Do It For You!

Yesterday I received a very blunt e-mail from a gallery.  "Please pick up your work, it is not selling and we need the wall space for other artists."  I was confused because only a few weeks ago, the gallery owner was asking for more work.  The e-mail came from one of her employees.  I went in to pick up the paintings today and another woman who works in the gallery said she knew nothing about this and was very surprised.   She was very kind and told me that she loved my work.  I next went to bring some cards to another gallery I have work in and the first thing this gallery owner said was "I have wonderful news.  We just sold three of your pieces!"  After my initial disappointment with the e-mail, came the realization that I create because I love the process.  I am not creating in order to sell my work or to gain recognition.  If it sells that is wonderful.  If not, I am okay.  The past month has been challenging because of personal crises in my life and making art has been therapeutic and gratifying.  Whatever you love to do, do it because it nurtures and expands you.  With that intention, whatever your endeavors are, you will be successful.  Do what you enjoy for you, not for what you think you will receive from the outside world.

I'm on to a new series.  I love designing collaged dresses.  Here are a few:

 "Lady in Red"

 "All of Me"

"Sophisticated Lady"

New Endeavors

I am having a great time with a new endeavor - teaching collage workshops.  Life presents new opportunities all the time and as Babe Ruth declared, "If there is a fork in the road, take it."  So I did.   This summer, I was asked to teach a class about how to make my collage blocks and I decided to plunge in.  My take away from the first class I ran was that I could impart the information and process effectively and was able to look at what people were doing and make helpful suggestions that moved them along.  I've run this workshop several times in several galleries and have been asked to create new classes.  How fun and how unexpected.  I challenged myself to try something new and it worked.  It does not always, yet I have never regretted venturing out into new territory.  Years ago, I decided I wanted to do a particular type of training and I actually put ads in the yellow pages about my new specialty before even starting the training.   There was a deadline and I was sure this was my new path.  Well, it did not work out that way.  I did not like the training, it was not a good fit for me.  I received a lot of calls from the ads and had to refer people out.  I tried something new, it didn't pan out, so I moved on and never had to think "I wish I had...".  What is it you wish you had done and didn't?  Maybe now is the time.

Some Class Members

Beautiful blocks they made

Letting Go and Moving On

This has been a time of upheaval and change.  We sold our house in Maine and it was quite an ordeal on every level.   It's an old house, an 1866 victorian.  We put our hearts and souls into this "project".  When we bought it, it was in terrible disrepair and we made it our mission to take care of, nourish and update it.  We loved this house and poured time, energy and money into it.  We enjoyed the process of seeing it evolve and become beautiful once again.  However, if you have ever owned an old house, its needs never end and after fourteen years, it was becoming a burden.  There was so much more to be done, driving back and forth became exhausting with all the traffic, we wanted to spend weekends with our grandchildren.  It was time to let go.  This was not easy to do.  It was like letting go of a precious love and I cried a lot.  We had moving sales and had to let go of what we had brought into our lives.  We had to let go of people we had become attached to.  I let go of being able to be at the beach all the time.  The house has an interesting history.  It was built by a wealthy industrialist to house his groomsman and to stable his horse.  Harriet Beecher Stowe's son lived in the house for several years and she often visited him here.  I would walk up the curved staircase and touch the banister and think that Harriet walked these stairs and touched this banister.  My friends lost their experiences here as well.  Several came by to say goodbye to the house.  For the first few weeks after we sold the Horace Woodman House I was very sad and would picture the new owner walking through the rooms.  As time went on, I began to relax and realize that I had more time in my life.  I was not spending half the week there, half the week at home.  Everything was in one place.  I have been enjoying weekends going places I have not been to in years because we were always in Maine.  I see my grandchildren on most weekends.  I see my friends more.  I've also had to let go of a volunteer job that I've loved and so there is a lot of change going on in my life.   I've needed down time to recover and I've taken it.  Today, I sat down and finished a piece I began many months ago.  I'm letting go and moving on.  I'm excited about what lies ahead.  Another new beginning.

Back to Reality

It's been quite a while since my last post.  I was away for a month and it was spectacular.  I was not sure what it would be like to just relax and have no deadlines, no structure, no demands on my time.  Well, I have to say, I loved it!  My husband loved it too and that was a huge surprise.  He is such a workaholic but found he liked to sleep in, read, take our dog for many walks a day, go to the beach and just hang out with me.  I did bring my paints and did some work.  Then back to reality, which isn't all that bad,  just busy again.  The first week home I was so disoriented that I really could not fully function.  It's nice to just let go and float for a while.  It's pleasant to not feel guilty because you are not being productive.  It's satisfying to just be.  I will admit there were a few times when I was a bit bored but mostly, I just felt free.  I still am feeling some of this and have given myself permission to have days to myself to do whatever suits me.  I began working on a series of cityscapes just before leaving and have thoroughly enjoyed this new endeavor.   They are kind of funky and folk artsy.  I am working in different sizes and using many color palettes.   Here is one of them:

