If Daisy Crane weren’t so straightforward, so matter-of-fact and unceremonious, you’d believe that her tales might be fiction. A tour of her paintings now on view at the Hidden Caf’ in the Highlands hints at the chapters in her life, which began in Ceylon (Sri Lanka)’where she lived with her family for more than 20 years’ and extended to 15 years in politics, then racing hydro boats, and now writing a book about the Chinese massacre of 1871 in Los Angeles. Crane hints that her drive may be partly a result of her desire to please her father Clifford MacFadden, a distinguished professor of geography who established the cartography and aerial photography department in the Pentagon during World War II, and established the university system in Ceylon. Another significant influence on Crane’s view of life was a horseback riding accident that occurred when she was 15, wherein she escaped having her leg amputated, but still lives to this day with complications from that event six decades past. While growing up in Ceylon, Crane studied Theravada Buddhism, which teaches believers ways to bring an end to dukkha, the human condition of unsatisfactoriness, discontent and stress. Similar to the 10 Commandments espoused in the Judeo-Christian creeds, Buddhism prescribes the Noble Eightfold Path, which includes right action, right effort, right resolve and right concentration. “I believe that before you’re born, you select your life,” Crane says. “You need to work off your parents’ karma. But I also believe that we all have innate ability that allows us to accomplish so much.” Crane started studying art while she was a child, painting for two years with George Keyt, whose work was strongly influenced by Buddhist and Hindu iconography, which he later fused with his excitement over cubism. But it was Derek Jukes, Crane says, who taught her how to paint portraits. “He taught me what to look for in the face.” Back in the United States, Crane, who had studied in Asia through correspondence courses, tutors and much reading, finished her undergraduate and graduate work in Los Angeles. She taught math in Catholic grammar schools for a number of years. She also married Richard Takakjian, with whom she had a son, Andy, who is a professional artist living in Silverlake. In the 1980s, Crane turned her attention to politics, running campaigns for state assemblyman Bob Cline and Jim Keysor for Los Angeles City Council. Later, she worked at LAUSD and the Huntington Beach School District. Not unexpectedly, Crane is also a writer, a career that was prompted when she was recuperating from her horseback riding accident. “With five pillows propped up behind me, I wrote and delivered a series of 20 half-hour radio programs for the BBC, about life in the U.S., where I compared history, foods, culture, folk tales and topography in various regions of the country.” She is also a poet who has written over 6,000 verses, some of which are illustrated and exhibited in the Hidden Caf’ show. Now retired, Crane enjoys a quiet life of research and writing in her house in Pacific Palisades. Ensconced in her study, she is surrounded by her paintings, books such as “Hints and Tips to Make Life Easier” and mementos from her life, such as a Don Quixote sculpture and the Virgin of Guadalupe.” “My week is not placid,” she says. “Things and people come to me all the time. There is a lot of excitement, something stirring all the time.” Crane’s show at the Hidden Caf’ continues through the end of January.
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