It's All In Your Mind

When your entire conversations revolve around diaper rash, 3rd grade math, why your 14-year-old can't stay out until midnight, your feet are hurting from stepping on assorted Legos and Polly Pockets pieces, then you know it is time for an escape.

A great escape doesn't have to include a European vacation or even a weekend trip to New Jersey. Just an hour or two exposing your mind to adult concepts and art can do the trick. All it takes is a little look at differing perspectives and some time spent learning new things. This week offers two quick chances to do just that.

 On Thursday night, March 10, head over to the on the second floor of the Peace Dale Office Building (across from the Peace Dale Library) at 7:00 p.m. for a talk on Native American silver and turquoise jewelry by Sarah Turnbaugh, the author of Jewelry of the American Southwest (2007 edition, Schiffer Publishing), which she and her husband Bill co-authored. They will explore the development of handmade styles and how to identify Pueblo, Navajo, Zuni, and Hopi items. You are invited to bring a piece of your own turquoise jewelry to have it discussed.

On Friday March 11, stop in at the  from 5:30-7:30 p.m. for the opening of an art show by artist Helena M. Stockar. She has had an interesting life experience and her website tells it best:

“Helena Stockar’s life tells us the story of a woman and her family who triumphed over hardship during a time of political instability in her country, and her growth as an artist who does not leave anyone untouched. In the late 1960’s, the USSR invaded Czechoslovakia, the homeland of artist Helena. Helena’s husband, Ivo, fled to America, but Helena and her two children were detained, unable to follow Ivo until 1968. Helena and her children left Czechoslovakia only one month before the borders were once again closed by Communist troops, finally settling in Rhode Island. She paints with a passion rooted in traumatic times that she and her family lived through.”

Get out and explore.