Barry art studios
& gardens
Difficult to put into words how much has happened, changed our course, and yet, always seems to bring us back to the desire to create, nurture, grow and share. In an ironic twist of fate, due to Covid-19, our three adult children have thankfully moved back home and were here to help during the ordeal with Greg's emergency. (see previous post) ❤️❤️❤️ This leads me to the GOOD NEWS and update of Barry Art Studios... although the recovery means Greg has temporarily needed to take a break, our children have stepped up to help even more! One of the most unusual coincidences is the surprise acquiring of over 400 new daylily seedlings to add to our collection. (A story for a later post.) The boxes of bare root plants began arriving right as we were on our way to the hospital for Greg's emergency. While Greg was in the hospital and I was fortunate enough to be with him in the ER or waiting in his hospital room, our son Vincent designed and built raised beds, completed the landscaping and together with our daughter Hayley, they raced wheelbarrows of soil and compost. Hayley's eye for detail and precision shows in the planting of these little seedlings. Besides all the forms of art our children do for their careers, (and wellbeing), our son Greg has also begun film photography and experimenting with Polaroids. He has documented many of the new projects that have kept us feeling productive during this time of Covid. (Some of these photos are mine... the better ones are his!) If you are a former student or parent that has visited our home, you know we have been preparing for this "Window House" for years! Made almost completely from recycled or repurposed materials, Vincent has now taken over as lead builder. We look forward to the day we can safely resume Barry Art Studios workshops and share this amazing new garden space with everyone!
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For anyone who has taken the time to read these blog posts, you will notice a substantial gap in the dates. For good reason, COVID -19 happened and we (global) are not out of the woods yet. As public high school art teachers, our time of being stretched to the limit began in March of 2019 and has escalated to proportions beyond our capability. Barry Art Studios is near and dear to our hearts, therefore it strangely makes sense to me that I am seeking comfort in writing about what has transpired. This time has felt pivotal for our family, our direction, plans, goals and most certainly the perspective of priorities. I am about a month late posting about this... Here is the backstory copied and pasted from our social media:
For the past few months Greg has been experiencing what he described as “discomfort” and often “fatigue”. Most often it was random, he thought perhaps maybe not enough sleep, completing his MFA thesis, stress… as many people have experienced this year, high stress level situations became more and more unavoidable. The symptoms became more frequent and an appointment for a stress test was scheduled. Results from the stress test were puzzling to doctors. No high blood pressure, all blood work normal, no alarming symptoms. He was released from the hospital and came home. An hour later, a call from a cardiologist. We were in the car, on the way to the bank. “Greg, pull over. Is there someone with you? You should not be driving…. You need to go to the ER. We believe there's an abnormality on your spec scan.” On Friday, September 25th our three adult children drove us to the hospital. Waiting outside the ER at UMass Memorial in Worcester, Greg sketches to pass the time and keep us calm while waiting. Everyone at this hospital was kind, professional, and patient. Due to Covid-19 precautions, we were told we should wait outside and they would come get us as soon as possible. The whole ride to Worcester I had prepared myself they would say I could not go in, but instead I was permitted to stay with Greg in the ER, he was there for 15 hours. The next day, he was admitted to the hospital for more tests. No symptoms, no pain, all tests and blood work kept coming back normal. Still, the doctors said he was going to be held for the weekend and scheduled a Cardiac Catheterization for Monday with a chance it would be pushed into Tuesday. At that time he was not considered a priority. The team at UMass and again, everyone was amazing. Greg is home now, recovering from what turned out to be a 99% blockage of his main left artery to his heart. A 1.5” stent was immediately placed in the artery to open the block. Forever the artist, Greg asked the team performing the procedure if he could get before and after photos of his heart. The images are incredible. |