Monday, May 14, 2012






Meet, Meera Shaw, she's is battling cancer and is one of the original 5 members of the Secret Dream Skirt Society. As soon as she started loosing her hair to chemo she started dressing however she wanted, finally feeling she'd earned the right to do as she pleased. She started writing love notes to herself all over her clothes, her shirts, her jeans, and on her skirts. In honor of her, but not always able to dress that way at their places of business her 4 best friends made their own skirts and slips and bloomers, and wore them around under their work clothes, and the Society was born. Meera is now doing well and continues to dress however she pleases. She's taken to wearing bright scarves even though her hair is coming back in.

Meera's daughter, Shayleen is 6 years old and she loves dressing like Mommy and even wanted to cut her hair off too. The pair make quite the show when they go out to dinner together and to the parks. Timothy, her husband, the quiet artistic type just sits back on the bench smiling at the two of them and their antics. He just keeps thinking to himself he is the luckiest man alive to have them both, right now, right here.Tomorow may change things butbright now he's happy.

Meera's favorite flower is the tulip and Timothy always kept her hospital room and her bedroom filled with tulips in pots. In an unrealistically, almost movie like dipslay of timing, the tulips that he planted all over their yard for her in the fall, bloomed the day she came home from her last day of chemo treatment!

The original 5 members were also part of an sketchbook group where they would head out for an hour or two and sketch together then eat of course. So here's some pics of one of their travel watercolor kits.

The paint is sakura watercolor put into an old lozenge plastic container which fits into an altoid tin. Some stickjy stuff holds down my pencil and brush which takes apart to fit. The end of the brush is sharpened to write with watercolor. There's wax paper as you can write over it to create a mask like a wax crayon or frisket, plus a tissue for clean up. This all fits in my small purse with my sketchbook and sharpie pen. And here's the skecth I'll do in the video....



 And a video of sketching a tree in the backyard.







  SDSS update..... i am working on my skirt and the patches to give away.... no pics yet!

7 comments:

  1. Oh, she is magnificent and so is the story of Meera, her family and her friends, all leaving cancer aside and living, living, living this one sweet life.
    Love this ! A book perhaps ? In your spare time ? ;-)
    Have a wonderful week, Andrea !

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  2. Why is it so darn fascinating to look through other people's journals? Because it IS fascinating! Mine doesn't seem nearly so interesting and I don't have that flair for filling pages with interesting things. I also have a long way to go with my watercolor skills! Thanks so much for the tour through your journals and the fun video! Oh, and Meera is an inspiration. Quite a story you have going!

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  3. I loved the video! Thank you for sharing. I especially loved the journal flip.

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  4. I love the video and the little traveling case! Very nice to meet Merra Shaw and to learn how the Society was born ;o) I'm happy that Merra is doing well ;o) Take Care ;o)

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  5. firstly, thank you for the lovely birthday wishes! Secondly your art always rocks, love that tree and such beautiful tulips. thirdly, what a brilliant idea for making your own travel paint box. Great idea. Can't wait to see what you create this week, you're gonna beat me, I can't even decide what to paint!!
    Best,
    Jenn

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  6. Wow, Andrea! What an ingenius little travel kit you've thought up!! Truly squeezing art in every free second....love that!!

    Your sketches are incredible. I really enjoyed the peek into your books and the wonderful video!!

    So cool!

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  7. oooh Andrea your scetches are amazing!!! and such a cool travel kit!! love the tree so much and your story ia heartwarming as always...you are so talented ♥ hugs from Conny

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