Lisa Lala

This is a story about lists - and about riding off into the sunset. But not at the end of the movie - at the beginning. Or as soon as you can.   Because there’s a sunset EVERY day and opportunities too. So why not position yourself so you can see them?

Also, this story is about: deciding you are powerful.

So when I was a kid, I grew up here in the midwest. But also I got to see some of the world because we frequently traveled to other countries doing volunteer dentistry. This was important because I got to meet a lot of good people that were different than me, but also, because I got to see how powerful a person could be in just one day. In one day my Dad pulled 300 teeth out of miserable aching mouths and made all those people feel better. Now that is power.

When I was about 13 or so, we were doing one of these trips and we went to Belize, a beautiful island in the Caribbean.  And it changed our lives.   Because my parents decided they wanted to move there. But they couldn’t come close to affording to retire, and they didn’t want to wait. So they started writing lists.  Lists with ideas about how they could make money there so they could support themselves...and lists about what they wanted... and lists about building a hotel... and lists on how they could do it.   And they DID it.

So I got married to this great guy, and at first we were just bogged down with life... mortgage... bosses... mowing the lawn... what’s on tv... But being the child of dreaming-empowered-listmakers... sort of put that somewhere in me... and so over time that is what we did... we started writing lists.

And one of the things on that list was “to someday live in a house with a view of the sun setting across the water”. And another thing on that list was that I wanted to paint. But when I wrote that- I didn’t. And our view was of a lot of fences and houses. And we hardly even knew when the sun set. We just knew when it got dark.

So one day, about 10 years ago, we were at someone’s house at Lake Lotawana, and we sort of conversationally told them how some day we wanted to live in a house with a view of the sun setting across the water... and another list item... “that someday we wanted to build our own house, with our own hands”... and the guy just perked up and said. “I KNOW THE LOT”.  But we weren’t looking for a lot, we were just talking, you know?

Well that same day he took us to “THE LOT” And we climbed up that steep hill from the water, and sat on this huge boulder on the cliff, and right then: the sun set, and the whole sky lit up and all the water lit up.  WOW.

And we KNEW at that moment, that if we did not buy “THE LOT”, that we would be ignoring our dreams and mocking our lists.  So we bought it.  We didn’t know the neighbors or if we could afford  to do it, but we knew we couldn’t afford NOT to do it.

So we build this house from dirt. And a lot of gravel. And a lot of plywood and concrete.  And a lot of dreams.  And a lot of mistakes.

Who knew gravel cost $5000?  Who knew building something as insignificant as soffits would take months? Who knew those stairs we drew up wouldn’t actually fit?  Who knew we would be so exhausted? But in the end, we ended up with this:  Our amazing modern home on the edge of the lake: Windancer.   Wow.   Really?   We did this?   Wow.

I Believe that not only can  ART - LIFE  - WORDS - have a slow building effect-  like building a house, but also that they can have a SNAP- instant affect. It can change something, or EVERYTHING on a dime - sometimes it is just a drop in the bucket, when you really need more, but other times it is THE DROP that makes the water-bird tip - For good or for bad, and all you can do is hope... and DREAM, and PUT it OUT THERE, and, well... list.

So the bird series I have been painting often has writing in the work.  Some paintings have lists, some chew on thoughts and ideas, and others just revel in the possibilities of moving forward. But all of them have birds— thematically contemplating how other people influence us, and who we are choosing to let influence us, and that we DO have a choice who that is. They don’t even have to live physically close to us. We don’t even have to have ever MET them. But by choosing them, we let them in, and they surround us, just like birds on a wire.

As I started realizing the power of lists in my life, I started reading others lists on the internet too... And there is a whole world of people out there making lists. The lists are SO interesting... clean tack hut... put my children through college... find the right teacher... shower more often... own my own company... And not only are there fascinating lists, but also there are lots of testimonials about how lists have changed the lives of others for the better... how lists helped them get what they WANT.

So just like that... my paintings shifted from being about birds, to lists. Lists of items from other’s lists... and what they wanted. The paintings are full of color, lists, and sketches from the list items... a painting with a long list including “call sister every day... ” has telephone receivers hanging by their cords. Another painting whose list includes “channel the Cheshire Cat” has the Cheshire cat smiling down from the corner.

I realized that my entire next solo show was going to be lists.  I could visualize all those list paintings in the gallery... and I thought, wouldn’t it be great if we could have a way where others could write their lists when they came to the show?  They could tack them on a blank wall....  And so the LIST WALL PROJECT was born.  I spoke with Kelly, the director of Blue Gallery, and she agreed to set aside a wall for this project. My goal is to have 1000 lists before the show opens.  Also we will have pencils, paper and tacks set out so the public can add their lists in person for the duration of the show.

This List Wall will be a place where the community can both harness and celebrate the power of lists. Individuals of all ages are invited to submit their lists in advance to be installed on the wall prior to opening... layers and layers of lists. Layers of goals and dreams. The LIST wall will reflect what individuals are searching for, but also reflects our community as a whole too.

But I don’t want to stop there. I am convinced of the power of lists and want to take the LIST WALL to other cities too. What would the goal lists look like at M.I.T or Berkeley? At NY or Miami? At Tokyo or San Paulo?

The LIST WALL will premier in Kansas City in February of 2010.

So do you want your sunset at the end of the movie, or to start now? What is on your list?

SUBMIT YOUR LIST TO:

THE LIST WALL PROJECT
11  Z Street
Lake Lotawana, MO 64086
online at:  www.TheListWall.com

Lisa is a Fall 2009 Artist INC Fellow.