i have a few pet expressions, some of them you have heard me use in the blog before. like “ask forgiveness, not permission”, “do good work and put it where people can see it,” and “be careful what you are good at”. but my current favorite favorite is “you have to earn your seat at the table.” the expression first began to mean something to me in 2010, when i discovered the online community of artists and designers, most of whom were blogging. i was giddy and in awe of what i was finding. it looked fulfilling, respectful, satisfyingly nonconformist, and fun. i wanted to play too. i was late to the meal. but i knew i wanted a seat at that table.

wild grape vine in winter

rice creek regional trail, saint paul, minnesota

i did not intend to pick two images in a row that both remind me of my teenaged daughter, but i realize as i look at this one that it’s perfect. half closed. half opened. with the tender spot between looking beautiful and raw.

red pine pinecone

mccullough park, saint paul, minnesota

sometimes i imagine our sixteen year old daughter as something like the buck who was crawling in his own skin and had to take it out on this innocent tree to make the uncomfortable feeling go away. steve is in the other room with her right now, playing good cop, trying to get her to open up even a little bit about what she wants for herself over the next few years so we can help her get there, or at least more successfully get out of her way. i tend to be too blunt and honest at the risk of bruised feelings. he tends to be too conciliatory and peacemaking at the risk of laissez-faire ineffectualness. together we have made a beautiful and successful adolescent on her way to some kind of spectacular adulthood to be determined. we are very happy with our role in her making. we just wish she would let us into the process of her becoming.

buck antler rub

rice creek regional trail, saint paul, minnesota

confession time. i don’t know what this is. i was in the mood for an assemblage today, and i had lots of pine to work with. one of the pleasures of this blog is that not everything i make every single day needs to be the last word on mary jo hoffman’s artistic evolution. i had my daughter home with me. we got to work on this together. i enjoyed it. i like how it looks. sure part of art is the result of the artistic process. but part of art is just participating in the artistic process. in this case, it happened on the floor with my sixteen year old daughter. watching her enjoy herself. enjoying that. and calling it art.

pinecones and boughs from red and white pines

mccullough park, saint paul, minnesota