Don Karp, born in 1943, was raised in Syracuse, NY, and lived in Boston and WMass for 20 years before moving to Mexico. He is a college dropout (after eight years in university), an ex-husband, an ex-mental patient, and an expatriate. What’s left of him after all of these X’s, is thriving in Central Mexico and writing about it.
My mom took me to a psychiatrist at
Upstate Medical Center-- one recommended by a friend of my brother,
Fred. He interviewed me for five minutes, and then went to the bathroom
in the corner of his office where he washed his hands and wiped them
dry. He came back and suggested to Mom that I be placed in a mental
hospital. Knowing that I needed help, but having no other alternatives, I
followed his recommendation and signed in voluntarily. In 1977, I was fortunate to leave the
hospital fully engaged as an apprentice to a professor of fiber art at
the university. This gave me an entirely new self-concept or identity as
an artist, very different from the previous eight years training to be a
scientist. Weaving had a rhythm, similar to the breathing used during
sitting meditation or to the dance in Sufi Dances. But weaving led to a
finished physical product.
No comments:
Post a Comment