Manualynn Hadassah Faison
HADASSAH’S NARRATIVE
It was during the nineties that my dear mother was dying of congestive heart failure and I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders. She was struggling with her transition from this world to the next. She was bed ridden and needed round-the-clock care. I sacrificed my own duties to take care of her. My back became crushed from lifting her in and out of bed.
A dear friend, Darley Adare, called to check on the progress of my spiritual work of mercy. I told her that my back was wearing thin and I felt I needed to take a break and rejuvenate myself by the sea. She said she knew just the place of solitude and healing. She called some Baba Lovers and they in tern called Jane Haynes. As Baba’s will was done through Jane, she approved my visit. Little did I know that I would travel on a path which would transform my whole life. Upon arriving at the Center, I ventured out and came upon Baba’s home. I am a flower lover and became enamored with the meticulous care given to the gardens. While meditating on the surroundings I lost consciousness and only regained my composure as a person walked down the path. I sprang to my feet a little embarrassed that I had found myself on the ground. As I stood up erect, to my astonishment, there was no pain, and my back was completely healed! I couldn’t wait to relate my miraculous healing to my drumming partner.
As we traveled back towards the cabins someone noticed that our van was loaded with African drums. We were invited to perform at the Meeting Place. What a memorable event! Everyone was entranced by the hypnotic rhythms. Bobbi Bernstein and other musicians joined in. The Hallelujah chorus rang out and we danced and shouted to our soul’s content.
Kitty and Jane were in attendance. Jane Haynes invited me to meet with her the next day. Was I in for a treat! Never before had I met someone with her artistic stature and grace. She shared her experiences with Baba. What made an especially lasting impression was her memories of Baba and the Happy Club. She suggested that it would be quite wonderful if I could move here and resurrect the Happy Club. Such is life…Man proposes and only Baba disposes!
I returned home to be with my mother as she ventured into her final battle with her health issues. I will always cherish my memories. I remember watching “Imitation of Life” with her. She said that was the way she would like to go; with dignity and white horses and carriage. Then she looked around at all her antiques and collections. She said, “What about all of this stuff?” I said to her, “But Mom, this time you will not have to pack anything but your soul. Just hold on to that and it will all be okay.” Shortly after, she made her transition peacefully. That very day I inwardly received a poem. Everything came into prospective and helped me focus, with some assistance from James Rhae, on a portrait of my mother in such a way that the portrait and poem became a tribute that I hold as an heirloom for generations to come.
As fate would have it, I was invited to return to the Center to participate in the Youth Sahavas. At that time Wendy and Buz Conner invited me to participate in their workshop focusing on at-risk youth. The vision of the Happy Club remained in my consciousness. Now in my golden years, Baba has made a way. With the help of our longstanding and faithful friends Mimi and Marshall Hay and our new friends Karen and Alan Talbot, we are situated in a wonderful home very close to the Center. This home has a peace that passes all understanding with a spiritual, creative atmosphere. We have set up a room full of African drums and African instruments called Baba’s Boom Boom Room. Here musicians, including Bobbi Bernstein, Jerry Edwards, Melvin Mapp, Sam Kephart, Laura Crabtree, Brian Walsh, David Silverman, Will David, Katherine Roberts, Gary Assadourian, Gabe Wood, Toni Yokum, Katie Rose, Jane Brown, Adele Wolkin, Judy Mangold, Jeff Stearns, etc., have a creative outlet and a place to enjoy and soar. We even have a baby grand piano and have started the tradition of having salons much like the salons of Harlem Renaissance where the famous poets and musicians workshop and left a legacy that we embrace.
Most of all, at the top of the list, is my dearest husband, Douglas E. Faison, Sr., whose extraordinary love, sacrifice and unusual patience has supported all of my creative endeavors. He has been so wonderful through many moves, endured my trying family problems, assisted with a very difficult death and burial of my father, carried on my father’s business, all the while upholding his professional reputation as a trail blazer in our community. Most of all his love does not waver whether there is a storm or a rainbow he is there by my side, gently holding my hand so that I might stand tall. He was my very first love and is the only true love of my life.
Dreams deferred do not die. Like roots under frozen ground they will yield fruits and flowers in due season. After a long battle with a virus this winter, Baba bestowed an epiphany. I felt urged to paint an image from a combination of sources: present day youth cultural tradition; teaching multi-cultural education; directing “African Pearls” (a children’s drumming and dance ensemble); curriculum development and teaching of a summer enrichment program for 5 to 17 year olds. Captured accurately by Robin Vogel’s camera were the children’s faces revealing precious moments of creative joy.
