, heron, otter, magpie, sycamore, or willow.” Remember this the next time you feel jilted when your ideas are ignored at a meeting, you aren’t invited to an event or your achievements go uncelebrated in your work place. The dandelion is still there in the parks, gardens and children hands in the form of bouquets even though it doesn’t hold a place in their dictionary. This is a gorgeous book about the loss of words. The Lost Words Written by Robert Macfarlane • Illustrated by Jackie Morris		A Paper Dandelion a Day - A Puzzle This kind of puzzle is easy in comparison to figuring out a vaccine for COVID 19 or trying to navigate the complex reopening of the world. What’s open, what’s not, when to wear a mask, how many people can I be with, how to get groceries and keep the correct physical distance. The dandelion is a piece of a complex puzzle in the ecosystem of your yard. A garden presents unanswered questions and puzzles every year. When to plant? Why did such and such not survive winter this year? Why didn’t those seeds come up? What’s eating that little plant? (I am in a green worm hunt in my greenhouse right now) All things in the world are complex from human relationships to nature. We don’t know all the answers and never will. Life often gives us more questions more puzzles than answers.



A Paper Dandelion a Day - Hope My dandelions were part of Jane Goodall’s 85th birthday celebration in Vienna, Austria in 2019. She had a message of hope in her speech. In this time hope is so important, hope for the world, hope for the environment and hope for ourselves. If we give up hoping we don’t move forward, we become stuck and unfocused. Jane Goodall went beyond just saving chimpanzees, she spread out to saving forests, other animals and educating children #rootsandshoots . She is so hopeful for the world. @janegoodall_austria She even has a book called Seeds of Hope: Wisdom and Wonder from the World of Plants The dandelion is an ever hopeful flower. Sending out 100s of seeds and hoping they land on fertile ground. The unwanted flower that still hopes, still tries and doesn’t give up. The dandelion in the glass dome is signed by Jane Goodall. The @remaimodern sells these minus the signature. I am so blessed to have something so special signed by her.