Tag Archives: working artist

Exhibitions and Other News

New Art / Disability & Mental Health & Exciting News

One of the reasons my new series is so slow to completion is because I’ve been creating a lot of art specifically for themed exhibits. I typically only do this if the premise speaks to me, and lately a lot of the local exhibit opportunities have really resonated. This piece was created for the Midland Area Cultural Awareness Coalition’s Pop Up Exhibit with the prompt “Our differences make us better together”. I was thinking a lot about how culture doesn’t always mean our country of origin, and how some differences can be internal more than external. In “Symphony”, I aimed to show neurodiversity including both disability and mental health. I used colored pencil for the figures, fabric for their clothing, ink for the birds, and watercolor for the background. I’m typically not a bright color person with my art, but this piece called for it. After I blended every watercolor in my palette into the background, it was … well, very bright and competing a bit too much with the figures even in their high contrast black and white. Solution: a wash of pearl white acrylic overtop. I love that this kerfuffle happened in the first place because having an iridescent foil effect in the background ended up so much cooler than if it would have been left just straight pastel watercolor.

I use birds with figures for symbolism a lot, because I love the movement birds add to an image and birds have long been a visual metaphor for the soul. The different artistic depiction of the birds flowing from each figure are representations of different ways of thinking and processing. I see this all the time with my art classes I teach. In the beginner classes, we will usually create the same basic image together step-by-step, but the exciting variety I see across everyone’s artwork still is truly amazing.

The birds eventually all converge into one stream, mingling together and blending into streaks of color. I didn’t have a title for this piece until the very end, when the word “Symphony” came to mind. Our thoughts, words, ideas, personality, presence, all play a part in our community and society as a whole, and each part is important. Much like a symphony in which each instrument layers together to create the finished song, or a work of art like this one where each splash of paint or piece of fabric layers together to create a recognizable image, all of our different experiences and ways of looking at and processing the world are necessary for innovation and progress.

This piece was one of the most fun mixed media artworks to create that I’ve worked on in awhile, and I was additionally honored with the Best Of Show Award. Prints will be available soon in my online shop, so keep an eye out, or you can always contact me directly.

Standard
Exhibitions and Other News

Summer 2024 Wrap Up & Artsy Photo Dump

This summer came and went so quickly, I wanted to do a recap. This started out as something just for myself and my personal journaling to stop and reflect, but then I thought it may be interesting to those that follow me to hear what I’ve been up to. I love sharing fascinating things related to creativity, but sometimes forget to talk about what I’ve been up to. 

This was truly an art-filled summer. I completed my first largescale mural after years of mini public arts projects. I learned a lot, and gained important experience to carry forward into future projects. I was able to integrate community participation into my design with the overarching concept being a message of inclusion, which is very important to me. The process of allowing anyone and everyone to make their mark in helping with the base coats of color made the inclusion more than just conceptual, but a reality of the artistic process.

I distributed my art and handmade wares into 4 gallery shops covering Midland (Creative 360), Saginaw (Gingerblue), and Bay City (Catworks, Studio 23). I work between these 3 cities as well as an arts educator, and they are all within 30 minutes of each other which makes replenishing sold items something I can do with ease and not a lot of arduous travel or pre-planning. Sometimes I get overly focused on “elsewhere” and while expansion is important, working close by may be what is best for my busy schedule and self care right now. 

I stretched myself and did my first live painting at a wedding. Making a photo-realistic portrait to memorialize someone’s once in a lifetime (or that’s the goal anyway!) day is a lot of pressure. I also had a very limited time, and I’m not usually a wedding person even with people I know well since these sorts of events are typically a social anxiety doozy for me. The experience ended up being a much needed bright spot in what happened to have been a very tough week. It was beautiful, vibrant, inspiring, and uplifting in all the best ways, and was another opportunity that added to my repertoire of services I can offer.

I officially expanded my online shop to not just art, but art and fun fashion and cute collectible things I like in an effort to declutter and simplify life (starting with my wardrobe!) and have a greater customer reach. As we get closer to the holidays, might I suggest you check out the shop for unique wares ;).  

I took a break from some things I consistently do in order to make room for new experiences. I chose not to participate in any art fairs until mid-September, put off any little home repair projects until Fall, didn’t book myself solid with classes or alternatively plan a bunch of trips. I gardened, journaled, did lots of reading, spent time just being outside, increased physical-activity-related hobbies, and cooked at home a lot. It may sound like a boring summer, but it was so regenerative and allowed me to get ready for a busier Fall.

