In memory of Deb Koffman (1966 – 2021)

Deb Koffman was a local artist, whose whimsical pieces found a place in her gallery in the village of Housatonic Massachusetts. I met her a few times when I went to her gallery; her images brought joy to the viewer.

I hadn’t been thinking about her, but had been musing about the concept of joy, and how to find glimpses of joy in this heavy world, yet she came into my life at one of our “go to” restaurants in Great Barrington the other day. Her mother, another patron at the restaurant, handed out these postcards to other diners, an invitation to a posthumous exhibit of her work. The image on the card was relatable, it was me in a fun, fanciful drawing.

I returned home, and for some reason, unbeknownst to myself or my husband who is an actual artist, I took a notebook and colored pencils out, and began my own take on her image. The result? Vaguely reminiscent of Deb’s work, but a few miles from gallery-worthy. As a dabbler, one who is not an “artist” and someone who indulges in self flagellation, I decided to change it up a bit and create an image of affirmations. It was in the process of coloring, of finding the perfect hue for each balloon, and creating an outfit for my cartoon self, that I would be delighted (although it might not impress Dior), and find joy.

I remember coloring as a child, creating art as a way of self-soothing, of expressing myself, and indulging my need for exploration and play. Why don’t we do this more as adults? I did learn to draw the body before the feet; yes, I have big feet, but not that big!

My challenge to you: Create your own Affirmation Cartoon. Or just create. Color, paint, dabble, putter, whatever might unlock a sense of inspiration today. Post in the comments if you wish.