On the Importance of a Dedicated Studio (I Mean, Who Wants a Studio that's Fickle, Right?)

I work best with a studio and a schedule. I just do, even though I like to think I can and will work anywhere at anytime.

I love to travel and I always think I’ll just whip out my supplies on the table of a cafe or while sitting on a rock under a massive, sun dappled tree (really, this is one of my most common art daydreams), but I never do.

Sometimes I’ll sketch when I get back to my hotel or Airbnb, but that’s where it ends. No plein air for this girl. I mean, usually I remember to take photos and once I get back to my studio I use them as references for a painting.

(Edit: I started sketching at museums last week and I loved it, so maybe now I’ll be more likely to work in public!)

Every single productive period of my life, though, I’ve had a room (or a specific section of a room) all to myself to splatter, pour, cut, and otherwise make a mess of in the name of creative progress.

This can work while traveling, too, of course. Sometimes as soon as I arrive to my temporary new home, I’ll set up a desk or table with just my art supplies (no food, no books, no clothes - it needs to be used only for art). Whenever I’ve done that, I’ve definitely made time to paint or sketch or otherwise document my trip.

At home, though, I’ve just started settling into my current studio. I started setting it up in December, I think, but between unpacking boxes, preparing for the holidays (which for me, in December, means three birthdays, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve), hosting friends and family from out of town, homeschooling, and making actual art, my studio organization and design languished.

Forget making it look nice - I was lucky if I could walk in without tripping over half-wrapped presents and semi-unpacked boxes. The holidays have passed, though, and I started tackling the studio little-by-little. It was getting pretty close to done…

….But then I decided it was time to give the kids their own bedrooms, so now it’s time to move the studio across the hall and give this room to one of them.

Actually, the move shouldn’t be that hard at all. I’m guessing one afternoon should do it, so I’ve set aside Saturday and Sunday to get it done (including moving the kids’ rooms around).

I’m getting pretty excited - most things are pretty organized now, so hopefully I’ll be able to move directly to the decorating stage of the process!

Tonight after the kids go to bed, I’ll have the house to myself, so it will be inspiration time! Check out my Pinterest board to see what I found!

Any suggestions? Do you have something you love or would love to have in your studio?

Ode to Tea and Other Ramblings

I put these little doodled notes in my journal from time to time, and a friend suggested you might like to see them, too. The name of the candle is “Black Sea” by Birch and Main. It’s a hand poured soy candle (of course), and it smells lovely. It’s not overpowering at all - I know that because it took two days of burning it to completely override the scent of “Bali Sunrise” that I previously was burning in my studio. Bali Sunrise was only lit for about an hour, but that smell lingered - and not in a good way!

Artist Spotlight: Lisa Congdon

This reads like a fourth grade essay, but it’s still true - Lisa Congdon is amazing and l love her work. You can check it out for yourself here if you’re not already familiar with her. You’re in for a treat!

I’m always looking for new artists to admire, so who do you love?!

The Origin of My Love For Ganapati

Ganapati (better known as Ganesh) plays an important part in our family lore.  We have statues of him, books about him, dozens of sketches of him, and even songs about him.

Elephants are my favorite animal, but they haven't always been.  It's actually a really odd story...

When I was about 18 years old, I had a dream that I forgot as I climbed out of bed and headed for the shower.  The only thing that lingered was an unshakable desire to "wake up in India and ride an elephant."  It literally came out of nowhere and would. not. go. away.  All day long, I wondered how I was going to make this happen.  I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was something I had to do.

The next morning I arrived early to my anthropology class and sat in the small lecture hall eating yogurt waiting for the professor to show up.  Before he came in (anthropology professors are notoriously late for everything, I think),  another professor showed up and impatiently waited by the door.  As the anthropology professor walked in, the waiting professor, Dr. Nair, approached him in an assertive style I would quickly come to associate with him.  After a few seconds of quiet discussion, Dr. Nair approached the podium and started speaking to us with an Indian lilt in his voice, "Hello, my name is Dr. Nair and I am with the Sociology Department here at Cleveland State.  I am taking a group of students to India and would like to....." I never heard the rest of his speech.  I didn't want to be impolite, but as he walked out of the classroom, my muscles were poised to run after him.  It took all my self-control to sit through the anthropology lecture, knee bouncing and mind nowhere near that room.

At the end of class, I bounded to Dr. Nair's office and told him I was ready to sign up.  It was going to be outrageously difficult to pay for my rent and bills and school and car and still have money to go, but I was determined to make it work. It never occurred to me that it might not, which I think was probably the main thing I had going for me.

At one point during the trip, we visited a little ceramic shop where about half-a-dozen workers were making these hollow elephant statues.  Ganapati, our guide told us.  It wasn't even a question, Ganapati was coming home with me.  For about $4 I had found myself a treasure. 

A few weeks later it was time to head home.  Dr. Nair convinced me that I should wear a sari home to show everyone what I had been dressed like all summer and because it was actually pretty impressive for a girl my age (Indian or not) to know how to tie their own sari.