Since it’s not technically Fall yet, I ended my Summer with a wonderful surprise … I was awarded 2nd Place at Studio 23’s Michigan All-State Juried Exhibition for my piece “Breathe” – and it sold the evening of the show! I get very attached to my art so it’s always satisfying yet bittersweet when one sells, but honestly I could not be more excited.

16×20″ Prismacolor Pencil and Mixed Media

What are some memorable moments from your Summer of 2024?

Standard
Artist Bio

Storytime! My First Art Job, A Very 90s-Kid Tale

The only time I ever felt 100% ‘solid’ outside of my home growing up as a kid was in art class; a real, seen person as opposed to a sort of misty vapor you may feel in the air but not give much notice – a draft that causes a door in the house to close causing a noise for just a second, this abrupt sound being the end of its impact. I wasn’t popular by any means, and though gifted academically, I had far too much social anxiety and general sense of perpetual overwhelm to be a leader. This makes it all the more curious that I managed to spearhead a short-lived fashion empire at my elementary school in my tenth year.

I didn’t have the look of an up and coming designer. I wore jeggings before there was a word for them, much to my classmates’ amusement. I suppose I was just 20 years ahead of the trends. Other than that, I typically donned a whole lot of athleisure, emphasis on the leisure part of that word because I was hopeless at sports. (Note the photo of me with my hero wearing a fake soccer uniform from the American Girl catalogue.) Despite my unassuming style, I could draw models donning original clothing that caught the eyes of the other girls in class. I drew my own fashion magazines at home all the time. When asked what I was doing one day while doodling at my desk after finishing my classwork early, I answered after a long pause, “Working on my magazine”. The next day, half the class was lining up for interviews to be on staff.

I assigned everyone departments. We even had a lingerie section, ironically drawn by the most religious girl in class. She curtly explained without being asked that the models in the hand-drawn photoshoot were married so it was ok, with a definitive huff at the end. As Editor In Chief, people were coming to me for approval and advice, and it felt good at first. They even followed my quirky rules. All text in the publication had to be written in the alien font I invented, which was a mix of Egyptian hieroglyphics and Microsoft Webdings. All were given translation keys for their convenience.

Things were going smoothly until one day, my Vice President called an emergency meeting with only the board of the Fashion Club, as we were so creatively called. A lot of members felt one of the girl’s designs just weren’t cutting it. They proposed she be ousted from the group. I gave it careful consideration, and admitted her ideas weren’t very good. She complained about having to use my specialized typography, also made clear regularly her disdain for the requirement that our designer names be our first names spelled backwards, and she lived in my neighborhood and frequently stopped over without calling first to play with my toys. I was still steamed that last time she’d visited, she spat on my Sleeping Beauty Aurora doll whose eyes close like she’s sleeping when you wet them with … well, it was supposed to be water. I’d never fired anyone before – I’d never even had a real job aside from watering the neighbor’s plants when they went on vacation. It could be fun.

The next recess, I called neighborhood girl into my office, which was behind the tallest tree on the playground. I told her directly that this wasn’t working out, expecting it to be cool. It was not cool. She called me a bitch, a word I only knew from my favorite Alanis Morrissette song, and gave me the finger, a gesture whose meaning was unclear to me at this time. Following this, she ran off sobbing uncontrollably. I felt terrible. I’d had my first real taste of power and influence, and I absolutely hated it.

The next morning, I apologized to neighborhood girl, resigned from my own publication, and faded back into obscurity as nature intended. It was way more fun spending recesses pretending to be a Pokémon anyway.

Standard
Artist Bio, Techniques and Tutorials

Happy New Year! Winter Watercolors And New Year’s Day Thoughts

2023 was overall a fantastic year filled with enriching experiences, but the last quarter, typically my favorite part of each year, definitely roundhouse kicked me in the behind. I ended the year with pretty debilitating burnout, and was already begrudgingly dreading the middle-to-end of the NEXT year because, why would it be any different? I’m sitting here like a big dummy changing absolutely nothing about the major pillars of my life.

