Phase One, in which Doris gets her oats

Recently, my best friend from high school, Jennifer, visited me, and we had a wonderful time. Our lives took very different paths after high school and college, but I still feel an amazing connection with her.

A month or so before she visited, Jennifer sent me a piece of artwork she had created that represents many aspects of our friendship. She used many found objects, but she also included some special touches from our past. (She now sells jewelry and other art, which you can see here.)

Click for larger image and to see the details:

You cannot get the real feel for this piece in a photo, but here are some highlights:

• In the bottom right and top left corners are profiles of me and Jennifer. You can see my famous high school hair, and Jennifer often beaded her hair. The actual beads are glued to the canvas here.
• Jennifer put the actual cassette album cover for Depeche Mode's Music for the Masses. "Never Let Me Down Again" was and is one of our favorite songs. She also included a box of cassette tape to symbolize how important music was to us.
• A quotation (bottom right) from E.E. Cummings represents how we felt growing up in Indiana: "It takes courage to grow up and be who you really are."
• In the middle, you see the opening lines from the great Beatles song "Two of Us"--this song has a lot of personal meaning for us.
• The background is made up of maps of Chicago and D.C., where each of lives.
• And the biggest surprise is my Swatch watch from middle school. I gave this to Jennifer a long, long time ago, and I had no idea she still had it. Not only did she keep it, she made it one of the centerpieces of this artwork.

Jennifer has given me one of the most thoughtful gifts I've ever gotten. And she also gave me this painting.