As a kid, I dreamed big dreams in my living room. I always say I had little imagination back then, that t.v. was my big influence, and that I was so hard on myself about my drawing skills–comparing to my friends and peers in class–that I never did much visual art.  Music and performing was where it was at for me.  But I don’t give myself enough credit for some of my creative attempts–especially in transforming the house into other worlds.

The living room was a stage, the border of the red Oriental a balance beam.  Other parts of the house found different uses.  The kitchen was a skating rink–just once. I got in trouble for that effort to replicate the Tom & Jerry episode where Jerry’s cousin transforms the kitchen into an ice rink.

The other day, I saw a woman riding a bike with a horseback riding helmet and thought about my ponies.  I had two:  One was the banister from the first floor landing stairwell, the other was a concoction of two bar stools and a leather banquette cushion from the awesomely kitschy retro bar and lounge that came with our suburban house. I placed the two stools a little distance apart and the cushion rested atop the stools–the back of my pony.  Then I’d climb on the stool–the stirrup–and hop in the saddle.

I need to tap back into that ingenuity.