The Thread

 Kerry Pendergrast

We lost a unique multi-talented creative spirit in Ubud this week. Kerry Pendergrast, an artist, poet, singer, mother and wife left us and the planet unexpectedly. As I thought about Kerry today, I remembered that in the twenty or so years I’ve known her, I’ve never heard her say a bad word about anyone.

Her bawdy earthy powerful voice entertained us with song, while her delicate pastels layered with vibrant colors turned simple landscapes into sparkling gems. She also painted in oils, acrylics, watercolors and did lively line drawings. Our community is shaken by this loss, but her creativity lives on in the art work she produced. She will continue to inspire.

"Temple at Tengkulak" by Kerry Pendergrast

Creativity. It comes from beyond us and continues without us. It’s a thread that connects one artist to another one generation to those in front and behind it. To be radically connected is a gift without equal. And when one is flowing with it, being swept along in the current, something magical happens.  All time stops, all troubles disappear, and there is only This.

I feel such gratitude to be able to express what comes through me. It feeds on itself and gathers momentum the more I open to it. I have in front of me as I write a collection of our latest designs in wood, bone, mammoth tusk, lapis and opal. Some pieces are works in progress others are complete and waiting to be strung into necklaces, set into silver as pins, simply put on a cable or readied for stock for Tucson, coming up at the beginning of February.

Work in Progress

All this creativity in a heap on the table inspires me to push on and delve deeper into the well.  And I feel intense gratitude that I’ve been able to live the whole of my adult life doing this work in whatever medium inspires in the moment.

Kerry also had a creative life and lived her life creatively. Her legacy will live beyond her physical presence through her work and her two beautiful children, although I’ll miss her on the dance floor boogying by herself or with a partner, male or female. 

You can see more of Kerry's work here: http://www.age.jp/~pranoto/kerry/pastel/014.html