9x17

Going Within

The past several weeks are a blur and I have been at loose ends for a number of reasons.  Rather than push myself, I decided to let go and take care of myself.    We all have our ways of processing and for me, it's joining with my emotions at the deepest level and letting myself be.  Eventually I come to terms with the dilemma, come back up for air. and move on.  So here I am.  Is everything in perfect order?  No.  Do I still have things to deal with?  Yes.  I am not, however, stuck in that dark place.  I am painting, listening to my music, seeing my friends, getting ready to go to a warm, sunny place for a month (I can't wait!), seeing my grandchildren and living my life.  I have decisions to make and ideas to process and as long as I keep myself connected and grounded, I will be fine.  The most fun thing that happened is that I got an e-mail from one of the galleries I have my work in telling me that four of my pieces sold.  This really was a clear message that I am on the right track.  Very exciting.  As I just mentioned, I will be away for a month and I am not sure I will be posting.  This was kind of a bucket list thing - to go away for a month during the winter.  It was my husband's suggestion and was quite surprising coming from him, the man who doesn't even like to take a week off from work.  Of course he will work remotely but who cares?  I am taking my paints and am hoping to be able to sit outside in the sunshine and create.  Here is an old piece that I love.  The girl is a transfer, the background is painted.

Create, Create, Create

 I am making every effort to do something creative each day.  As a friend reminded me, it doesn't have to be a big thing.   Cooking is a creative endeavor as is writing in a journal.  I enjoy finger painting with my grandson.   Not only are we creating a piece of art, but we are also creating connection and memories.  Just one little creative act a day helps me to feel that I have expressed myself in some way and it feels great.  I am not one to make New Years resolutions, yet I think this is one I would like to make and keep.  Actually, last year I resolved to keep this blog up for one year and here I am, still at it.  If I fall off the wagon and get too caught up in other life events, then I will just have to find a way to begin again.  I had a client who really struggled with her weight and she finally was able to stay on a diet and lost weight.  Then she went to a party and overdid it.  When she came in to see me she was so upset with herself and declared that she had blown the diet and all was lost.  No it wasn't.  I told her to just start again and to stop beating herself up.  It's not fair to yourself to think in terms of black and white, either or, all or nothing.  Life happens, we mess up and then we need to forgive ourselves for whatever we think our infractions are and move on.  We need to stop tripping over our "shoulds" (we should do this, be that, etc.) and do what feels good to us inside.

Happy Holidays

What a busy few months.  I took an art class at the Concord Art Association.  It was fun and inspired me to try new things.  It's always a challenge to figure out what I am doing in a class, to get my bearings.  I am better working in my studio.  This class set things in motion and I came home with new ideas and energy each week that I followed through on.  I also participated in the Acton Farmer's Market Holiday Fair.  I keep telling myself that I am going to take time off and relax.  Then I am presented with an opportunity and can't resist taking it on.  Today though, I promise to take a nap!!!  Here is what I was selling at the fair.  Collage boxes and blocks.  In the background, what I made as a result of the class, playing with cardboard.  Something I've never tried before.

Happy Holidays to all.

Here's to New Adventures

I had a wonderful Artist Reception on October 28.  I am grateful to family and friends who attended.  It is a bit overwhelming but great fun to be seen as a working artist.  Life presents so many opportunities and if we open to them, we can go on many adventures.  This is my newest journey and I am exploring and expanding with each step.  I continually challenge myself and it is not always comfortable to do so yet I am impelled to keep moving on.  My brain needs to be stimulated and making art brings me to my highest heights.  I drink in the colors and patterns and my endorphins go crazy.  I may struggle with a piece but when it comes together it is such a wonderful feeling of completion and connection.  My next journey is into the world of teaching.  I will be running a collage block workshop on Sunday, December 11 at Artists Corner Gallery.  Here is the link to the website and pictures of what we will be doing.  Keep moving forward and allow yourself to adventure out.

www.artistscorner.gallery/workshops

Focus

Open Studios was last weekend and it was an uplifting experience.   I had a whole wall filled with my work and it was a bit overwhelming and exciting to see how far I have come.  A number of people asked about my process and expressed their desire to get back to their own artwork that got neglected along the way.  As I have said many times, it is so easy to get taken over by life and it takes focus and determination to pursue any interest that has meaning for you.  Believe me, there are times when I have to push myself into my studio, then once I am there, I am so happy.  Though I know some artists who say that they must do something every day, even if its for five minutes.  I'm best when I have a deadline, whether self-imposed or external.  Next Friday evening I will be hosting a gallery reception at Reasons To Be Cheerful, 110 Commonwealth Avenue, West Concord, 6:30-8:30.  Please feel free to drop in for hors d'oeuvres, wine and some colorful work.  Here is a photo of my wall:

Moving Forward

Now I am in the thick of it!  Open Studios are this weekend - actonopenstudios.org and www.youtube.com/watch.  I will be at the Artist Corner and Gallery, 566 Mass. Avenue, Acton - 12-5 Saturday and Sunday.  On Friday evening, October 28, I am having an artist reception along with Rozsi Moser at Reasons To Be Cheerful, 110 Commonwealth Avenue, Concord, from 6:30-8:30.  Our work is colorful and uplifting so please do come and feel free to bring a friend.  So much to do.  I am having fun mounting my work on wood panels.  It presents a whole new dimension.  I have been working feverishly to get things done and along the way have allowed myself to let go of what I am not satisfied with and reconfigure the piece or concept.  What I have ended up with has pleased me because I did not allow myself to become blocked.  I just relaxed into the process and moved forward. 

Dare to Try

It's a warm, rainy day and I am home with my sweet dog Chloe.  I am getting ready for a gallery reception and have to hang my work next week though the reception isn't until the end of October.  I am challenging myself to put out work that is different from what I have been doing.  And in between, working on personal projects.  My granddaughter is turning one in a few weeks.  When my daughter turned one, I bought her a beautiful little wrought iron chair from an antique store.  I saved it. My husband cleaned it up and painted it and I made new pillows.  It came out just the way I had hoped.  Sewing is always tricky for me because I never make the same thing twice and all the measuring is annoying to me.  It's always a battle with lots of ripping out and redoing.  I never am sure if what I am working on will come out looking at all like what I picture in my head.  It's like that when I bake as well.  Too much measuring and following instructions.  Cooking is a more creative endeavor for me and I can experiment.  That's why I enjoy collage and abstract painting. There is no recipe,  I don't have to know what the result will be, and I just flow with it.  Well, this is a ramble!  I guess the theme here is dare to try new things and enjoy your creativity.  So, here is Anika's  chair.  I hope this will be passed down to her little girl.

Letting Go

It was a wonderful summer and now I am back in my life.  It is clear to me that I need structure.  One month away was enough for me.  It was filled with family, friends, beach time and lobster.  I was also able to take a fabulous three day book making workshop.  I loved it.  I had summer art goals that I actually met and now I am getting ready for an open studio and a gallery reception, both in October.   Oh yes, and both my grandchildren's birthdays, an apple picking party that I am re-instituting, an Art Garfunkle concert, my 39th anniversary weekend and who knows what else?  I learned a lot about myself this summer, it was empowering.  Mostly it was about trusting myself, honoring myself and letting go of residual fears and life regrets.  I thought I had already figured this out but I went deeper and feel as if I came fully into myself. I learned more clearly how to take a step back and breathe through the rough spots and then let go.  Worrying and holding onto anxt does not serve any purpose.  I remember telling a client who worried a lot to save all his worries up and sit down each evening for 1/2 hour and then allow himself to worry.  The next week when he came in, I asked how it had gone.  He said he didn't do it because it seemed stupid and a waste of time.  "That's the whole point" I replied.  So let go and free yourself up!!!

Take a look at some of what I did this summer:

Paste Painting

 Paste Painting

 Books

Book Sculpture

Happy Summer

Summer is flying by, as it usually does.  I have done some work, not as much as I had hoped to.  I will be in Maine for the month of August and hope to have some free time to sit on my porch, listen to music and paint.  I have an Open Studio and a show in the fall - both in October.  It is always a bit of a struggle for me.  Do I want to exhibit or do I just want to work when I want to and not put myself out there?  There are positives and negatives to both.  Participating in shows forces me to do the work and keeps me connected to other artists.  When I am working, I am enjoying myself.  It is very easy to get caught up in daily life and then time goes by and nothing gets done.  So that is my dilemma.  I am sure it is a common one.  I guess my answer is I will keep doing what I am doing (shows I mean) until I don't want to do them anymore.  When I was younger, I wanted to be rich and famous (like the movie Rich and Famous).  Now, I just want to enjoy myself.  Happy rest of the summer.  See you in the fall.

Making The Effort

I am really making an effort to get to my art space and work during the week, even if it's only for an hour at a time.  I always feel so good when I do a piece of work.  I find this is especially true when I am feeling anxious or stressed.  Creating calms me.  So does being with my grandchildren.  I am fortunate to have such great passions.  I will share a bit.  I was holding Ari and singing to him - "You are my sunshine, etc. which ends with "Please don't take my sunshine away."  He lifted his head and in a soft voice said to me "I won't take your sunshine away.  It doesn't get any sweeter than this.  Happy Fourth.

