One year, Mitch and I decided to start practicing gratitude for all we had in our lives. Each morning as we had coffee, we'd write down one thing we were grateful for and place it in a basket. It was always fun to go back and read them at a later date.
Mitch had a recurring theme - he was grateful for the time he spent in his studio. Makes sense as he was an artist through and through. After his passing, one of his students, Steve Koelsch, asked to come by the studio. It was a moving moment which he captured so beautifully in the poem he wrote below.
Ode to Mitch Lyons
It was an artist’s studio filled with his absence,
empty but for a thousand trinkets of his art,
and his marks left hanging in the air.
Some part of him still here, hiding
in the shapes and colors of formed clay,
or images printed from clay imaginings,
bound for all to view, while wondering
what the artist saw.
I pause for a timeless moment,
trying to drink it all in.
Every piece helps form a wave
which pounds back and forth
across this room. Overwhelmed,
I feel I am drowning, and wonder anew
at how one man touched so many,
and leaves us so much to celebrate.
I am so very grateful for the time I had with Mitch and with how much he meant to so many people whose lives he touched. His was a life well spent. Thank you for continuing to support Mitch's legacy. Wishing all of you a well-deserved Happy New Year!