At any rate, there I was at the airport ready for my 26 hour trip.  I checked one bag and had a backpack as my carry-on.  In my backpack, I had Ganapati wrapped in a sweater and my passport.  Nothing else. 

So of course my connecting flight from New York to Cleveland was cancelled and I was stuck overnight without a toothbrush, hairbrush, fresh clothes, clean underwear, or even money for food.  

But Ganapati is the Hindu god of obstacles, luck, and new beginnings, so I wasn't too worried.  He and I made it and have been together ever since.  I love him even more for having had the journey with him.

Oh, the Places We Go...

We have been traveling nearly nonstop since....well, since we first started dating, really.  Now, though, our wings are getting tired and we need to rest.  

So! Seven cities, four countries, two continents, and five weeks to go until we are staying put for... an entire two or three months!  It will be the longest homestay we've ever had and it will be glorious.  

That's all true, but it's also a little tongue-in-cheek.  I realize that's barely "sitting still" for most people, but it's a start for us.  We've decided to limit our kids' travel to 6 weeks this coming year - they need deeper roots.  We do, too, for that matter, but it's going to be harder on us - we have great friends and loving family members spread out throughout the country and much of the western world and we're used to visiting them whenever we can make a trip work into our schedule.

It's time now, though, to be a bit more deliberate with our lives and our travels.  One of the exciting aspects of our new plan is that I'll be able to purposefully block in travel to new and exotic locations more often, rather than doubling back on the same locales time and time again.  

For instance, we've starting planning a trip to Mexico for this autumn and I'm really looking forward to delving into a new culture and practicing my Spanish.   I think we'll invite some of those amazing friends and families we're usually traipsing around to see.  Two birds, one stone?

Speaking of birds, this little bird is a painted paper collage I made a year or so ago.  She looks how I feel right now - tired, expectant, and a little bewildered!

Misadventures of Life Mottos

Every year, Max and I sit down and decide on a word or phrase to guide us through the coming year.  Okay, it's possible that I corner Max and bombard him with a list of "suggestions" and then stand there, expectantly (and blocking the exit) until he cooperates and helps me pick one.  I should ask him how he feels about the process....

Anyway, this year we're running behind schedule and haven't chosen one yet.  It's mostly because I only suggested one motto - this one - and it's the only word or motto Max has ever nixed.

I presented it half in jest, but honestly it's because it's impossible to do and have it all.  If I'm going to try to work from home, even part-time, somethings got to give.  

This "motto" is kind of tongue-in-cheek, though, because I actually really enjoy cleaning.  Also, I believe that cleaning and caring for our things - whether homes, cars, antique grandfather clocks, Hot Wheel collections, whatever our "things" are - helps to forge a connection and create a respect, a relationship, an appreciation, and even a love for our things.  

Still, though, there are only so many hours in the day and prioritizing is vital to accomplishing anything at all.  For those of us who like to do things ourselves, though, knowing who and when to ask for help is really daunting.

So what's worth farming out?  Any advice?

And any suggestions for an actual word or motto to guide 2018?!

The 100 Day Project

When a friend of mine pointed me in the direction of the 100 Day Project*, I was immediately on-board.  It wasn't until Day #1, though, that I knew what I would do.  It wasn't that I didn't have enough ideas - it was that I had too many.  

Since I had a gazillion brilliant ideas (I know; it's a curse), I knew I needed some parameters.  I created these boundaries: it had to be something that would be easy to do while traveling, fairly simple if and when I needed it to be, and interesting enough to hold my attention for over three months.  

In the end, I decided to make paper buildings.  

It's challenging enough to keep me engaged and to help me grow - I have to think about 3-D objects, maintain decent scale, and create visual interest.  It's also simple enough that while I had the flu I was still able to complete a few of them.  They are decidedly not good, in fact I haven't even yet included them in the collection - but that's because immediately after feeling better I had to pack and leave for a week and a half in Florida and by the time I came home the first five or six buildings were already lagging in quality.  I can't wait to see where I'm at by the end of the 100 days!

As for being easy to do while traveling, I only have to carry paper, a pen, scissors, and glue.  It's the lightest artist travel kit I've packed in years.  It's been a lot of fun incorporating the architecture of the area I'm visiting, too.  

The project officially began on April 4th, 2017 and will go until July 12th, but anyone can join any time (you can either catch up or just pick your own start date and go 100 days from there).  Have you ever done this challenge before?  If so, what did you do?  If not, what ideas do you have about what you could do?

*The 100 Day Project is an art project that any one can join - all you have to do is pick one creative thing (write a poem, sing a song, dance, sketch, juggle something) and do it everyday for 100 days.  You post it on Instagram with the hashtag #the100dayproject and friends, both old and new, can follow along.  It's awesome.

Sketchbook Peek

Carla Sonheim gave us a prompt (I'm taking her 365 - Video a Day class).  It involved creating pink clouds.  I started wondering about a world in which all clouds are pink and ended up creating this in my sketchbook.  I love it because it makes me think of my daughter.