We hear time and time again that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. A fear of stagnation is drilled into us, and especially in this day and age we are expected to always be doing something new. People that don’t like change or enjoy a particular routine are looked at as dull and uninspiring, lacking in aspiration. We are told if we get tired of something, or a particular job, relationship, etc. isn’t serving us then just drop everything and start over, and often face judgement if we don’t. Everyone sees the big changes, but no one notices those subtle, butterfly effect changes that can make a huge difference without completely blowing up your life (Disclaimer: Sometimes you do need to start over, trust me, I’ve been there. But not always…) I propose a little bit of advocacy for consistency, and sticking around long enough to get to the breakthrough.

This was a year of growth for me: growth in closeness to my family and friends both new and old; growth with my partner as we both became better versions of ourselves individually, and learned how to mesh these individual identities into a shared life; and growth in my career as the first year I worked as an independent artist. Growth is not linear. Not everything worked well. There was a lot of joy as I packed more different experiences than I’ve had in the last 5 years into one, but also a lot of tears. Much of 2023 was one big learning experience.

I grew my online business, took part in public arts projects, lead an art restoration project, taught art to just about every age and ability level in 5 different cities, and finally refurbished my unfinished basement and created an official home studio.

Some things I learned in my first year as an independent artist are:

  • Teaching is a key component for job stability as a traditional artist. I’ve seen other independent artists that are graphic designers make logos and web design their main base, but as a creator who only dabbles in the more techy stuff, teaching at local arts non-profits has been a consistent base especially once word of mouth spreads via happy students. Being involved as a contractor at larger organizations rather than only trying to teach private lessons or workshops independently has the added benefit of opening the door to other opportunities once that organization learns your skillset.
  • Be choosy about market venues. When it comes to in person art markets and festivals, I had been taking the approach of best value and high quantity. I ended up getting super burnt out as it’s no secret markets are a lot of work, and so many of the “Amazing, this venue is only charging 20 bucks to set up!” opportunities were completely dead with no customers. All those small charges could have added up to funds to afford the gas and booth fee for an out of town venue in a more populated, high traffic area for example. In 2024 I will be focusing on larger, more established markets, but maybe doing less than 5 per year rather than one every couple weeks. When it comes down to it, today I think in person sales are more about getting your face out there and talking to people about your brand than making a huge amount of money.
  • Your social tribe isn’t necessarily the same demographic as your customers. This is something really interesting I’ve discovered through my own record keeping and observations. I do a lot of upcycled clothing. Overwhelmingly, the women who buy my clothing are women 2-3+ decades older than me that enjoy having artsy statement pieces as a part of their everyday wardrobe. My juniors painted and fabric collage garments on the other hand take forever to move. Similarly, when I set up my art prints and mixed media work for sale at venues that are places I’d actually hang out (a punk rock music festival for example) I sold almost nothing, but when I set up at events that attracted a lot of customers that were actually quite different from me and my typical friend group, I surprisingly sold well! It is advantageous to pay attention to who is most excited about your work, and see if there are any common threads.
  • Take control of your schedule, and be intentional. One of the main reasons I wanted to go independent was to get a better handle on my anxiety level. I have always had an incredibly difficult time with not knowing exactly what my schedule will look like way ahead, or the idea of my day to day routine being controlled by someone else – that’s a big anxiety trigger for me, and though I’ve tried to work around it at the end of the day it’s just how my brain works. I was tempted to jam in every opportunity possible all over the place because realistically, sometimes things don’t run and I didn’t want to come up empty handed. I ended up with an erratic schedule that if a boss had handed to me, I’d have been really angry with them – but it was me who had done it to myself! Dealing with work that is not necessarily “guaranteed” can be nerve-wracking because, well, survival. Now that I have been able to observe what usually always ends up pulling through and what pursuits are a bit more of a wildcard, I can allow myself to say no to some things so that I can include other important things in my life besides just work.
  • Become familiar and comfortable with ups and downs. As implied, there will be times when everything is coming together and it’s one big achievement after the other, and times when things are really slow. It’s like this for any independent or commission based job, and you have to just expect it to happen and plan/budget accordingly to the best of your ability.
  • Resist marrying your value and identity to your job. This has been difficult for me anyway as discussed in a previous post. It is especially challenging for those that are in a creative field because so much of what we put out into the world through our craft is very personal. However, this tie is dangerous because during those times when work slows down or a project you were excited about gets delayed, etc. you end up taking it personally and feeling like you are a bad person or have a bad life, and it can color absolutely everything. A small or medium size setback becomes insurmountable. I love what I do and am passionate about it, but it is no longer the most important facet of my existence and that is normal and healthy.

