How is it already July? This year is flying by. I took 2 art classes at the Art Center of New Jersey this year. I’ve been getting back to working with oil paints, which has been enjoyable. I also participated in Maplewood’s annual Painting in the Park. I exhibited a painting at the Art Center’s annual show. I also started sewing some purses, because I cannot seem to stick with one type of creative endeavor for more that a few months.
Well, 2021 was a bust. In addition to the ongoing pandemic, my mother passed away in February of 2021. Instead of spending the year making art, as I had hoped and planned, I instead spent the year grieving and handling my mother’s estate. If you’ve ever had to do so, then you know how much work it was.
A lot of my time was spent cleaning out my mother’s house and preparing it for sale. I also learned to crochet over the year and made this cute turkey. Only later in the year, was I able to have some time to paint.
I know everyone keeps saying the same, but hopefully this year will be better!
Happy New Year! The holiday season is over and it’s time to get in gear for the new year. Like many people, I use the 1st of the year as a kind of reset to evaluate and reflect on the prior year and to set new goals for the coming year. While 2020 was rough in many respects, there were also a few positives, like being able to spend more time with my family.
In the new year, I hope to become a bit more disciplined about posting here and to be a little bit less of a slacker. But I also am going to try to be a little kinder to myself when my discipline is not quite up to snuff. It’s always been my weak spot. I’m more prone to daydreaming than working, most days.
Another one of my plans for the new year is to have a Valentine’s Day tea party with my family. What are your plans?
The art show was a success, and I enjoyed showing my work. Thank you to everyone who came out and chatted!
Come out tomorrow and see my work in person at the West Orange Farmer’s Market!
I’ve posted about this on Facebook and on my Instagram, but realized that I forgot to post it here on my website. This summer, I will be travelling cross-country and painting along the way. I launched an IndieGoGo campaign with the opportunity for my followers to sponsor me and obtain art from the trip. Here is the link:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/watercolors-from-sea-to-shining-sea#/
I’ve been trying to get my art business in order and it’s been mentally challenging. After so many years in law, I spend more time fiddling with language in legal documents than finding places to sell my art.
I often hear about artists that neglect the business side of their work and focus solely on their craft. I’d like to do more of that. However, I find it hard to tear myself away from the pull of the familiar. Maybe I need to think about delegating more or at least restricting how much time is spent on the computer?
How do others effectively manage this?
I’ve been thinking a lot about identity – how we view ourselves, what shapes that view and how that view limits or drives us, how we affect the identity of others by the words we choose and how we treat them and how much of our identities are built around fear and a need for love and acceptance rather than truth. I’ve been thinking about the ideas of grief and social constructs and how we assume identities and mirror them and how we confront those ideas in mid-life and it gets called a ‘crisis’ when it really should be called an ‘awakening’.
I’ve been reading and thinking about pareidolia and art and how it leads people to see deeper meaning in random shapes. Our brain naturally wants to convert randomness into meaning. Call it Rabbit in a Snowstorm and Wilson Fisk will kill over it.
This is the shirt Teddy Roosevelt was wearing when he was shot giving a speech. He continued talking for 84 minutes to finish his speech.
It is on display at the Teddy Roosevelt Birthplace in NYC.
