Mark Ballard

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Ballard: Clutter in a solitary place

I unlocked the door and used my foot to push it open while trying to hold back the screen door. It was quite a balancing act! I had gathered several things to take to my studio that I was now strategically holding in my arms. As I walked into the studio, I looked for a place to set the paints, canvas and frames I was carrying. Leaving the door wide open, I scanned my studio. Not seeing much space to set down the things that were about to fall, I walked over to the sofa and carefully unloaded them.

Child-like smiles pay dividends

The other day I came upon a photo of a group of people. It was just an ordinary snapshot consisting of all adults except for one child. As I studied the photo, something captured my attention. Looking at the faces, I realized that none of them was smiling except for the child. The adults looked uncomfortable, as if they were forced to be in the photograph. You could tell this because of their body language. Without even knowing their situation, I felt something was amiss.