Here Are Some Drawings for Elation and My Candy Cane

This is only a two-dimensional drawing, yet it is very important that it is "S" shaped. The shape of the upper platform is actually an oval, not a circle as Meesh and I originally thought. The middle, blocked-out part is where the oval will be. The entire structure will be of wood.

This is a photo of the cane. It is an artifact of my stroke and a very serious depression that followed. I painted it after my mini-stroke to help me feel joy and to recover. I didn't want pity and I didn't want to feel disabled. I was first in a wheelchair, then a walker and then, with a cane when I returned to work. I was confident that I would walk again. Painting the cane into a candy cane was my joke and my way of hope after my stroke in 2004. I don't need it anymore. It is an artifact of the stroke of 2004. I suffered a horrible depression when I realized that I was left with a vertigo/balance problem, sensation loss and a 50-60 lb weight gain, new obstacles to overcome.

This drawing represents the basic idea of ELATION - an incline going up to a round platform above and then a decline back down. However, as Meesh and I discussed, people will decide which way to go up and come down and when. The space above is where life goes on and people walk or dance in a circle to some music. The partitions with the arrows are there to indicate the "womb-like" space - a red, mesh tent that is underneath the round platform. The tent needs to be stretched to enter. Inside, will be a billowy, soft space with rounded benches to sit on for those who want to enter. A low decimal, pulsing heartbeat will be heard here.