Paper & Stone

Yesterday I took off work in honor of my Birthday.  After having lunch with my parents at Veggie Wokery,  I was told that my parents wanted to surprise me by taking me "somewhere special" in Norwalk.  Norwalk, eh?  I couldn't imagine anything "special" that would surprise me in Norwalk.  Are we going to get an oil change?  Perhaps walk around Costco?   I sat quiet in the back seat of my Dad's car, feeling 20 years younger, watching the drabness zoom past my window while listening to his easy listening radio station.

Hmmm....Norwalk...the city of my youth... I've spent countless hours, in every square inch of this city, with friends and loved ones...and have experienced every emotion and sensation possible in this semi-gritty suburb of Los Angeles...and still after accumulating so many vital life experiences that have aided in the formation of who I am (!), I still have the nerve to think of this city as nothing "special"...ordinary...drab...

We stopped at the Norwalk Sports Complex off of Norwalk Blvd. and parked.  My parents proceeded to explain that the night before, they attended a special Artist's Reception at this park in honor of an artist who travelled to Italy to bring back a slab of marble, which would eventually become a public art piece in front of the Norwalk Social Services building.

The artist John Fisher, set up the marble piece in the court yard of the sports complex, in order to bring art to the public, and display the process of his craft in public view.  Wow!!  What an awe inspiring idea...!  We spent the next hour chatting with John and his artist wife, Sandy Oppenheimer, about the importance of the public's interaction with art and how witnessing the process can effect lives.  After only an hour in the presence of these beautiful people and their works of art, I felt transformed...grateful and hopeful.  Thank you Norwalk for surprising me with such beauty and inspiration...

Adjacent to John's work space is an art gallery displaying more sculpture and Sandy's beautiful paper creations.  John and Sandy will be there creating/chiseling until late March.