Farewell, Helen

Helen, one of the art teachers where I work, is heading home to St. Louis in less than a week, moving back, leaving us all very sad. She is one of those kinds of people that just don't come along that often. She is 5 feet of fun, bold red lipstick and a flower in her hair, sparkling eyes, gauged ears and colorful tatoos, like a smile and hug on two legs. She is the kind of person you want to be around. For one last "adventure," Helen is getting together with my daughter, Jeane, (who also knows her from work) and me to have some breakfast and hang out in the studio making journals. I made her this little going away gift as a surprise. Her internet was cut off yesterday so she won't know about this posting, but I think it is so her, and I hope she loves it. The little pin says "memento." They are kind of hard to see, but there are little tiny paper clips attached near the upper left. I photographed it on top of another one of my canvases. She said to me yesterday, "I bet you don't know many Helens." Nope. Especially not like this one. Farewell, Art Friend. I hope we cross paths again.