Someday
“Someday is not a day of the week” motto on my studio wall…
My calendar feels like a giant tube of paste being squeezed in the middle. Everything needs attention, from the garden to the house to the studio to work and to social causes. It’s Fall and I am a squirrel.
Dad’s workshop is brimming with new glittery combinations of computer guts. Michael’s busy framing his large geese for a show in January. I have almost a dozen new works to be varnished. All the flat surfaces in the barn studios are occupied and even the rafters support dangling mobiles crafted by summer guests. It’s almost overwhelming.
It’s all pressure. A teacher once told me to meditate ten minutes a day unless I was very busy. Then I should meditate an hour!
Personally, I like to use my art as a temporary escape and a chance to connect to the natural world. The birds and trees in the forest have their own rhythm and activity. They are migrating now- becoming snowbirds as they embark south according to a signal of waning daylight. Birds that I never knew could fly at night now guide themselves by stars! Paying attention compels me to turn away from despair.
Our maple forest is a “sugar bush”, yet during the off season we partner with Audubon NY to protect songbird habitat. This was our first summer paying attention, and it has affected my painting series. My series of small oval nature-portraits have shifted from portraying individual trees to bird species. I am inspired every day when, on my early morning walks, I hear and see the birds.
We are not islands, but a little solitude can reclaim peace for my soul. Truthfully, artists need an audience for feedback and support, but initially we need solitary space to create. Gwen John and Dora Maar, (recent subjects of my “Who is She?” biographical zine series) were unjustly labeled recluses for claiming their time. Some artists, like Suzanne Valadon, thrive in a crowd.
I have two more forgotten famous women to cover this fall. So stay tuned for Lois Maillou Jones in November and Anni Albers in December.
There are also some great exhibitions to see. In November I will be going to the MFA Boston to see “Strong women in Renaissance Italy” featuring Sofonisba Anguissola (my first zine subject- now copies sold out) . The show runs through Jan 7, 2024. Also I hope to catch the exhibit at the New Museum in NY to see the Judy Chicago: Herstory show through January 14, 2023.
Remember to checkout the series of $12 zines that I have for sale on my website Art History ,“Who is She?” series.
I hope you can get out and see some new art being made and some old under-recognized artists from history as well. I must say that the Art East studio tour offers both time in crowds of space and time to be on your own as it is a self-guided event to 27 artist studios along the eastern edges of Dutchess County. The drive on country roads among the changing of the seasons will add a dose of inspiration as well. I hope I see you.
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TODAY: studio wall calendars for 2024, art historical biographical zines, packets of Forgotten Female Artist stickers, space in my November 6-week Accountability Coaching session, and a never-shown series of a dozen new paintings of birds! Tweet tweet!
