Expectations
Tufted Titmouse On Creamer (in progress)
Tufted Titmouse On Creamer (in progress)
Hi,
Ahhh.....
Home!
What a wonderful word that is!
However exhilarating the experience, home always feels best, especially
when your spouse is so excited to see you that he meets you at the
Cracker Barrel with just 30 miles left to go.
I am understandably exhausted, having driven the 1100 miles home and
having unloaded the car of a ridiculous amount of stuff. Did I really
need to take that much stuff with me?
That long drive home gave me a lot of time to reflect on what I gained
from this, and how it might affect my thoughts and actions moving
forward. There's just too much to tell in one letter so I'll stick to
one topic.
EXPECTATIONS
Did everything go as I expected? Of course not. How boring would it be
if everything we expect to happen goes off without a hitch? And this
adventure was anything BUT boring.
So here is a short overview of what I expected and how things turned
out.
The drive there:
I expected that it might be difficult traveling alone. It really
wasn't. The scenery was so beautiful from Michigan to Maine that the
hours and miles flew by. It helped that my sister, Kate, in Albany, NY
let me bunk on her couch, which split the trip essentially in half.
Arrival:
I had looked at the photos on the residency website dozens of times
since hearing about this a year ago. But nothing prepared me for how
beautiful it was. 'Cottage overlooking the water' didn't tell me I
would feel the cool and gentle bay breeze on my cheek as I slept each
night...or how I would awaken each morning in the pre-dawn to the
glittering lights and sounds from the lobster boats and then fall
asleep to a fabulous sunset each night.
Honestly, I don't know when I've slept better in my life!
The work:
I expected to work hard, which I did...in one sense. But it didn't feel
like work. I was simply in a continual state of frenzy...trying to
capture a moment or pursue a new inspiration.
I expected to paint a lot. But never did I expect to get so much done
in so little time. It's amazing what a person can accomplish in the
quiet....tucked away in a remote place like that. I never understood
why so many artists choose to shell out hard-earned cash for studio
space away from home. I get it now. Perhaps I will one day.
I also expected to work mostly on the "Shoes We Wear" series. I did get
a great start on three of those. Here's one of the larger ones in
progress....
Spit Shine (in progress)
Spit Shine (in progress)
Oh, but there was so much to inspire that I simply couldn't resist
deviating from the plan. Had I been working on a deadline for a
specific gallery show, I would have gladly gone into laser-focus mode
and produced only work in this series.
But in this case, I gave myself permission to run with new ideas.
I'm so glad I had this luxury. The spectacular sunrises and sunsets
brought me to tears! They made for some great miniatures, and I have
photo references for about ten more! Eventually, I hope to do some
larger versions of them.
Preparation.
I over-prepared. I took far more materials and canvases than I could
possibly hope to use....and ended up using most of them. I lacked for
absolutely nothing and this gave me some serious flexibility.
The only drawback to taking practically my whole studio with me, was
having to unpack it all when I got home.
Still working on that.
Connections:
I expected to do a lot of live videos on social media. I did some, but
had to work around internet issues. I'd be in the middle of something
and have to do it over three times because the internet connection
would break in mid stream.
Frustrating!
I got a compact little vlogging kit before I left MI, hoping to get
better quality sound and video, but never got past the sentence, buried
deep in the instructions of course, about needing an adapter.
So what to do when things don't go as expected???
Why, you change your expectations of course! Imagine how much less
artwork I would have produced if I'd obsessed over the video equipment.
So I turned my attention back to what I was there for.
Going forward:
I expect that the business of life will gain some of my attention. That
is as it should be. The elderly friends who fell sick while I was gone
and now need help, the children I teach in Sunday School, the abiding
love for my husband...these are far more important to me than my art
career.
The folks who say that you should follow your dreams no matter what it
costs have no understanding about how life really works.
People we love are far more important than dreams!
Still, I expect to take advantage of the momentum gained in the last
two weeks. Make no mistake about THAT!
I expect to continue caring for those I love while I continue to grow
and learn all I can about creating art that inspires...
...for as long as God strengthens my hands to do so.
Do I expect ever to do another art residency?
In a heartbeat!!
Have a terrific weekend!
Jan
P.S. I will be posting a lot of new artwork in the weeks to come as I
finish the works started during the residency. Let me know if you are
interested in getting an early heads-up on any of them. Two people have
already asked to purchase a couple of the miniatures.
P.P.S. If you tried to contact me while I was away and I did not
respond, it's likely because of the broken internet signals and me
running out of WiFi data. Please accept my apologies.
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