New Legacy Project Part 7: In the Home Stretch

Dear Friends and Fans,

I started these updates in February of this year, with the goal of completing a first rough draft of my book by my birthday on October 28. That’s only 5 weeks and one day away. Seventeen chapters out of 35 are ready to hand over to an editor, with 18 chapters close to being at the same level of completion. Those hundred of pages of journal entries that I wrote to myself, for myself, over the decades turned out to be a rich source of history, reminding me of old friends, MENTORS, art communities, jobs, various places I have lived, and great works of art I have seen.

In putting together the book, it became quite clear that I had two major mentors early in my life: my uncle, Philip Kaplan, and later Jane Kastner, Education Curator at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor Museum.

First mentor: my Uncle Phil Kaplan, artist, creative art director and book collector.

Jane Kastner giving a gallery tour at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor (1950s).

As an adult I studied with two inspiring teachers and role models: Ruth Asawa, founder of the Alvarado Arts Workshop, and later Barbara Kaufman, process painting teacher at the Center for Creative Expression in San Francisco.

Shoshanah and Ruth Asawa at the opening of the Mexican mask exhibit at the California Academy of Sciences, 1976.

Barbara Kaufman, circa 2011.

To this rich inheritance, add all the teachers and students, and friends and family members (some of whom are you), and even quasi-strangers who have made my time on Earth so fascinating and meaningful. I’ve been writing the book, and writing is work, but satisfying work that leaves me with a deep sense of gratitude, especially to my late husband, Craig K. Comstock, who encouraged me to write a book like this ten years ago.

I expect to meet my deadline of October 28 and will let you know what the next steps will be. Once I get an estimate on the costs of publishing the book, I will offer you a chance to pre-order a copy. In the meantime, think of those people who supported you and mentored you in your life, and send them a blessing or at least a heartfelt ‘thank you.’