jumping back in

In the Summer my schedule is a bit different than other seasons, but I embrace it. I love to teach children in the summer , do workshops and get out of my comfortable studio routine. Plus, this June I had a solo show in Memphis at Downtown Pres Gallery which went well, selling my newest piece "Tipping". My August solo exhibit at The Renaissance Center in Dickson, TN just came down this past weekend and two group exhibitions are coming to a close as well- Metro Montage XI in GA and The Elegant Line in CA.

Getting back into the studio is difficult after such a change and having finished most of my work before the summer exhibits, my studio looks like this:


not many works in progress, just blank canvases ready for new beginnings. It is a fresh start but, not when I am still working on my Spills and Coverings series... I am wanting to do some small works to go with the series but maybe remain somewhat separate? Working small has always been a challenge to me and in school, one of my professors encouraged us to make "studies" and this helped me bravely face the tiny papers or canvases similar to the way I would work in a sketchbook- with no fear...not over-analyzing concepts, color choices, techniques, the best process to use or the order of how I work.

It is so easy to get caught up in blogging, twitter, emails, my facebook art page, editing photos, email blasts, applying to shows, etc that I get so distracted and feel weird, then I realize I have been working (logging my hours too) but not actually CREATING anything. I literally had to force myself to just start something and make a mess on a few of these crisp intimidating canvases, and hopefully I will be even more productive in creating this week!