Details of Shell inspired drawings

I’ve been working on these drawings inspired by shells and shell moldings found on the decorator supply website. What started as sketches in my sketchbook has migrated onto the studio wall in the hand drawn, cutout pieces. This set of drawings will be traveling to the Roswell Center for Visual Arts in Georgia for a group exhibit curated by Ongoing Conversation’s Soude Dadras.

In the slideshow you can see the artwork installed in my studio with shadows and light from different times of day. I’m excited to see how these will look in a new setting on a gallery wall.

Meanwhile, I’m continuing to explore more shell drawings with water soluble graphite pencils on drawing paper, and also in pencil and ink on yupo paper. Visit my instagram for lots of process reels.

Things to do when you're not sure what to do next

Heading into mid-December and the Winter season, it feels like a good time to hit pause, hibernate, reassess and plan for next year.

In the past my sense of overwhelm at what to do next in my art career led me to focus solely on the anxiety I felt instead of taking one tiny step forward.

So I wanted to create a list of things to do when I have different energy levels. This list is by no means complete. It incorporates some activities that are meant to invite fun or rest because those are also essential for the well-being of an artist. I hope that if you land here you might create your own list of things to do when you’re not sure what to do next.

List:

Brainstorm a list of things to do when you’re not sure what to do next (requires some brain energy)

Brainstorm themes for new blog posts (requires more brain energy)

Take a class - learn something new (more brain energy)

Update artist toolkit (resume, statement, website, bio, etc) (medium amount of energy)

Make art that is solely focused on play, spontaneity, seeing what happens in the moment (less energy, more motivation)

Sketch in a sketchbook (less energy)

Go to an exhibit at a museum or gallery (less energy, more motivation)

Research artist residencies, grants, professional development opportunities (more energy)

Get inspired by looking at magazines, books, images, artwork, design, fashion, other forms of art (less energy)

Lay on the floor and listen to music (less energy)

Listen to music and dance it out (more energy)

Move your body (builds energy)

Meditate (less energy)

Write in a journal (less energy)

Invite a friend to visit the studio (some energy)

Have coffee with an inspiring friend (medium energy)

Read a book for pleasure (less energy)

Watch a movie (less energy)

Organize documentation of your work (more energy)

Clean the studio (more energy)

Organize documents and office things (more energy)

Research artists and artwork you love (more energy)

Plan an inspiring trip (more energy)

Write a thank you note or note of appreciation to an artist you love or to someone who has helped you in your journey (medium energy)

Utilize your mailing list - compile a newsletter (medium energy)

Brainstorm content ideas for instagram etc. (less energy)

What are some things you would add to your list?

Cascades window display at 534 Smithfield St., Downtown Pittsburgh

Hello! If you happen to be near the 530 block of Smithfield Street, Downtown Pittsburgh, you will see several Artist window displays including work from my Cascades series. This artwork was inspired by pandemic walks in the park and noticing the pebbles during different colors in the rain. I hope it will brighten your day.

I am so grateful to Ashley McFarland and PG & H for the opportunity and to Stevo for all your help!

#downtownpitt #downtownpittsburgh #LovePGH #windowart #uplifting #pebbles

Cascades on view at the National Center for Contemporary Arts in Minsk, Belarus

I am excited to have my Cascades collages and accompanying sculptural branches included in an international group exhibition on view through October 30 at the National Center of Contemporary Arts in Minsk, Belarus.
This exhibit is curated by Soude Dadras as part of her curatorial platform, Ongoing Conversation.

My artwork is accompanied by a music piece titled Four Cascades and a Hymn by Douglas Levine with sound design by Angela Baughman.

Cascades on the left, a painting by Larkin Ford is on the right.

Curator’s Statement

The pandemic has dramatically changed the lives of many of us, but man’s fundamental need for art has remained unchanged. Through art we feel unity. In this difficult time, it is important to be together to preserve our culture - our essence. As part of the international joint mail art * project "Drawn Together +" ("United Together"), organized by the initiative "Ongoing Conversation", artists who recorded in their work the opposition of the art community to the challenges of the global pandemic, were invited to present their works at an exhibition in Belarus. through art to show the power of the human spirit.

The exposition of the exhibition "Drawn Together +" in Minsk consists of three blocks: special square works of textiles created within the framework of the international mail art project, works of artists specially invited to the exhibition by the founder and curator of "Ongoing Conversation" Soude Dadras, and works submitted to the exhibition. artists from different countries.

Artists from Australia, Belarus, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ghana, Germany, the USA, Jordan, Iran, Malaysia, Morocco, Mexico, Nepal, Nigeria, the Netherlands, Korea, Poland, Russia are taking part in the DrawnTogether + exhibition at the National Center for Contemporary Arts. Turkey, France, Chile, Switzerland and Japan.

The exhibition is the IV edition of the Ongoing Conversation project. Previous exhibitions were held in Turkey, Japan and the United States. Ongoing Conversation is a platform created to display works by artists with different backgrounds in venues around the world, which today represents more than 1,000 artists from 23 countries.

Cascades, installation view

My work was inspired by walks in the park near my home during the quarantine and observing the pebbles along the trail turning different colors in the rain.

To learn more about this exhibit, visit @ongoingconversation on Instagram.

My Art Deco themed vacation

Hello friends!

The end of August provided us with a reason to take a road trip. We travelled through Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and West Virginia making a grand loop with stops in Washington DC, Chincoteague Island VA, Nagshead NC, Richmond VA, and a quick leg stretch in Berkeley Springs WV.

I was able to soak in ART DECO inspiration at many of our stops, some by plan and some by accident. We stayed at the 1922 Hamilton Hotel in Downtown DC. Beautiful!

The 1922 Hamilton Hotel

We visited the wonderful Hillman Museum and Estate, home to Marjorie Merriweather Post, heiress to the Post cereal company. There was a special Art Deco exhibit on display. Here is a photo of the greenhouse where Marjorie liked to collect and nurture orchids of all kinds.

The greenhouse at the Hillwood Museum is home to many orchids.

Chincoteague is all about the wild ponies and the local movie theater is so charming as is this island town.

Wild ponies of Chincoteague

Our last overnight stop was Richmond, VA where our friend Peter took us to Carytown and we marvelled at the 1928 Byrd Movie Theatre.

1928 Byrd Movie Theatre (Carytown)

I’m grateful for the art deco inspiration and a chance to get away and return back both refreshed and exhausted!

Does life begin (again) at 40?

Hi friends!

My birthday was in June and I keep hearing this phrase “Life begins at 40.” Since I’m over 40, I’ll extend that saying to Life begins (again) in your 40’s.

Oddly enough, in many respects I feel like my life has begun again. After 18 months of pandemic living - I had time to get to know myself again. All the usual distractions (cultural events and gatherings) were not available - so this left an opening for me to be with myself and investigate my own thoughts without the noise of the outside world.

I enrolled in a Mindfulness Facilitator Certification program that has encouraged my meditation practice to go to new depths. I tuned into my inner world in ways that I haven’t done since childhood. I released some old stuck feelings and reconnected with some ways of being that I hadn’t had time for in the rush of pre-pandemic life. I created a morning routine for myself that I call my “hour of power”. It consists of 20 minutes meditating, 20 minutes writing my thoughts in my journal, and 20 minutes of exercise. I love this routine and it sets a positive tone for my whole day.

My desire now is to enjoy my life and to be as creative as I want to be - no limits, no fear. I spent a couple of decades just surviving and now I’m turning the page to a new chapter of being alive, being present in the moment, the nowness.

Things I wish I had learned in Art School

Hi friends!
Now that I have a vantage point of 20+ years out of art school I can look back and compile this working and unfinished list.

I had a great undergraduate experience in the Art Photography Department at Syracuse University that focused mostly on building a body of work, learning the techniques and skills of an analog art photography student, and a bit of the business side of being an artist - although there were a lot of questions left unanswered. Simultaneously as I was a student, I struggled with depression and anxiety during my college years.

Looking back on it now, I wish that my art school education had included a more wholistic approach to self care, mental health, and building the inner resources necessary to maintain resilience throughout all the ups and downs, slow seasons, and unknowns of building a career in the visual arts or in a creative field where there is no blueprint. I graduated from school not knowing what I was going to do next and the pressure and anxiety from that was a heavy burden to carry.

I wish that Art School had more directly and explicitly discussed building community with each other.

I wish there had been even more emphasis on creating your life as an artist in an imaginative and open ended way, whatever that may look like for you as an individual.

I wish there had been more emphasis on radical self love and self acceptance, building self-confidence, and creating inner resources to deal with issues that will come up in life and in the art studio again and again…artist block, rejection, how to build a life, how to explore, how to reassess, how to sustain through times when it feels like nothing is happening…etc.

I wish there had been more entrepreneurial training, thinking outside the box of the gallery system and figuring out life skills and resources for an individual to blaze her own trail and to dream up her own opportunities with imagination. I am fascinated to observe these topics being discussed right now amongst younger generations who are honest and transparent in the ups and downs of make a life as a creative.