Write On This ... Exercise

GREAT exercise!!


1. What is your name? Nancy Gibbons

2. What are you wearing? I’ve got on my comfy jeans, the one’s I wear on rainy days like today. They’ve been washed about a hundred times and they’re soft even though I line-dry them. Oh, and I’m wearing a white smock-like tank top.

3. Where are we right now? I’m in Washington D.C. I live in a neighborhood that others may think is “unsafe.” I mean, yeah, there are sometimes gunshots popping in the night, but I’ve never had any problems. Our stretch of street is cool; people look out for one another. Lots of artists and musicians tossed into the ethnic salad of life.

4. Who is the last person you would want to see here? Any of those guys up on the Hill. The politicians and lawyers in this town disgust me. They let the agendas of powerful, wealthy people take priority over what’s right, like animal rights and giving power to the lower and middle class.

5. Were you popular as a teenager? Popular…well, I guess everyone knew my name. I didn’t spin in social circles with the football team and their cheerleaders. I spent a lot of time in the Performing Art building. I wasn’t in the drama program or anything, but I always gravitate to the arts. Mostly, I paint. When I’m not painting, I’m hanging with friends in the coffee shop, often sketching.

6. Are you looking for something? I wish everyone would get along. In the world, I mean. There seems to be so much bickering over how to do this or why to think that. If we could embrace the things that make us different, we’d realize how beautiful people are. When I paint, I’m constantly mixing colors. Just a dab of yellow will change blue into a dramatic green shade. Add in a hint of white and suddenly the tone is paler, softer. If I only worked with blue, and never mixed in another hue, how would I experience all those other beautiful colors? I see life like that. In infinite colors. I wish everyone else did, too.

7. Do you have a hobby, or a guilty pleasure? Since I’ve never sold a painting (YET!) I guess that would have to quality as my hobby. But I do have a guilty pleasure…rap music. I love the beat, and the lyrics are often hilarious if you really listen to them. And rappers are urban poets, too. I can’t get enough of Ludacris. He’s my current fave.

8. Have you ever made a decision that you regret? I try not to look back on my decisions with regret, because that’s a negative way to think. Thoughts are powerful energies, so I try to keep them positive. I will say that I regret not switching to veganism sooner. The factory food industry is repulsive and I cringe at the thought that I once contributed to the cruelty shown toward those animals. I haven’t had an animal product in my mouth for seven years, and I have no leather clothing or boots in my closet.

9. Has anyone ever broken your trust? Yes, my father. But I’m not ready to talk about that.

10. Where will you be this time tomorrow, and what will you be doing? Tomorrow is Saturday, and I have a little weekend routine. I get up early and walk down to the Smithsonian mall. It’s going to rain, if the forecasters are right, but that doesn’t stop me. I get a SoHo from the African woman on the corner near the National Treasury, then I walk on to the National Museum of Modern Art. I wander in there for a couple hours, sketching in my notebook and jotting down what I see. (I usually end up with more notes about the people I see in there than about the paintings and sculptures.) I’ll walk back home and after a light lunch, I’ll start painting. I get lost in my work on Saturdays, my favorite day of the week.