Tamara

I performed the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram.

I sliced and fried peaches and plums in a cast-iron skillet.

I took photos of three wild iguanas.

I laughed until I peed in my pants.

I made a print of my hand.

Tamara

Rehema

I put myself through college and grad school and received degrees in Art History.
I drove by myself from Connecticut to Missouri and back again.
I spent two weeks in Japan and fell in love with the country.
I've had several careers in my life working as a student loan officer, art teacher, curator,administrative assistant, writer, professor and arts administrator.
AND
After years and years of doubting my place in this universe, I became a believer.

Rehema, age 36

Rachelle

Watched my sister take her first breath.

Masturbated with an Isreali cucumber and then ate it.

Shared tea with the US Ambassador to India.

Ran away from a falling World Trade Center Tower.

Kissed my mother goodbye.

Rachelle, age 41

Bibiana

I have stayed true to myself.

I have said I'm allergic to things I simply dislike.

I have had a baby after being told I would never be able to.

I have apologized when I hurt people.

I have said I love you only to the ones I do.

Bibiana, age 38 

Maria

I traveled around Europe by train alone.

I traveled as a sailor to Corsica.

I became an assistant of a famous sculptor.

I became widow.

I picked up my pieces and continued in art.

Maria, age 48

Guido

I made a lot of art.

I learned critical thinking.

I helped many people live creatively.

I enjoyed sex.

I gave up the mind traps of metaphysics.

Guido

John

I looked at a potato chip.
I changed my shorts.
I held a coin.
I dropped my hat.
I named a grain of sand.

John

James

Smoked enough pot to choke a bull.
Saw the green flash.
Exchanged "hullo" with John Lennon on Ibiza 1972.
Caught 2 halibut of over 100 pounds.
Developed an art career.

James, age 61 

ISA

Sculptural idea for building.

Designing a park, compound with artworks.

Eco-friendly sculptures.

Wall branding.

Decorating a home with paintings and drawing.

ISA, age 28

Leni

Ate things from the woods when I was a kid, like sweetgrass, chokecherries, and fox grapes.

Followed my instincts to find my way.

Cried as I said I do.

Let too much time go by without making art.

Connected birth to death as looking the same, at 8 years old.

Leni, age 49

Marybeth

I barely survived my father' death at the age of 22.
I learned how to be a painter in Venice.
I raised a learning disabled son as a single parent.
I fell madly in love with Vladimir. He became homesick, returned to Moscow.
I think, sometimes, that hope is all we have.

Marybeth, age 57

Tracy

I went from hairdressing to a double degree in Criminology and Religious Studies.

I explained to my mother the difference between Religious Studies and Theology.

I got a tattooed by a meth head at a Motorcycle Club.

I watched Dad die of cancer, and watched Mum kick cancer's ass.

I have read the Qu'ran, The Bible, the Mahaparinirvana Sutra and working on the book of Mormon - all just for fun.

Tracy

Emily

First and only person in my family to finish high school, I now have higher degrees earned on 3 continents.

I both lived and worked in a zoo, fortunately not as an exhibit.

I got an intimate piercing.

I became fluent in Mandarin by living in Taiwan for many years.

I gave a really good black eye to someone who needed it.

Emily, age 33

Jessica

I had heart surgery.
I have performed in parades.
I have been licked by a cow.
I have cried every night for a year.
I fell in love.

Jessica, age 30

Grace

I've showed up.
I've listened.
I've loved women.
I've loved men.
I've loved someone in-between.

Grace, age 30 

Deborah

Had a miscarriage when 2 months along.

Sang jazz professionally.

Learned conversational Italian.

Graduated from Baking and Pastry school.

Took 3 1/2 years to read a book about ethnobotanists because I did not want it to end.

Deborah Lee, age 60

Jamie

I was young and wild.
Married my true love
Laughed with my children.
I found Jesus.
I see miracles everyday.

Jamie, age 35