From the Beginning

New blog, new beginnings. Aren't beginnings great? Really, I should have one every week.

So I will start with a little background info. I am an artist. I work primarily in a multi-media mosaic format with a good dose of drawing, painting and wire sculpture thrown in. I am coming at it from a my-kids-are-almost-raised-so-can-get-back-to-my-first-love perspective. Oldest, Max is 23 and a senior in college. Middle, Alex is 19 and a college freshman. Youngest, Rosy is 13 and homeschooling. I homeschooled the boys until high school and hope to be doing the same with Rosy who is in the 8th grade this year.

Alright, so kids have always come first. But now I find myself with time to pursue my own interests: Art. This summer has been especially interesting. For years and years I have been a truly busy person - raising children, homeschooling, volunteering, running the household, taking care of my mother and, working part-time. Well both boys are off to college, Mom passed away last summer and I quit my part-time catering job (which I enjoyed) to really focus on My Art.

But the truth is that My Art is not really only my own, because I have a strong need to nurture and help. This means that I teach (at Flicker Street Studio, currently) and volunteer. I volunteer to help friends put together and hang shows - which I love to do - and volunteer as an installer at Jones Alumni Gallery at the University of Memphis. And since I quit my job I coordinated and curated the art portion of a fund-raiser for Page Robbins Adult Day Care Center, a non-profit that services Alzheimer's clients. I also manage the work of Keiko Gonzalez, a Bolivian artist and good friend, when he shows in the US. I am always interested in new and different art opportunities and tend to have my toes in various things all the time.

But this summer has been slow. I have had very little responsibility - something I am not really used to - and lots and lots of down time. I have been bored. This is a new concept for me. I am trying to embrace it but it feels pretty foreign. I am trying to fill my time with making art but a lack of structure seems to be keeping me from embracing this emptiness whole-heartedly. So I have begun to think of this as a detoxing time. A time to sit, to contemplate, to get back to nothingness. An empty place where things can grow. Things that are me and mine. It is hard to listen to myself after so many years of putting the needs of others in the forefront of my doings. So I am grateful for this time and am trying to sit quietly and wait, listen. Dabble a little. I am excited about things to come.