blur, amazing, time

Where am I? In a blur of the new year. I feel like for most of is it is a bit of a blur after the holidays and getting back into the swing of normal. But it seems like an especially long journey for me this year... but for all good reasons.  Today is my first entire studio day in MY studio since Christmas week.  Wow time flies.

The residency, the residency it was amazing, just what I needed, a wonderful community, time, conversation, space, amazing. I am still totally unfurling all the experiences and relationships that I made there and probably will be for a long time to come.  As a mama to a little person these magical spaces are rare and hard to make work but... once again I was reminded of how essential they are to the soul of an artist and maker.    Truly the best part, besides the obvious time to make work, was the conversation. Having good, smart discourse about art for hours and hours was like water to a drying plant.  I sucked it up and felt like I was coming alive again,

All magic ends and reality returns but right now my reality is bursting at the seams with stuff. Good stuff that I want to share about here. Good art seen, good things read, good things happening but they all fill my days so quick the time is gone like a flash or I am distracted by cuddles with the little person.

But in short....

I have been looking at lots of lines.
Went to an excellent crit group that I am excited about. The crit of my new drawings gave me so much to think about.
Trying to figure out what I need to finish and frame for my show in March.
Trying not to forget to ship my art this month to the San Jose Museum of Quilts and...
Buying way to much graphite and drawing supplies at the art store.
Deciding what I need to spend time researching.
Wishing I could fit in a visit to the city, ya know my old home.
Getting ready to teach.
mama.
job.
wife.

so you see my time dilemma:)

slow progress.

  

I have been working, working, working.  I thought that I would write more while I was here but honestly I have been unwilling to give up the studio time.

 

It has been beyond luxurious to be in the studio all day, all night, all morning. I was in the studio building for over 15 hours yesterday and I was SO happy. It makes me a bit bummed to know I only have one day left.  

 

I am so happy with the progress I have made and happy to have the hours I have left to do more. I feel grateful to get this head start on the work above for my show in March. But it also does what I knew it would-  really make me question my life choices and how I can be living each day more closely to this day.  I do not know how it is possible but man am I thinking about it.

 

 

I am feeling excited about going home and processing all this work, all these conversations and all the amazing presentations I have seen. I have been so into being in the studio there has been no time to process- so now that it is all coming to an end I am looking forward to what will germinate out of this experience.

I am not dead, it was just the hoidays and now I am at arrowmont...

 

Let's not even talk about the blur of month that just happened. Let's talk about now.  I am amazingly and thankfully at Arrowmont in Tennessee for a week. Wow did I need it. Do I need it.

 

 

At first it was a bit overwhelming, Galtinburg is weird.  But then once we all met, got settled in the studios. I was like yes, yes, yes!

 

I had no what I was going to work on as I have almost finished the 2 pieces that I have been working on for like 5 months. So I did not want to bring those. And then I am in such a weird plac ein my studio...  then miraculously I ended up being offered a show at the project space at Kingston Gallery.  I had opted for a later big show as I wanted time to develop the work. But the project space is perfect. Its small, intimate and no pressure. So all of a sudden I had a deadline. JUST what I needed.

 

  



So I came up with this drawing to turn into another plant piece. I have decided on it being a series of 3. The previous one being the dried out plants, This one which is inbetween and eventually a lush healthy one. Hopefully that will be the trajectory of my life too.

  

and a new drawing. I am so excited about these drawings. I have not been this into something I have been doing in awhile and in a larger installation I feel like they are a bridge between my photography and textiles which is awesome too.

 

 

Being in the studio all day every day again is amazing and also makes me want to cry as that is no longer my privilege.  So along with a lot of work there has also been a lot of great conversation with the other artists and  a lot of thinking and reflection on my life.