I always do a small project for the new year inspired by the new Pantone Color Of The Year. This year’s was Peach Fuzz, which is honestly not my favorite. However, the soft, neutral orange color was perfect to add a warm glow to some watercolor winter scenes.

I hope you enjoy the quick demo, and have a wonderful start to the new year. Other working creatives out there, what are some things that you learned in 2023?

Standard
Artist Bio

What To Do When Your Brain Says “NOPE!”

Some spicy discussions are happening about what classifies as an actual disability, and when accommodations are reasonable just as we’ve tied up Disability Pride Month after a video of a distraught young woman shared an unpleasant job interview experience. She was allegedly yelled at by the interviewer after being asked if there would be leniency and accommodation for her time blindness. Being tossed around are accusations of faking disability when one is really just lazy, “this never used to be a problem!”, comments of how this younger generation has no resilience or willpower, and more.

I’ve worked with individuals with disabilities for over a decade now, and I can say that time blindness can be a very real thing. It is often a symptom of ADHD (though, nothing is across the board – I also know people with ADHD that are early for everything!). It is fair to say we are seeing more cases of ADHD now, which is why this and other issues may seem more common. Whether that can be linked to the different way we interface with technology compared to the past, diet, the fact that are school system is built upon making children sit in one room and listen to someone talk for 6+ hours, or other factors I’m not going to get into because I’m not an expert so what I have to say would mostly be speculation. I also think it’s fair to say we as a society are struggling with resiliency, but I’d also argue life has become exceedingly more complicated, and resiliency is really a moot point when your brain just won’t cooperate with you on a given task. I’ve had employees work under me who I would legitimately have to remind on a weekly basis when they were to come in to teach their class, even though they taught at 2:00 on Tuesday for example, the same time every week for 4 months. At first I thought they were putting me on, until I realized they honestly couldn’t get a handle on remembering their schedule, even sometimes after writing it down.

I have my own “stuff” as we all do, and I can tell you there is nothing more infuriating and painful than repeatedly being told you’d be better at something if you’d only try, when you have poured every fiber of energy you have into trying only to see no improvement. I have a funny little thing that is referred to in layman’s terms as “location blindness”. What’s interesting is, usually people that have this acquired it due to traumatic brain injury, but I just got lucky and have always been like this. I have the complete inability to retain directional information or orient myself in space. I have always had an above-excellent visual memory, so it isn’t like I don’t remember what different places look like, I just can’t fit the puzzle pieces together. It’s all details, no big picture. I have to use GPS to get to the same grocery store I’ve used in town for the past 10 years. When I was first learning to drive, I noticed things just weren’t clicking into place as I’d assumed they would, so I would study directions to places I frequent like one would study for an exam. It did absolutely nothing for this almost straight A student … I still couldn’t tell you how to get from point A to point B. If I get up in a restaurant to go to the bathroom, I have to very deliberately focus on the exact turns “right, left, right again…” that I made as I left my seat and repeat them in my head the whole time like a mantra or I won’t find my seat again, which is always super embarrassing. I recall asking my doctor about it and her saying though the degree to which I seem to have trouble is not as common, it’s not dangerous just wildly inconvenient.

Another struggle that’s a bit less important, wheels and I are not friends. I just barely learned to ride a bike without training wheels before junior high, and I never learned to roller-skate or rollerblade. I made renewed attempts during COVID lockdown when I had copious amounts of time on my hands, and made 0% progress sadly. I recall countless roller arena end of the school year parties growing up, because 90s kid, where I was sitting on the sidelines trying to look like I was having fun and well meaning adults would come up to me and say, “Well I feel bad that you’re sitting here by yourself, but we all make choices about what we want to spend time practicing …” If looks could kill, well …