All of this combined with a sweet photo of Meher Baba with a glorious grin and infectious smile became a Baba Happy Club collage. It shows my babies experiencing deep optimism and the eye of an artist with a love affair with the arts. Baba said to me, “You cannot bury these jewels any longer when so many youth are focused on the darkness of this generation.”
The Twanga (African thumb piano) is my signature instrument. The Djembe drums and the Balaphone are also represented in the painting.
While creating this painting my soul was most happy, there was no day or night, I was able to stop all thoughts. When I stepped outside of Baba’s guidance, it became a challenge and difficult to capture the very essence of His countenance; the intricacies of his mustache, the squint of the magic and sparkle of his eyes. “But you can do it.” Said Baba. Then appeared the rainbow and the whole painting came to life and it was completed. Most of all the Happy Club lives again - and Baba’s vision is recorded. He embraced multiculturalism even before it was ideal, born or conceived. His vision of diversity and inclusiveness pointed the way to hope. A yearning for cultural tradition is revealed on the faces and gestures of love. The pulsating rhythm of the drummers can be felt. At the apex is a little boy who had a bold wisdom, beyond his years, and the golden glow of Baba’s aura is being revealed to him because he had that deep hunger. Under Baba’s hand there is a young girl in purple whose hand gesture exhibits what is felt when one is touched to the very core of the soul awakening - of creativity.
Memory Jug: “Baba’s Love for Rose Colors”
There are four images of Baba with many precious stones, especially Rose Quartz. It has three components; the top with all jewels, the body with pictures of Baba and the base. It can be used for an urn to contain ashes of a dearly departed loved one, a container to deposit your precise Baba experiences or Baba’s quotes given at New Year or for many other uses of your choice.
Nutra-Image of Baba:
A repurposed Nutra-Bullet machine just stopped working. Decided to give it another life by enshrining Baba’s image with majesty of India jewels and more precious stones. At the apex is a bird representing “His eye is on the sparrow” as a reminder that no matter how difficult our trials, Baba still is watching over us.
Portrait of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr: (pastel)
From my Hollins University exhibit entitled “A Touch O Kente”.
Oval Framed Mandaladge, pen and ink mandala on Joss paper and mounted on mud dye cloth:
The two images are a praying Buddhist figure and an angel with an heirloom emerald bracelet of my mother’s collection.
It was during the nineties that my dear mother was dying of congestive heart failure and I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders. She was struggling with her transition from this world to the next. She was bed ridden and needed round-the-clock care. I sacrificed my own duties to take care of her. My back became crushed from lifting her in and out of bed.
A dear friend, Darley Adare, called to check on the progress of my spiritual work of mercy. I told her that my back was wearing thin and I felt I needed to take a break and rejuvenate myself by the sea. She said she knew just the place of solitude and healing. She called some Baba Lovers and they in tern called Jane Haynes. As Baba’s will was done through Jane, she approved my visit. Little did I know that I would travel on a path which would transform my whole life. Upon arriving at the Center, I ventured out and came upon Baba’s home. I am a flower lover and became enamored with the meticulous care given to the gardens. While meditating on the surroundings I lost consciousness and only regained my composure as a person walked down the path. I sprang to my feet a little embarrassed that I had found myself on the ground. As I stood up erect, to my astonishment, there was no pain, and my back was completely healed! I couldn’t wait to relate my miraculous healing to my drumming partner.
As we traveled back towards the cabins someone noticed that our van was loaded with African drums. We were invited to perform at the Meeting Place. What a memorable event! Everyone was entranced by the hypnotic rhythms. Bobbi Bernstein and other musicians joined in. The Hallelujah chorus rang out and we danced and shouted to our soul’s content.
Kitty and Jane were in attendance. Jane Haynes invited me to meet with her the next day. Was I in for a treat! Never before had I met someone with her artistic stature and grace. She shared her experiences with Baba. What made an especially lasting impression was her memories of Baba and the Happy Club. She suggested that it would be quite wonderful if I could move here and resurrect the Happy Club. Such is life…Man proposes and only Baba disposes!
I returned home to be with my mother as she ventured into her final battle with her health issues. I will always cherish my memories. I remember watching “Imitation of Life” with her. She said that was the way she would like to go; with dignity and white horses and carriage. Then she looked around at all her antiques and collections. She said, “What about all of this stuff?” I said to her, “But Mom, this time you will not have to pack anything but your soul. Just hold on to that and it will all be okay.” Shortly after, she made her transition peacefully. That very day I inwardly received a poem. Everything came into prospective and helped me focus, with some assistance from James Rhae, on a portrait of my mother in such a way that the portrait and poem became a tribute that I hold as an heirloom for generations to come.
