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Not content with one career, Paty was a lawyer and a social studies teacher in Mexico. She previously expressed herself artistically by making elaborately colored raised maps for her social studies classes. She has lived in the U.S. for 17 years and in Four Seasons for six. She and her husband love it here. Paty was drawn to Rob's class long before she had the courage to attend. She teaches Spanish here, all three classes: beginning, intermediate and advanced. But finally she surrendered to her interest and voila! Another talented artist was born. Asked how she approached this new endeavor she said it was like learning another language, like learning English; it's another way to communicate. Paty does draw between classes. She has no regular schedule for drawing but she regards it as "time for me," a chance to slow down and disengage from her very busy life. The drawings she shared with me were, not surprisingly, quite amazing. See for yourself! Marge very graciously came to meet with Micki and me even though she suffers with fibromyalgia and other conditions which make it difficult for her to get up and out of the house before the afternoon. Her practice of art is also affected by her frequent disabling pain. She has had to put classes and drawing on hold for awhile. But she will come back to it as soon as possible. Meanwhile, she shared her path into the art world with us. Her husband of 32 years died 17 years ago at age 50. He had been the artist in the family. A waitress and homemaker, Marge had never had time to pursue outside interests, and she most definitely did not think she had any artistic ability. After moving to Four Seasons she was looking for something to do. She and a friend just wandered into Rob's class one day. She didn't think she could "draw a tree", and it "shocked the hell out of her" when she found she could draw lots more than a tree. Just like the others, Marge thinks Rob is a terrific teacher and she credits him with helping her discover and nurture her burgeoning artistic ability. she also shared with us that she "sees things backward" and that it affects her drawing. Marge did not bring any of her work with her so neither Micki nor I was able to fully grasp what Marge struggles with when she draws. Rob supplied a photograph of one of Marge's pieces and you can see for yourself that she most definitely has a flair, and most obviously, can draw more than a tree. Pauline Holmes met Micki and me at the front door of her artistically decorated home and invited us in with her charming English accent. Born in southeast London, she travelled with her husband, a member of the U.S. Air Force, and lived in the States from 1983-1986, finally returning to live here permanently in 1991. They moved to Four Seasons in February 2011. Sadly, their son died in April 2012 from the terrible consequence of an infected tooth. And most tragically, her husband died just months later, in September 2012 from lung cancer. But Pauline is a survivor and a person who "never wants to think that there is something I can't do." So in 2015, after attending a Four Seasons Club Fair, a friend convinced her to try Rob's class. As someone who had "no creative clue" she too credits Rob with coaxing her talent out of her. She still feels that she does not have an "intrinsic creative mind" but she is thrilled with what she is doing artistically. She says "Rob just sort of sucks it out of you." Pauline would like to progress in her art so that she does not have to use source material. And just like all the others we interviewed she still feels fearful when she starts a new drawing, and struggles with her feelings of "I can't do it." But do it she does, and Micki and I got to see lots of Pauline's work and I got to sit back and listen, fascinated, to the two of them talk about their joy, their struggles, their similar journeys through the amazing progress both of them have made. But as I have often heard, all good things must come to an end, so that interview came to an end, and these interviews must come to an end. I have tried to find a commonality outside of their artistic ability that ties these women together. I can't really identify "the secret," but I can say that each one was gracious, generous of spirit, intent on enjoying life, and most excited by her newly-found ability. Darn! I think that deep down, I was hoping to discover a way to coax an amazing talent out of myself by some sort of magic. But wait… isn't magic what started this whole thing? So, "salagadoola mechicka boola…" FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | DECEMBER 2015 15 Drawing by Paty Bushnell Drawing by Marge Morris

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