Oftentimes I wonder if these two funny little mental blocks are related, as both seem to have to do with orientating oneself in space, one physically the other mentally. Who knows … The whole point of these odd little tales is to illustrate the fact that sometimes our brain just says “NO, I WILL NOT,” when it comes to certain things. It’s more difficult when the things our brain refuses to do are common skills that it seems like the majority of others have no problem with. Most people that don’t understand a mental block or question its validity aren’t actually trying to be jerks, they just honestly don’t know what they don’t know. And yes, it’s ok to ask for accommodations and sometimes it will be necessary. However, when we can come up with tools and tricks for ourselves to get around our brain’s refusal it’s not just about pleasing other people. Doing this will also make our own life way easier and less stressful. For my location blindness, aside from using GPS I can when possible check out new locations ahead of time if I have to be there for something important, and leave early enough to accommodate for directional errors or unforeseen circumstances like construction that may throw off my route. Saying “Well, I guess someone has to drive me everywhere because I can’t do this” would only hurt myself and my ability to have a life at all and enjoy opportunities both professionally and for my own pleasure. With time blindness, alarms and reminders can be set to assist with being ready. Even if you have to set 15 alarms before work in the morning, one for waking up one for brushing your teeth, another when it’s time to make breakfast, and so on to dictate the schedule of your whole morning routine… do what helps no matter how silly it may seem to other people. Conversely, when someone shares that they are struggling with something, believe them. There’s not really any logical motivation for faking a difficulty when of course we’d all prefer that everything came easy to us.

I had the wonderful opportunity to lead a community mural in Madison Heights for their ADA Pride Celebration the end of last month, the prompt being “If the inside of your mind were a physical place, what would it look like?” This concept really connects well to these thoughts I’ve just discussed … We don’t know what the landscape of each other’s minds looks like, so listening before assuming is always best.

I will be part of a show at Creative 360‘s satellite location in downtown Midland opening mid this month that celebrates neurodiverse creators and creators with disabilities, so if you are in the area be sure to visit!

What is a struggle you have that you wish there was more understanding about? Let me know in the comments.

Standard
New Work

Happiest Places

Happy Spring, a time of new beginnings and new art! I had been working on this 3’x3′ piece since the beginning of the year, inspired by a photograph I took at the Japanese Cultural Center in town when I first moved to Saginaw. I used both metallic and traditional acrylics and fabric. Like my other mixed media landscapes, I chose colors that captured what I feel within the place I am painting, not necessarily the true colors from nature.

Most of my art is very heavy in symbolism and story. Those pieces are invigorating to work on, but every so often I need to draw or paint something where the process is more relaxing, and simply celebrates one of my happy places.

2023 has been all about finding my happiest places, not just physically but mentally as well. I had a series of consecutive high stress years that I didn’t even fully recognize as such until I reached severe, shutdown level burnout. I don’t think even the closest people in my life aside from my parents know how truly bad it got. Part of this stress was circumstantial and completely out of my control, but some of it came from the fact that I was trying to make certain parts of my life fit together that were just never going to, like that toy we give to toddlers where they have to fit the different shaped plastic pieces into the corresponding holes. No matter how long they try to push a moon shape into a star opening, it is not going to fit. One of the most valuable things I took away from therapy over the last 3 years was “Don’t live in the land of shoulds”. I had a constant internal dialogue of guilt and shame going, “___ shouldn’t bother me, I shouldn’t be so tired, I shouldn’t be getting overwhelmed, I should have ___ by now, I shouldn’t react like ___ …” There is really not much point ruminating over what should or shouldn’t be, because reality still exists and that energy is better spent doing what we can to change what we don’t like about it rather than chastising ourselves for how we are wired.

Starting in January, I made the big scary decision to make a career transition to entirely contracted and freelance work focusing mainly on different avenues of teaching, as well as other art and design related services. I read a short blurb I happened upon while scrolling before bed the other night that said we as humans basically operate under the assumption that everything is supposed to suck (“work isn’t supposed to be fun!” “life is hard!” “everyone is tired!” “no one gets to do what they want!”), but who decided that? Is this really the best way?

Don’t ever accept a life devoid of joy, but don’t run from struggle either. Yes, life is hard but we get to choose what kind of hard. Not in all circumstances but in many, we get to pick the “hard” that we want to deal with. I made a lot of pretty serious changes around how I spend my time this year, not only with the career switch but in the way I spend time socially as well. I’m an introvert/extrovert blend for sure but I do get some serious communication fatigue. I am no longer giving time to people out of feelings of obligation, and I am no longer wasting time on outings I’m not interested in just to please others. Never fear, I have actually not become a hermit! I still go out and do fun things and socialize, but I have a lot more energy and am a lot less stressed now when I choose to do so. These changes aren’t magic, things are still hard, but it is the right type of hard (for me) and that makes all the difference.