Jai

Lost in Space

I have been lost in time and space.  I did not realize that it has been so long since I posted.   Posting weekly is becoming more and more difficult as the weather improves and I begin spending more time in Maine.  I am hoping to bring my art supplies up this summer so that on long weekends in July and especially during August, when I am there for the month, I can sit outside on my porch and paint.  That is, if friends are not visiting or my grandchildren are not with me.  For when the children are around, nothing gets accomplished except lots of playtime, laughter, hugging and exhaustion!  Yesterday when I asked my 2 1/2 year old grandson to help me clean up his toys, he said "No.  I'm sitting."  Then he moved his little chair closer to me and said "Nana clean up.  I'll watch."  What can you do but laugh???  Here is a little piece I finished last week.

Pushing Through

I have been missing in action for a few weeks.  The class I have been taking, and completed, was all consuming.  This was without doubt the most challenging art experience I have ever had - and the most rewarding in so many ways.  It was a true grit experience.  It was a course that integrated technique, color theory and composition, and required that we trust our intuition.  Each week we learned a new concept and then had to produce six finished pieces, then post and blog about them.  There were times when I thought my brain would explode.  There were times when I felt that I was doing it all wrong and could not grasp what it was I was supposed to be doing differently.  There were times when I just wanted to quit.  But I didn't.  I persevered because my passion for the work superseded my fears and frustrations.  I came away with a clearer sense of myself as an artist and feel so much more inspired to explore my work.  I am exhausted but excited about sitting down again to continue to develop and create.  Pushing through anything in life will always lead you to a more evolved sense of self.  Here is a sample of the monoprint/collage work:

Reflections

I have a BIG birthday coming up in July and have been doing a lot of processing about my life so far.   Some decades just arrive, barely noticed because of the busyness of daily life.  Others rear their heads and demand attention.  This is one decade that has been insisting that I stop, look and listen.  It seems to correspond to this weeks art lesson.  I am doing small studies using monoprint and collage.  I've had to pay close attention to white space, values, texture, shapes, composition and elemental relationships.  The assignment moved me into thinking about how I allow for balance in my life, how I give myself breathing room, what is meaningful to me, how I've learned to let go of clutter (thoughts, feelings, people, things), the value of my relationships, and how colorful or stimulating my life is.  All these questions came up for me as I was working.  My internal response is that I am exactly where I want to be at this point in time.  I've always felt that I was ten years behind myself.  It took  a while to figure it all out but now, I believe I've caught up.  How interesting that my art studies challenged me and then encouraged me to evaluate where I am at this point in time.  Rather than dreading this next birthday, I will welcome and honor the energy it took to get here and the wisdom I've achieved that is allowing me to appreciate all the gifts I have been given.  Here are a few of the studies.  Nothing major but certainly got my internal juices flowing!

So Much To Do

So much to do this week and I am moving quickly from one activity to the next.  On one hand, that's a great thing because everything is interesting to me.  However, I am feeling overstimulated.  I had my grandchildren one day, I worked at The Manse (a historic house in Concord), did homework for my art class, and prepared for the Passover seder at my home tonight.  Most every week is filled to capacity.  We live the life we create for ourselves, so be sure that it's the life you want to be living.   You can always reassess.  Now I have to run to the market.  Here is my favorite piece of art for the week:

Ari and Anika at Artfest

Flourishing

"Imagine starting your life's work at seventy-two".  This is from The Paper Garden, a biography of Mary Granville Pendarves Delaney, by Molly Peacock.  In 1772, at the age of seventy-two, Mrs. Delaney discovered the art of working with papers and created collage art.  She made the most gorgeous collage flowers, so lifelike that at first glance, people thought they were real.  She was a fascinating woman who led quite an amazing life in England and Ireland.  Until now, it was Grandma Moses who was my role model.  She began painting at the age of fifty-seven.  I've passed that age and now have a new role model.  It is never too late,  and you are never too old to explore new vistas and to discover new facets of yourself.  I am at a most exciting next chapter in my life.  I have little babies to play with and my art to passionately dive into.  As Peacock says "A life's work is always unfinished and requires creativity till the day a person dies.  Even if you've managed major accomplishments throughout your life and don't really need a model for making a mark, you do need one for enriching an ongoing existence."  I pass this along because I so strongly believe that life is constantly unfolding and if you engage, you will flourish.

 Rosa gallica - Mary Delaney

 I have just begun another wonderful Jane Davies on-line workshop.  This one is monoprint collage.  I had to make collage papers using the gelli plate and here are a few examples:

Also, take a look at my pinterest page: https://www.pinterest.com/jsrd2/.  I finally figured out how to post my own art.  See, it's never too late!

Posting Comments

Several people have told me that the site wouldn't allow them to comment and I did not know why.  I got a consult and fixed the problem.  I'd love to hear from you.