Some weeks provide small opportunities for reminding and savoring. These moments are like warm stones you might pick up along a walk: bits of interest you want to hold on to. Carry with you. Feel in your pocket.
I’ve had the chance to experience four such reminding-savoring events this week and I want to share them.
Number 1 – WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT ANYWAY.
The end result. Creating an artwork, having gone through the process of having it exhibited someplace, and seeing the interaction between what you have created and an interested person. I have two quilts hanging in the Members’ Show at Florida CraftArt in downtown St. Pete. I was visiting St. Pete this week and stopped in to see the exhibit for the first time.
As I was there, two groups of people were also there to see the exhibit, and they stopped by my quilts to look and comment. This is why an artist spends time working in the studio — to create something to be experienced by another. The gallery was filled with works in many mediums. (The photo I used as a header for this post shows my second quilt, and other works it is exhibiting near.) Fiber. Clay. Wood. Mixed media. All have in common that they represent the work and hopes of the artist who created them. They all mean something. They all have stories to tell.
They are all opportunities for a connection with another person.
Number 2 – THE JOY OF TEACHING
I traveled via zoom to Georgia and South Carolina Saturday to present to a group of SAQA members on the subject of composition. Creating the composition is, I think, my favorite part of the artmaking process. It’s when I can envision all the possibilities. It’s when there is still time to rearrange things. This was a great group of artmakers, whose questions reveal a lot of thought being poured into their work.
Here’s an image I frequently show in my composition presentation. I love this painting. It’s rich with storytelling. And it is just about perfectly composed. “The Last Crumb” was painted in the 19th century by Toulouse Lautrec.
Number 3 – I DID MY TAXES!!
Yes, this is a chore. It is also an experience in autonomy and recognizing one’s own abilities. It was not until I became single in my mid-fifties that I began to handle all of my own bill-paying and financial management. I still enjoy it. I savor the experiences. I realize, “Of course I’m capable of doing this.” Like Dorothy and the ruby slippers, handling my finances is an understanding of something I could have done all along.
Now I have a great relationship with my Excel spreadsheets!
Number 4 – CLEANED MY STUDIO!
Well, I began the process. John helped me cut away a carpet from under my worktable that had really just become a receptacle for dust and scraps. Now it’s a clean, easy-to-sweep concreate floor. I’ve ordered an anti-fatigue mat for the space where I always stand. I’m in the process of rearranging my stencils and other storage.
This is always a good process. But, I am especially motivated by next weekend’s Studio Tour.
Allow me to issue this invitation one last time. I am absolutely honored when readers take time to come visit my studio:
As an added enticement, visiting DeLand for the Studio Tour could be your opportunity to discover our historic downtown. (My studio is just a little over 5 miles from our downtown.) The Museum of Art DeLand is downtown and currently has a fascinating exhibit, well worth seeing.
For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating
Thank you for reading. I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi
How I keep in touch:
BLOG POSTS - once a week: Mostly about what I am creating in the studio. If you would enjoy receiving blog posts by e-mail, please subscribe here: I post and send by e-mail each Sunday evening. BLOGS-BY-EMAIL
NEWSLETTER – about once a month: Mostly news of exhibits and my way of introducing new work. You’ll get FIRST LOOKS at new artwork and members-only discounts. You’ll hear from me about once a month. NEWSLETTER