I love teaching in person, but not everyone that wants to learn some of my techniques lives in an area where this is possible so I am open to teaching private or group lessons virtually! If this is of interest, don’t hesitate to reach out.

What changes have you made lately that made you feel more joyful?

Standard
Artist Bio

Who’s In Your Way? /Or/ I Guess I’ve Grown Up Now.

I came across a post from an old friend on facebook a couple weeks ago that read “The phrase I hear most from weak people is ‘You’re holding me back’.” It’s one of those things you read that stops you in your tracks mentally for a moment. Being me, my first thought was “Ouch! That’s kind of mean … and can’t that be true sometimes?”

I’ve been through this scenario in a workplace situation. Far back yonder, I put someone in charge of a project they wanted to lead, and spent copious amounts of my time and energy making sure they had what they needed to be supported and thrive. I was alongside the whole way, being sure to ask probing questions to get them thinking and planning while still empowering them to take the lead. I made myself available for any and all help needed, even for troubleshooting and brainstorming outside of work that I would not be compensated for. Long story short, even with all this they continued to sit on their hands until after much pleading and prompting, I was forced to take over because others were depending on the end result of this undertaking by a certain due date. The other helped about 20%, and a lot of what they did I had to improve upon or fix because full effort wasn’t put in. Afterwards, both our names ended up on the project and they were PISSED. The attitude was that they had done most of the work, and I was just in the way but everyone always wants to give me all the credit and attention because of favoritism. Not to get into my life and/or work history, but the idea of me ever getting superfluous credit or “favoritism” is laughable. Oftentimes it’s honestly been almost the polar opposite. I never had asked for my name to be on the project or even told anyone I’d done most of the work because I hadn’t wanted to make the other look bad, and I had actually been planning to let them take the credit which was why their reaction especially upset me. Yes, that’s dumb and unhealthy but as I said this was years and years ago. The truth has a way of being noticed regardless, and so someone had deemed fit to add my name in the final credits. At the end of their rant was when I was treated to the above statement, when I was told all I do is stand in the way of their success, and I was rendered quite speechless. They are lucky I was speechless, because I had entered full volcano mode at this point.

I’ve also run into this accusation in my social life outside of work, usually when I won’t drop everything to completely manage the events of someone else’s life.

However, I certainly can’t sit here and point the finger as if I’ve never had a similar attitude during some struggle points in my own existence. I remember countless frustrated, tearful conversations with family as a teen and young adult asserting that I would never find my success because of where I lived, and it was their fault I’d never find a job in my field because they didn’t pay for me to go to college out of state, and wouldn’t drive me across the country and get me an apartment in California, and how I would never have any real friends because they chose to start a family in such a boring place where no one likes me … Yikes, I’m super embarrassed now at how rotten that sounds but it’s the truth.

I have struggled to find my place in this world, and at times still do. Only now, I’m not convinced location has a ton to do with it. Maybe a small percentage, but I also think I may just always be that way and that’s ok, we all have things.

Not quite what she had in mind…

It’s always easier to point at someone else as the reason you’re floundering. It takes strength to look at yourself and say hey, I’ve got to step it up and make some changes. The moment I stopped being so narrowly focused and started being open to doing things with my art career outside of a very specific, internally special to me, niche subject I started reaching people, which in turn drew them into all that special interest stuff too. In the past, I never would have created a mixed media landscape because, “Allise only does a, b, and c” (Freshman year of college, a friend asked me to paint a girl holding a cat for her dorm bedroom and I did but put dragon wings on the cat because I was on a dragon kick! – This reminds me now of something some of my Artshop students would do. Ok, maybe I have found one place I feel at home most of the time 😉 ). I expanded my scope to add a broad letter d, I also do art that may not be my special subject of interest but helps improve others’ lives and makes people happy, especially those groups that may not have access to fine art on a daily basis.

Sorry for the language, but it’s funny. Oscar Wilde once said, “If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh. Otherwise they’ll kill you”.

The moment I stopped thinking I deserved more than where I was and cut the entitlement, I saw doors where before I’d thought there was only a brick wall. Am I rich and famous now – hell no. But am I pretty happy most of the time, and do I generally like my life? I’d say, sure, I think so.

No one can stop you unless you let them, and no one is obligated to prop you up. Show gratitude to those who do anyway, and do your own work.

Standard
Exhibitions and Other News, New Work

New Art Series : Peace

It’s been awhile since I’ve done a series … since Unlimited from way back in 2017 to be exact. This new one is going to be on 22×28″ canvases and will be completely multimedia. I love mixed media because it allows the artist to use the best tool for each component of their composition. I draw people better than I paint them still at this point, so figures will be in colored pencil. Interesting silhouettes or clothing … fabric it is! Skies and birds? Acrylics of course, and why not palette knife paint the birds ;).

This series is going to be a way different theme than I’ve explored before. I always like to include deeper messages in my work, but have never done an explicitly spiritual message because it is important to me that my art is able to speak to viewers coming from all different places. Each work in this series will represent one of the fruit of the spirit, and though this idea comes from the Christian tradition, these principles are positive to cultivate in everyone’s life.

I started with Peace, maybe because this is something I have been desperately needing to grow in my own life over the last couple of years.

Peace is active. Peace is a verb, it is not simply the absence of noise. Peace takes work, and it involves risk and often involves stepping out and becoming uncomfortable. Making the changes necessary to grow peace are often painful. To truly be at peace our view of life’s value cannot be determined solely by circumstance, because external circumstances will undulate up and down completely out of our control, leaving us to be in emotional chaos, completely sucked beneath the waves.

Being a bringer of peace in others’ lives and in society as a whole is equally difficult. It means listening when we would rather shout over someone, it means sticking your neck out to protect or defend someone else even at personal risk of how others may view you or treat you afterwards, it means setting strong boundaries.

In this image, a woman is guarding a crowd of people that are behind her, blocking them from the shadows of chaos. These shadows have tried to grab her and drag her down, her arm is marked. However, the shadows cannot penetrate. Doves circle around her head which symbolize an inner strength and calm within her spirit, and can also symbolize her halo of protection that shields her just as she is protecting others.

The source from which we draw our peace protects us. The source can be sturdy and formidable, or … not so much. I am reminded of a speech one of my favorite authors, David Foster Wallace (who was actually an atheist), gave that really had an impact on me when I was floundering in the waves. “Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship”. I’d encourage you to check out the entire speech discussed here. Another author that probably has about as opposite a personality from me as you can get but has really made me think, Mark Manson, writes in his self help book perfect for people who hate self help books, “True happiness occurs only when you find the problems you enjoy having and enjoy solving”. Much of life is composed of struggle, which is why if we wait for the perfect external circumstances to be at peace, we will never have it. Similarly, he discusses the importance of choosing the right metrics to determine what makes us and our life “good”. Faulty metrics used to define our life’s success and value are anything we don’t have control over, such as money, social standing, etc. which DFW also cited in his speech as destructive forces to worship. He calls worshiping these forces slipping into our “default mode”. They are the things we chase after and value when we are living without reflection, consideration, or deeper evaluation. They represent our base human nature, so to speak, and we all slip into this mode from time to time especially when under considerable strain.

Where does your peace spring from? What creates your circle of protection as you brave life’s trials? Are you more often a bringer of peace or of chaos to the people whose paths you cross in your day to day life? These are all questions I considered while creating this work. I strongly believe this series is going to be true art therapy for me as I work, and that my eyes will be opened throughout the process. I truly hope I am able to impart something of value to viewers as well.

There are layers of meaning, as I am a big believer in the fact that art should make people think. I’d love to hear what others see in this image, so please share if you are so inclined!

PS … I am so honored this first installment won an Award of Excellence at the Midland Artists Guild’s Annual Juried Exhibition last night, especially amongst such a fabulous collection works! Click here to view the entire show virtually. And yes, I made my jacket and paintbrush necklace! More on the inspiration for my wearable art creating spree soon.

Standard
Artist Bio

5 Things I’ve Learned As A Working Artist

These last two years have been tough for a lot of people, but especially tough for creators. As we are just now shifting towards some degree of normalcy, I wanted to share 5 things I’ve learned as a creative over this strange journey.

Your reason for creating and metric for success needs to be something you can control.

Reasons that depend on the public’s reaction and choices that are completely out of our control, such as money and popularity, will ultimately lead to a whole lot of frustration and angst. Making money off of what you do is valid and necessary, we all have bills. However, it is nearly impossible to be happy if this is the core reason you are creating. Many people create for self expression or therapy. Not everyone creates for themselves, and that’s ok too. For some, just the act of creating itself doesn’t do it; their work is meant to be shared, seen, and heard in order for the process to be complete. Reasons for creating along this vein can be to inspire others to look at the world in a new way, to make other think about x, to connect with and speak to x group of people, to spread joy, to educate. Everyone’s reason is going to be different. My reason is a combination of public and private, which makes sense for me as a hybrid INTROextrovert. I create for self expression and as a form of communication, but also to share the joy of art with others. When I teach, I especially like reaching those who have previously felt limited. I love releasing untapped potential and work a lot with adults with disabilities and older adults beginning artistic journeys late in life. You can control outreach and expression by actively seeking opportunities. You can’t always control fame and fortune.

Don’t include others by limiting yourself.

In other words, don’t do less to make others comfortable – take them alongside you. Creating is so personal, it can be devastating when your work is getting overlooked. Creative fields are also so niche and not as prevalent as other pursuits, so that creators often feel like they are in constant competition with over creatives. It can get weird when a fellow artist starts having a ton of success and you feel like you’ve been working just as hard. I’ve been in both places. I’ve felt like a fool for devoting my life to the hard work I am doing to see things keep falling into place for everyone else. I’ve also recently been in the place where certain things finally began to come together, and I’ve felt some pushback. At times I’ve questioned whether I should move out of the way for other emerging creators. Especially if creating is life-giving for you, do not do less because someone else is asking why not me? Take them along for the ride, collaborate, invite them to share a space with you at shows or festivals. They may end up saying nah, and that’s ok, but don’t crush your own momentum that you’ve worked so hard for. Everything is an eb and flow, up and down like much of life. If you sense a jealous vibe, reach out as a mentor because you know how it is – you’ve been there. Don’t be inclusive by holding yourself back.

There’s nothing wrong with grabbing onto trends that are fun, but follow trends because you want to not because you think it will make your art better. It won’t.

The thing with trends is, the market ends up becoming oversaturated with copies. There is no guarantee your watercolor paintings of Pokémon will take off more than the other 5000 artist on Instagram doing the same thing. (As you can see, I tend to not be so great at following trends. I’m pretty sure Pokémon is over, but I just started playing Pokémon Go last year. Late to the party as always!) If it’s fun and makes you happy, then that’s reason enough to go for it. But, don’t struggle through trying to force your work into a shape it doesn’t fit just to be trend aligned.

Doing art you aren’t good at isn’t a waste of time.

As working creatives, it’s important to set aside time for art to be play as well as work. I recently took a clay hand building class after putting it off for the longest time because my head kept telling me, “In school clay was the only time you ever got Bs in art class, it’s not like you’re ever going to go buy a kiln and start doing this professionally so what’s the point”. The point is to play. For me, it is the same thing with piano. As I plunk along on my little keyboard learning the same song I started trying to play a year ago, do I ever think I’m going to play for a crowd or write my own music? Absolutely not. But in that moment, am I feeling relaxation, joy, and a sense of growth? Certainly.

Going digital isn’t all bad.

Social media and now especially Covid has changed how artists are expected to interact with the public. It can get tedious to constantly curate online media and feel like it is taking away from important time that could be spent creating. Virtual classes can feel impersonal and lacking an important social and experiential element. Virtual exhibits can flatten work and we all know viewing a tiny jpeg on a phone screen can’t compare with standing in front of a largescale work immersed in it. Neither is the experience being at a venue hearing live music the same as watching a livestream. Valid points, but all artists should be excited about the increased accessibility technology provides. I saw an artist I love post a discussion about how harmful it is to consider digital art to be just as valid as traditional art, because an important element of emotional connection with art is the artist physically touching the materials, moving their hands to create. As an advocate for creators with disabilities, the first thought that popped into my head is, what if an artist can’t move their hands the same way as everyone else? Why is art invalid because it uses a different process? What if a person doesn’t have access to transportation but would like to take an art class? What if a person gets anxiety in crowds but wants to experience a live concert or theatrical performance? What if a person can’t afford to travel to a big name art museum but wants to become inspired by some of the world’s most famous masterworks? I get it, change is hard for me too and I truly don’t enjoy creating digitally as much as I do traditionally. Creating video content doesn’t come naturally to me, and it’s not perfect. Inspiring others to create who live on the opposite side of the country and will never attend one of my in-person art classes? That’s amazing regardless.

Other creatives – what is something you’ve learned recently?

Standard