7 years later hanging on the wall of my stairway, after getting this back a couple of weeks ago. I ended up in the ER that night, 7 years ago because I thought I was having a stroke. It turned out that I did not account for the zinc and misc alloys I was annealing on repeat and that had a temporary neurological effect – don’t try this at home, kids!
In 2019, my neighbor, Miss Helen, came to the opening of the Rhythm & Flow exhibit this piece was in at Northwest Mississippi Community College. She wanted to buy it but I didn’t want to take money from her, so we negotiated a trade for an antique pedestal sink she was selling that interested me years before. Honestly, by then I didn’t need or want the sink but she really wanted this piece after visiting her first art exhibit, and I really wanted her to enjoy it.
I never did get the sink I didn’t have a place for, and then on Easter this year, Miss Helen died. I’d planned to get with her daughter to get it back, but two weekends ago, I saw there were multiple cars parked at her house for an estate sale. Uh-oh! I called her daughter and got things sorted out ten minutes into the sale and my piece was returned to me.
Here’s to a life well lived, Miss Helen, we love and miss you! I am so proud you wanted to live with a piece of my art. Thank you for all you were. 
