by Betty Marvin
Julia’s health began to deteriorate and she spent more and more time in the hospital, first with an infection from a knee replacement, then increasing kidney problems She went from being a spry, active woman to becoming an invalid in a wheelchair. I understood, but selfishly I was sad when Julia chose to give up having constant medical treatment and let nature take its course. She died in August 2004, two days before her ninety-second birthday. I knew how much I would miss her, but she had led a fabulous life and I was grateful to be a part of it. Every holiday I feel her presence at my annual Gourmet Christmas Cook-off, her favorite party. I still laugh at the memory of her accidentally sitting on the Yuletide log while resting on the edge of the kitchen table.
Funny, the things that come to people who create art, often out of the blue or dug up from some long-ago passing thought. I don’t remember why I started thinking about the old mink coat Lee had given me. That coat had been everywhere, playing many roles, acting as my lifesaver in the Paris fire. I found it in the back of a closet, hauled it into the studio, grabbed my art shears, and began cutting the lining, tearing the pelts into pieces of fur. I felt as free as when I was throwing paint. The mink was going to make one last stand.
I began making a series of pine boxes, satin-lined and covered entirely in mink. Each box was filled with individual objects of desire: mock wedding rings, love letters, dried roses, and lyrics to torch songs. I call the collection What I Did for Love. The pieces have been shown in several California and international exhibits.
My kids, all unmarried now, have grown into beautiful, bright adults who are striving to make a living in the arts. Christopher is an accomplished drummer and artist, at present creating mosaics from sea glass he collects at the beach. He lives in Santa Barbara. Courtenay is also an artist. She lives in Ventura and has returned to college to become an architect. Cynthia is a freelance costume designer in television and has a sterling reputation as a gifted quilt maker. Claudia and her longtime partner, Tim, have their own construction company in Golden, Colorado. Qualities in my children such as humor, talent, and good character I found so dear fifty years ago bind us together now.
Courtenay, Christopher, and Cynthia, 2007
My twenty-seven-year-old grandson, Matthew, Cynthia’s son, met Ting online. She called herself Tim and he thought he was corresponding with a Chinese boy. After discovering the truth, he traveled several times to China to be with her, then brought her home with him and they were married. After watching what his grandma, mom, uncle, and aunts have gone through to make it as creative artists, Matthew chose another route. He graduated as an economics major from my alma mater, UCLA. Finally, someone in the family has a steady job.
Ting and Matthew’s wedding, 2006
My artist friend Norton and I bought a stretch of land overlooking the sea in lower Baja, Mexico. There I designed and constructed an earth structure with sandbags, barbed wire, and adobe—a home without timber, steel, or concrete that cost almost nothing to build. When I spend time in Baja I live in “Castillo de Arena,” a sand castle that is water and fireproof and stays cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
“Castillo de Arena,” my winter retreat in Baja, Mexico
Last year I celebrated my eightieth birthday with family and friends. I even received the annual card from my college boyfriend, Bob Horton. I toasted them all and the dear hearts who have left this life but are with me in spirit. I am grateful for the many adventures that have brought me this far in what seems like a short time.
Life is good.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Betty Marvin lives in Santa Barbara, California, and spends time during the winter in her sand castle on the coast of Baja, Mexico. At eighty-one, she is busy designing environmental structures, making conceptual art, painting, and writing.
Table of Contents
Tales of a Hollywood Housewife
Copyright © 2009 by Betty Marvin
Contents
Acknowledgments
PREFACE
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR