It’s my yearly blog post, where I choose one word that I’ll use to set intention, or manifest good things throughout the next 12 months. In the past, the words have included “balance”, “transition”, “fulfillment”, “growth”, and “better”. I used to do this in conjuntion with the One Word 365 Project, but that doesn’t exist anymore
This year, my word is considered to be “old-fashioned” by the OED and to be honest, I’d never heard of it before yesterday. But I was listening to Grammar Girl, one of my favorite podcasts, and she was talking about this word – houseroom. Its basic meaning is to give space or accommodation for something – or not. :)
It’s a rather arcane word, but I want to bring it back! It has such a nice ring to it. I’ll give you an example of the way I’m going to use it: this year, I want to give houseroom for more “lazy days” – days spent doing nothing but gardening, or traveling to a nearby bookstore, or reading. I’ve had so very few of these days in the past five or six years, and I’d like to recharge. :)
Other ways I’d like to give more houseroom: time with friends, trying new recipes, attending more free events at the library or other fun spaces in our area, going all in on No-Spend January, and of course, more time to experiment with my art practice. I’ve got a residency at the Grand Marais Art Colony planned already for April/May (YAY! My third!), and I’d love to return in the fall as well.
Of course, there’s always the opposite, so here are the ways I’d like to “clean house” this year:
Taking a break on huge projects (I’ve done five enormous ones of over 50 pieces in the past five years)
Getting rid of ideas that no longer work for me
LITERALLY making houseroom by having an art sale in the spring!
How about you? What’s your “one word” for the year? :) Let me know in the comments! :)
(Before I begin my yearly blog post, I have to mention what a hoot it is that every year, as I log in to WordPress, I have to relearn how to use it, since its interface changes from year to year. So I apologize that it’s not very “polished”!) 🙂
If you’ve been reading my yearly blog posts for the past half-decade or so, you know that I choose a year that I want to utilize as a reminder. Last year’s was “fulfillment”, and I got that in copious amounts. This year, I’ve chosen “balance”.
Lots of things happened this past year that made me realize it IS possible to work too much, even when that work brings you ridiculous amounts of joy. When my mom died in June, my sister and I took the week off, which is unusual for both of us (we had a strong work ethic instilled in us from both parents). We did things “our Mom” would’ve loved, if she would’ve been able. (She died of complications due to her dementia, congestive heart failure, and COPD.) We actually had fun, as weird as that is to say. And I realized that week that the world didn’t end when I stopped working.
Of course, the week later, and subsequent weeks leading up to Mom’s memorial service in August, I didn’t leave much time for thinking or grieving. Part of it was the fact that I had obligations I needed to fulfill, but I was also keeping busy to maybe stop thinking about things I didn’t want to think about. When that day in August rolled around, and I could be fully present, it was one of the best days of my life, seeing how much my mom was beloved. (Grief is complicated.)
Right after that weekend, I had some major classes to prepare for, art fairs to work, and multiple exhibits looming – right up until the end of the year. It wasn’t until two major migraines in mid-fall utterly sidelined me that I realized – I have to build some downtime in my life!
So therein lies the balance – my “one word” for the year. I want to make more time for my dear family this year (my sister and I have a dollhouse to build!). I want to take day trips with my husby, Brian. I want to not feel guilty for spending the whole day with dear friends, doing the things we love to do.
I say this with the knowledge that I have MAJOR projects in the works this year – I’ll be debuting those projects in next week’s newsletter. But a life without breaks – what is that? That’s burnout, waiting to happen. So I’ve already got some really fun things planned with my friends and family in the early part of the winter. And I’ll also be hunkering down, ready to work. I can’t wait to see what 2023 brings!
Wow, friends. It’s the end of the year, the end of the ‘Teens, and the end of my first decade as a full-time artist. Yes, just two days from now, it’ll be ten years – TEN! – since I took that terrifying leap and quit my job in the newspaper biz. I can scarcely believe it myself.
I fully intended for this blog post to be a run-down of all of the things I did this year – but about a quarter of the way through I realized that it was going to be so long that even I wouldn’t want to read it. 🙂
My job – my career – is art. And finally, this year, I embraced that title fully. It’s so odd, this way of life; to be so fully dependent on my ideas and creativity, well, it’s so much harder than I thought. A decade ago – hell, even four years ago, I honestly thought that I would just hang out, make art sometimes, and it would all fall into place. I mean, what else is there to it?
Any working artist reading this is laughing right now, but for those of you who aren’t artists, it would be like someone going into business for themselves but, you know, casually forgetting that they need to keep track of income and expenses, and taxes, and overhead, and customer relations, and feedback, and promotion, and morale….you get the idea. 🙂
I’ve finally figured (most of) that out. 🙂
After years of trying things – new techniques, new color palettes, and new sizes, it wasn’t until I fully embraced who I am that everything fell into place. Who I am is an artist who works very small. And I’m done making excuses to myself for it.
This epiphany began last year at my own TEDx Fonddulac talk, and this year I actually began to believe my own words. I’m enjoying my work more than I ever have in my career, and getting those same elusive feelings I had when I first started making ATCs all those years ago. The joy is back. And it should be, right?! I mean, isn’t this why we’re artists to begin with, because we love the creation of it? Part of it is being able to teach what I know, and seeing folks make their own prints to their own delight. It’s such a rewarding experience and I never want to lose that wonderment and surprise.
Yes, I’ve been INSANELY busy this year, and yes – I do lie awake at night, wondering whom I’ve forgotten to thank for a particular opportunity or whom I’ve neglected in my friendships. In the coming year, I do hope to see more folks out and about, and find a balance with my work and my relationships. It’ll happen. In the meantime, thank you for your patience while I do what I love, more than ever. 🙂
I have had a WILD 15 months or so – I’ve essentially worked non-stop since April 1 of 2018 and have roughly 275 new pieces of work to show for it, almost all of it in the form of tiny drypoint prints (with about 50 tiny collages in there too). That’s a piece roughly every 1.7 days. In that time frame I’ve also taught many classes and participated in a whole bunch of art fairs, curated 15 exhibits in the Langdon Divers Gallery, and completed a 7-week residency at the Children’s Museum of Fond du Lac!
I have to say – I’m kind of proud of my output! I’ve had three shows since March – my enormous 200-piece show called 200 Days: A Life in the Quotidianat the Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts in March-April; Bird Fest at the Masonic Temple in Oshkosh in May, collaborated by Carol and Roy Toepke; and Places we’ve Been, a collaborative show at ArtSpace Collective in Oshkosh that I just finished, where I took my husband Brian’s photos from our vacations and recreated them in drypoint and watercolor. Here’s a slide show of that show, which just hung last Friday.
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When I did my “200 Days” exhibit, I wisely gave myself about two months after the completion of my last print to frame, promote and create the companion book for the show. During the Bird Fest time frame I took a long time coming up with a theme for bird-related art and therefore only had about four days after the last print and before the actual show. But for “Places we’ve Been”? I only had five hours between finishing the last print and when we left to hang it. That was nuts, and I never want to recreate that scenario!
I’m tired! I’ve given myself a couple of days this past week to partake in some fun activities – Monday I got to spend the whole day with my wonderful niece Natalie in Madison, and yesterday, I took in my favorite places in Algoma – Yardstick Books, James May Gallery and James May North, where my friends Megan Johnson, Mindy Wittock and Kendra Bulgrin (also the owner of the galleries) are all in a gorgeous show called MOTHER + ARTIST, and a new shop and gallery called Yonder, co-owned by two very cool artists, Erin LaBonte and Don Krumpos. It was much needed. This coming Monday I’m taking advantage of the new Amtrak bus service from Fondy to Milwaukee and then taking the train from Milwaukee to Chicago, where I’ll make my quasi-annual trek to the Art Institute.
I’m telling you this because I want to stop feeling guilty about taking some time for myself. My rational self knows this time is essential, but my productive self is telling me that I’ve got 20 commissions waitng for me in my studio and that I should be doing these before any more fun adventures, even though I’ve been told by those patrons that there’s no rush. I can blame this attitude on my hearty Midwestern work ethic, which I love but which can also be a bit of a burden at times.
If any of my fellow artists/musicians/writers/creatives of all stripes are reading this, can I get a what-what from you all?
That’s my word for 2018. I began this practice of finding a word that describes how I want to define the coming year when I read about this cool website called oneword365, where you do just that – ruminate on how you want your year to go. Last year, my word was “direction”. When I saw the tweet yesterday that asked, “What’s your one word for 2018?”, I didn’t even hestitate – it just came to me. BETTER.
I want to be a better instructor. I have been teaching for 10 years now, and as it is with many things one does for a long time, it’s easy to get in a rut. My students deserve better than “rut”! I want to have even more returning students than I already have.
I want to be better at time management. This year, when we got our two Pommies, I had to change how I use my studio. Because they like to gnaw on things, I’ve had to keep my studio door closed when I’m not working. This has brought about a change I wasn’t even looking for, but has made me more aware – that by closing my door at the end of the day, I am signaling that I am done working. And by making that connection, my time in the studio is more precious than ever. And I’m spending less time online (ironic, but YAY!) and WAY more time in the studio. I’ve got a new stash of jazz records I can play, and I love spending full days doing nothing but working. It’s a dream come true, and even though I’ve been a full-time artist for 8 years now, I’ve never been more aware of how damn lucky I am to have my studio time. I love it so much, even more than I did in 2010.
I want to be better at saying “no”. I have really improved in this arena over the past couple of years, mainly because I just don’t have the time anymore. This is a great thing, because it means that my art is my priority. As it should be. Alas, that means less volunteering and fewer long lunches, but my practice has improved tenfold. And my income has more than doubled in the past year. This year, I want it to double again. So there’ll be even more times where I don’t allow my fear of being disliked to overwhelm my resolve to make my art the most important aspect of my workday.
I want to be even better at trying new things. Last year was the first year I did outdoor art markets. It was terrifying for me. But I did three, and they were fantastic (even if the weather was awful for the first one). This year, I’m seriously contemplating applying for a residency that would be two weeks long, in a very remote place. EEK. But I have to try, right? 🙂
I want to be a better artist. This one’s a no-brainer, or it should be! Of course I want to be a better artist! I love learning new techniques and also combining techniques I’ve already learned in new ways. I am currently doing that for a show I have in a month called “A Cut Above”, which will run from February 1-23 at ArtSpace Collective in Oshkosh. It’s my solo member exhibit, and I’m combining printed letterpress blocks with collage. I’m super excited about it already, and I’m only 1/7 of the way through!
(Here are two of the pieces that will be in the show – they’re called Mail I and II and are each 2″ square. The two men are the letterpressed blocks incorporated into the rest of the collage.)
I want my world to be better. Okay, I have less control over this aspect, but there are things that we can all do if we want our communities, our government and our surroundings to be better. And I want to be better at using those resources to make a difference, however small. I also know that I can be a better human being, and that means more kindness, more acceptance, more patience (I REALLY need help here) and more courtesy toward every other human.
I want to take better care of myself. This means eating better, exercising more, and moving more. The older I get (and I turn FIFTY this year!), the more I realize that one’s health is the most important thing we have. I’ve been too lax for too long in this department, and while I enjoy a pain-free life, I understand how important it is to keep it that way. We just take it for granted, but if 2017 taught me anything it’s that nothing’s for certain, and we have to be proactive to live the life we want.
What’s YOUR word for 2018? Follow the link and you can play along!! 🙂 Happy 2018, everyone! May the new year bring you happiness and well-being, and better things. 🙂
This year continues to be a year of firsts for me – first art fair, first invitational solo exhibit…and now, my first-ever art retreat class at a remote location!
I applied for the ArtStart Rhinelander‘s School of the Arts retreat called Art in Nature back in May. I had heard about it through Arts Wisconsin – the School of the Arts has a rich, 60-year history and ArtStart is revitalizing it, which is wonderful news. So imagine my delight when I discovered that I would be teaching my proposed class, “Collagraphs from Nature” there!
The entire retreat was held on the Treehaven grounds. This place is AMAZING. Imagine a fully modern summer camp, and you get the gist of the place. It’s used year-round, mainly by UW-Stevens Point forestry students. It’s nestled in the middle of nowhere, in Tomahawk, Wisconsin. It’s truly remote – I felt so secure in its isolation. I love places like this. (MAJOR bonus – it was about 15 degrees cooler there than in Fond du Lac, where we’re having a bizarre heat wave of 90 degree weather this week!)
My sweet room in the White Pines cabin!
Don’t you just love this handmade sign for the gift shop? 😀
This is the Winterberry Dining Hall. I felt like I was back at family camp!
I arrived on Friday afternoon and immediately set up my room. I was so happy I could do this ahead of time, because then I could relax the rest of the evening. We all had dinner together and heard the keynote speaker, Kristin Thielking, who’s a professor of sculpture at UW-Stevens Point. She talked about the beautiful structures and installations she and her students create in natural settings. It was so inpsiring, as it was the first time I’d ever really been interested in large sculptures. I broadened my mind as to what a “sculpture” could truly be! And now I have some ideas for our own Gottfried Prairie and Arboretum!
My class was right away on Saturday morning, so I ate breakfast with the group and got back to my classroom to make sure everything was set up and ready to go. I had nine people in my class, which was a great size! I showed them how to make collagraphs the way that I make them, and we had a total blast. Here’s a slideshow of their beginning monoprints, their composing stages, and their final collagraphs, which were made from items found right on the Treehaven grounds or from some items I had gotten in our prairie. Each student’s finished pieces were unlike anyone else’s, and that made me so happy. I absolutely LOVE it when that happens – when the artist’s vision comes through in their work.
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This teaching experience is another highlight in a year of highlights for me. I enjoyed myself immensely!! And to top it all off, I stayed for the afternoon and took Debra Jircik’s Harvest Papermaking class, which I’ve wanted to take for the past three years or so. Kismet! I loved it, as I knew I would.
Here we are with our papers made from corn husks, milkweed stalks, iris leaves, day lilies, and Abaca fiber with crushed leaves! They all turned out so beautifully.
It was one of those weekends I’ll always remember and cherish. I was yet again reminded how extremely fortunate I am to be able to teach and create art in this way. It doesn’t get much better than this! 🙂 Many, many thanks to Melinda Childs and Ashley McLaughlin for just a wonderful retreat!
Think for a moment about those things you like to do in your free time – do you belong to a club? Is there a hobby you have where you meet with folks who share your passion? If so, have you enjoyed these meetings for a long time?
For me, the answer to all three questions is a resounding YES. And yesterday, we celebrated TEN years together!
Some background, and I apologize to those readers for whom this story is a repeat: back in August of 2006, I was enjoying a lunch break at one of my favorite downtown places, Bagelmeister. I had picked up a new (to me) magazine called Cloth Paper Scissors, and immediately fell in love with its contents. But they kept referring to these ATC things, and I was lost. What the heck was an ATC? When I Googled “ATC”, the first thing that came up was Air Traffic Controller. Apparently more research was needed!
When I realized that it stood for Artist Trading Cards, I was instantly obsessed. I checked out every book from the library that I could; I read every article online; I scanned Flickr (this was pre-Facebook for me by about two years!) and created my own account; I looked through Yahoo! Groups. And in my searching those groups is where I “met” Carolyn Brady.
One of my favorite ATCs – it’s really simple but I love how I found a vintage invoice and a kid’s book illustration that so beautifully worked together. Looks like I made this one on November 20, 2010.
I had been trading ATCs online for about a year when I first started chatting with Carolyn, who was looking to start a live trade in the Milwaukee area. I LOVED this idea, and while I couldn’t make the first meeting for some reason, I started going by the second one, in September of 2007. None of us knew that, ten years later, we’d have only missed ONE month in that decade, and that was only because of a snowstorm last December. None of us knew that we’d be around in 10 years. None of us knew how awesome Carolyn would be, and how many wonderful friends we’d make because of this group, which is still going strong.
Here’s Carolyn (middle), Pauline (right) and me at my very first trade ever, at the now-defunct (but always fabulous Artist & Display in Milwaukee. Notice that this was pre-glasses and short gray hair. 😀 (Photo courtesy of Carolyn Brady, as is the featured image)
I found out yesterday that in the ten years we’d been meeting, I’d attended 65 of the 119 meetings, which put me in the Top 20 of attendees. I’m really honored and proud to be in this group, which has meant so much to me in the last 10 years. It’s such a comfortable group, which is extremely organized by Carolyn but at the same time is totally laid-back and super fun. There’s ZERO pressure in this group to be anything – you can do anything you want, there’s no judgment, and there’s always a feeling of inclusion and camaraderie. Those are rare and wonderful things in any group, especially after meeting every single month (except that one) for a decade.
If it weren’t for this group, I don’t think I would’ve grown enough as an artist to have the courage to leave my job and persue an art career full-time. Indeed, when I think back to that time, at which time I’d only been making art for about 3 1/2 years, I feel a little sick to my stomach at how brazen and confident I was. That was the ATCs talking, for sure.
I love this group so much, and I’m so happy I found these wonderful people when I did. I won’t be able to attend a meeting again for four months due to (ironically) all of my other art teaching gigs. But I’ll be there in December for my favorite trade of the year – our annual holiday potluck and funtimes in Cudahy. I can’t wait.
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P.S. If you’ve never heard of ATCs before and want to learn more, Carolyn’s FAQ is an invaluable resource!! Start here and become obsessed yourself. Perhaps like me, you’ll realize that you’ve made over 1200 ATCs in the past 11 years. 🙂
We have a saying in Wisconsin that if you don’t like the weather, just wait five minutes. (Actually, I think most Midwestern states have that saying.) Last night, I found out how true that saying is – almost literally!
I participated in the first-ever igNight Market in Green Bay, which happens to be my hometown. I’d heard about it via Facebook and thought it would be fun, since I hadn’t done any sort of selling of my art there. I left Green Bay in ’96 and this business of art wasn’t even on my radar yet.
I was pretty nervous about this market, since I knew Brian would be out of town and I’d have to go it alone. I was as prepared as I could’ve been, which is always helpful, but I was still anxious about putting up the tent myself, as this was my first real art market ever! (I also realized afterward that I just can’t go it alone to these markets – not yet, anyway.)
I got to the market at the perfect time, had a super amount of help from the fabulous staff with set-up, and was on my way. For a first-time event, the crowd was fantastic! I had brought my collagraph series and my Painted Desert rust-dyed encaustic series along – one on each table (you can see that in the photo, above). I had also brought along some of my matted linocuts. The wind was pretty strong so I had to keep some of my work flat, but it didn’t seem to matter – people were really interested and I had wonderful chats with a LOT of people, and I made some sales! (It is here where I have to say I am so very grateful for my amazing dad in-law, who made those cool shelves for me! He’s such a great guy. I’m super lucky.) 😀
I also got to see many Green Bay friends whom I don’t see enough, like my old college roommate Pia and her husby, Phil. We had a chance to reminisce and also talk about an upcoming ride we’re doing, which was great. I saw two of my art friends, Steve Ballard and Geri Justinger. Steve’s wife Patricia was so lovely and got me water, which I desperately needed. Geri is super thoughtful and had brought me a huge lot of graphic tape the last time she was at a thrift store and delivered it last night (thank you again so much, Geri!!). I got to see my friend Cheri Larson, whom I hadn’t seen since 2013. But the craziest meeting happened to be with my friend Amy, whom I met on our first day of 6th grade in 1979, and her husband Bill. I hadn’t seen her or Bill in person in over 20 years! It was fantastic.
It is during this reunion of sorts where things get really bizarre. As you can see from the above photo, when the market began there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. It was really warm, and I was sweating profusely, but so was everyone. I think it was even fairly nice out when Amy and Bill found me. But then….
Yeah. This happened. You can see that Bill is hanging on to the tent so that it won’t blow away. There were some other lovely people in the tent on the other side who were helping me too, just some folks who took shelter when the storm hit. (What you can’t see is the insane amount of lightning.) The radar said we were in a “dangerous thunderstorm alert”, which was supposed to pass in about 10 minutes (it didn’t).
About 20 minutes later Bill ran and got their car and drove me to mine. I had made the executive decision to leave, on account of the fact that the streets were getting flooded and everything was soaked. I was really afraid for my art (which, I am happy to report, made it through unscathed!). They asked if I needed help tearing down and I said no, that it would only take me about 10 minutes. When I got back to my booth, they were both there, waiting for me, and helped me load up my car. I could’ve cried from thankfulness.
I drove home through one of the worst storms I can remember driving through – it was really rough. We were all going about 35 mph for a good 20-mile stretch (Green Bay is about 70 miles from Fond du Lac). But I took my time and I made it home in one piece, set everything out to dry, and went to bed. 🙂
The take-away from all of this? Actually, there are many:
I have wonderful friends, even ones whom I hadn’t seen in decades
There are so many lovely people out there willing to lend a hand
The payoff for being super-prepared is immense
I will try to not sweat the small stuff
You don’t mess with Mother Nature – she’ll win pretty much every time. 🙂
I have one more of these markets, on September 16. Brian is coming with me this time and I’m pretty sure the weather won’t be quite as wicked!
In the past four days, I have either taught or taken a class! That might be a record for me. It’s going to take me a while to actually process all that happened, so why not move it along with a blog post? 😀
Last Friday, I had the pure joy of leading a one-day artist residency at Brandon Middle School for the Art Club kids. They have to “earn” this day by attending a certain number of meetings during the year, and they either get a field trip or a visiting artist. This year was the artist year, and their teacher Barb Bellmer asked me if I would be their guest. Would I?!? I love residencies! I had the kids (6-8th graders) do a large-ish collage in the morning, and then use encaustic in the afternoon. Here are some photos of their great work! 😀
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On Saturday, I was lucky enough to take Megan Woodard Johnson‘s “Intuitive Collage” class in Grafton. It was a wonderful class, and also fun to play with paper not from my own stash! (It totally makes a difference, because Megan’s collection, while very similar, is much more “curated” than my own and her color palette is far more discerning than mine.) It was really fun to just PLAY, with no thought about anything except the process. It was much-needed fun, and lots of my friends were in the class, too! 😀 Here are the collages I made during the class! 😀
On Sunday, I had two dear people over to my house for an Individual Art class – my friend Monica and her daughter Ivy wanted to do encaustic collages. HOLY SMOKES! I am still in awe of the pieces they made – they couldn’t be any different, but they’re both amazing!!
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Yesterday, I FINALLY was able to take a class with the fantastic Heidi Parkes – I’ve been wanting to take her class for literally the past year, but it just never worked out. So I decided to just take a private lesson yesterday instead! She is a fiber artist who lives in Milwaukee and is a champion of the Slow Fashion movement. She believes that mending our clothes is not only thrifty, but also employs the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi, which celebrates the imperfect. It was a relaxing and contemplative (and totally fun!) way to spend a rainy Monday afternoon. And I’m also going to be able to wear my fave jeans and t-shirts again! 😀
It’s not only functional, but really cool-looking! 😀
In writing this post, I am reminded once again how incredibly lucky I am to be living this kind of life. Am I insanely busy? Yes. But I love both teaching AND the fact that I am able to learn new things as well! And as every teacher knows, you always learn something new from the people who take your classes. I know I do, EVERY time. All of these processes and collaborations; the ability to learn more about and spend more time with wonderful people; the act of living one’s life in and about art – this is what it’s about for me. I hope to live this life for as long as I am able to enjoy it. 🙂
Life is funny. In the times where it’s even-keeled, we just sort of chug along, don’t we, not really thinking about much of anything except our own plans. Whether it’s work, the weekend, what to have for dinner – it’s just so easy to be complacent. I think this is where most of us spend a majority of our time, and honestly? I think it’s a great place to be.
But then Life comes along and kicks your ass. It could be the death of a beloved pet, something awful happening with your career; your partner or kids becoming ill; your parents’ aging and myriad issues that brings; or maybe it’s a combination of crises. Whatever the “thing” is, you’re all of a sudden thrust into Survival Mode, where you can’t even see past the day or hour at hand. Sure, Life is still happening, but it’s all kind of a blur now.
Life can also come along and bestow upon you some of the most amazing experiences you can imagine. It might be the best year you’ve ever had at your job; it might be that you’re marrying your best friend; it might be that you’re finally going to have a kid that you’ve been waiting for your whole life. Whenver “things” like this happen, Life seems to fly by in a whirlwind of activity – stressful in its own way, as most of Life is still happening, too. Laundry still has to be done. 🙂
This has been my year so far.
Let’s get the crud out of the way first. Our beloved Pommie, Dudley, left us on February 25. He’d been my constant companion for the last 5 years and 9 months. He very rarely left my side, and his absence created a loss I wasn’t quite ready for. —————————— During this time, we were also adjusting to having my mom here in Fond du Lac – she moved up here in January, as it was clear she couldn’t live by herself anymore. So we set her up at a lovely apartment in an assisted living space. She was chugging along until the middle of February, when she passed out after having what turned out to be her last cigarette – her oxygen level was at 60% and the docs discovered her COPD was now advanced emphysema. She was in the hospital for 5 days and afterward, needed more services. All seemed to be going okay until this past Thursday, when we were at the grocery store and she took a terrifying fall, which crushed her shoulder bones and two vertebrae, plus part of her tailbone. She will be in a rehab facility for 8-10 weeks, and is in a great deal of pain. All of this is compounded by her worsening dementia. —————— Lastly – this may sound like absolutely nothing compared to the two other “things” I’ve mentioned, but we also said good-bye to Carol, my beloved 1997 Toyota Corolla, on February 21. She had been my trusty (VERY trusty!) sidekick since May of 1998. That car saw me through the birth of my second niece (and some very smooshy memories of my first niece’s experiences with her new sister); my divorce; my dad’s death/funeral; and served as our “second” car when Brian and I got our van. She did manage to reach 200,000 miles before we parted ways, and her final act was a donation to our local public radio station (via the Car Talk Vehicle Donation Program). I’ll be honest – I cried. I had so many amazing adventures with this car and for a while, it seemed like I’d have her with me forever.
BUT!! BUT!! YOU GUYS!!
Holy smokes – it has been the most amazing year EVER for my art. EVER. Since January 1, this is what I’ve done:
I created 30 pieces (one per day, January 1-30) for the 30x30x30 show at Var Gallery (which hangs this week!). This was my first-ever real “collection” of works. I created pieces that I rust-dyed and then stitched, followed by a layer of beeswax. Here’s one of them, for a sneak peek:
Painted Desert IV, rust-dyed muslin, machine embroidery, encaustic wax
I finished/installed my two shows at UW-Fond du Lac that I created specifically for this site: The Collograph in Minature/Pervasive Plastic. This opportunity, which was so generously given to me by art lecturer Wendi Turchan, was a dream come true – to be able to show on a university level was something I never imagined I’d be able to do. I also created pieces that were site-specific, and I’m so proud of them. Here’s one of my collographs and a piece from the Plastic show:
Prairie (monoprint and collograph) and The Whole World is Plastic (tree branch, plastic bag strips, plastic bag)
On my third attempt, I was finally accepted into the Small Print Show at UW-Parkside! My piece, A Canopy of Branches, was chosen to be one of the prints. Unfortunately, the weather and my health were both icky the night of the reception and I was unable to drive to Kenosha to see the awesome show. But here is my piece!! I’m so happy I got in on this one, because it’s a reduction linocut I’m really proud of.
A Canopy of Branches, reduction linocut
I am currently in The Humor Show at Riverwalk Art Center with my friends Nicci Martin and Susan Fiebig! I am so happy to be one of the three chosen for this exhibit by curator/owner Kathryn Dreifuerst. I can guarantee that this is going to be not only hilarious, but just a fabulous show. My portion of the show is called Bad Hair Daze, which is comprised of eight different embroidered collages featuring horrible ’80s hairstyles (here’s one of them!). Our reception is this Friday night from 5-8 p.m. – hope to see you there! 😀The “She’s so Unusual”, from the Bad Hair Daze collection (embroidery, collage)
Lastly – I have to thank everyone who’s made this year, as trying as it’s been, so great. Firstly – my family. They’ve really rallied and helped so much with my mom. Everyone has her back and it’s been so wonderful having their awesome support. I rely so much on my sister, Jenn, because no one knows me better and of course, we have the same mom. 🙂 Our “sister days” have been a life-saver. Also, my art friends – what a wonderful group of people I know in Fond du Lac and the Fox Cities. I know the best people in the world and I’m so proud and honored to call them my friends. 🙂 They have been so understanding when I’ve had to cancel things due to illness this year or last minute things that have come up with my mom. I can only hope to be half as understanding as these great people. I could name names, but you know who you are. ❤
And lastly – my amazing husband, Brian. To say that I couldn’t do any of this without him is the Understatement of the Year. He has been my rock and I am so grateful and honored to be his wife, and astounded by his unflinching generosity in everything he does. He’s truly the best. ♥
The “She’s so Unusual”, from the Bad Hair Daze collection (embroidery, collage)
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