As fate would have it, I was invited to return to the Center to participate in the Youth Sahavas. At that time Wendy and Buz Conner invited me to participate in their workshop focusing on at-risk youth. The vision of the Happy Club remained in my consciousness. Now in my golden years, Baba has made a way. With the help of our longstanding and faithful friends Mimi and Marshall Hay and our new friends Karen and Alan Talbot, we are situated in a wonderful home very close to the Center. This home has a peace that passes all understanding with a spiritual, creative atmosphere. We have set up a room full of African drums and African instruments called Baba’s Boom Boom Room. Here musicians, including Bobbi Bernstein, Jerry Edwards, Melvin Mapp, Sam Kephart, Laura Crabtree, Brian Walsh, David Silverman, Will David, Katherine Roberts, Gary Assadourian, Gabe Wood, Toni Yokum, Katie Rose, Jane Brown, Adele Wolkin, Judy Mangold, Jeff Stearns, etc., have a creative outlet and a place to enjoy and soar. We even have a baby grand piano and have started the tradition of having salons much like the salons of Harlem Renaissance where the famous poets and musicians workshop and left a legacy that we embrace.
Most of all, at the top of the list, is my dearest husband, Douglas E. Faison, Sr., whose extraordinary love, sacrifice and unusual patience has supported all of my creative endeavors. He has been so wonderful through many moves, endured my trying family problems, assisted with a very difficult death and burial of my father, carried on my father’s business, all the while upholding his professional reputation as a trail blazer in our community. Most of all his love does not waver whether there is a storm or a rainbow he is there by my side, gently holding my hand so that I might stand tall. He was my very first love and is the only true love of my life.
Dreams deferred do not die. Like roots under frozen ground they will yield fruits and flowers in due season. After a long battle with a virus this winter, Baba bestowed an epiphany. I felt urged to paint an image from a combination of sources: present day youth cultural tradition; teaching multi-cultural education; directing “African Pearls” (a children’s drumming and dance ensemble); curriculum development and teaching of a summer enrichment program for 5 to 17 year olds. Captured accurately by Robin Vogel’s camera were the children’s faces revealing precious moments of creative joy.
All of this combined with a sweet photo of Meher Baba with a glorious grin and infectious smile became a Baba Happy Club collage. It shows my babies experiencing deep optimism and the eye of an artist with a love affair with the arts. Baba said to me, “You cannot bury these jewels any longer when so many youth are focused on the darkness of this generation.”
The Twanga (African thumb piano) is my signature instrument. The Djembe drums and the Balaphone are also represented in the painting.
While creating this painting my soul was most happy, there was no day or night, I was able to stop all thoughts. When I stepped outside of Baba’s guidance, it became a challenge and difficult to capture the very essence of His countenance; the intricacies of his mustache, the squint of the magic and sparkle of his eyes. “But you can do it.” Said Baba. Then appeared the rainbow and the whole painting came to life and it was completed. Most of all the Happy Club lives again - and Baba’s vision is recorded. He embraced multiculturalism even before it was ideal, born or conceived. His vision of diversity and inclusiveness pointed the way to hope. A yearning for cultural tradition is revealed on the faces and gestures of love. The pulsating rhythm of the drummers can be felt. At the apex is a little boy who had a bold wisdom, beyond his years, and the golden glow of Baba’s aura is being revealed to him because he had that deep hunger. Under Baba’s hand there is a young girl in purple whose hand gesture exhibits what is felt when one is touched to the very core of the soul awakening - of creativity.
Memory Jug: “Baba’s Love for Rose Colors”
There are four images of Baba with many precious stones, especially Rose Quartz. It has three components; the top with all jewels, the body with pictures of Baba and the base. It can be used for an urn to contain ashes of a dearly departed loved one, a container to deposit your precise Baba experiences or Baba’s quotes given at New Year or for many other uses of your choice.
Nutra-Image of Baba:
A repurposed Nutra-Bullet machine just stopped working. Decided to give it another life by enshrining Baba’s image with majesty of India jewels and more precious stones. At the apex is a bird representing “His eye is on the sparrow” as a reminder that no matter how difficult our trials, Baba still is watching over us.
Portrait of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr: (pastel)
From my Hollins University exhibit entitled “A Touch O Kente”.
Oval Framed Mandaladge, pen and ink mandala on Joss paper and mounted on mud dye cloth:
The two images are a praying Buddhist figure and an angel with an heirloom emerald bracelet of my mother’s collection.