Making a Mark

It often takes the correct outfit, the right place and position or the right music to set the mood for creativity. Many artists have special painting clothes - the right cap or apron, for example. An apron doesn't do it for me- I always seem to get my arms into it and acrylic paint can be permanent on fabric. I wear a lab coat I have owned for years. It was found in a science cupboard when my husband moved to a new school. Although it had a name sewn on it, no owner could be found and so it came home where I claimed it. Over the years, it has become a Joseph's coat of many colours but this past year it has also become tattered. With the collar half off and the bottom ripped across where it once had been hemmed, it was time for a new one. I wanted heavy cotton, not unbreathable, flimsy polyester and I put it on my Christmas wish-list. Santa, in the form of my son, came through. The new lab coat is almost dazzlingly white but time will take care of that. First, I have to take the old name tag and sew it onto the new coat. The tag says "Mark" and I've worn it to make my mark and marks. The tradition will continue and my painting outfit, labeled "Mark" will help set my mood for each painting session.