My Well Loved Easel

While in my studio this past week, I scanned the room, taking in all that surrounded me… paints, brushes, canvases and more. These are the things that not only fill the space but fill me up with such good feelings. Then my eyes fell on the easel, my easel, which has traveled with me through the years. It traveled cross country when I moved from New York to California, and has become a centerpiece in each studio space through the years.

I was young, not long out of college. I walked into a Salvation Army store and there before me sat the easel of my dreams. It was as if there was nothing else in the store. I held my breath when I asked how much it cost. At the time, similar easels could go for a few hundred dollars. The woman answered emphatically, “What is it!? You can have it for 15 dollars if you can get it out of here!” I paid her SO fast and although I don’t remember telling her what it was, I probably did. This was now my easel!! I had just been given an amazing gift from the Universe at a price I could easily afford!

This week was the first time since then that I began to think of the life the easel had before it became mine. It clearly had a well used history. The wood was worn and showed signs of wear. I’d like to believe it was as well loved then as it has been in all these years with me. And now I am asking myself… How and why did it find its way into a used furniture store? What happened to the artist who had it before me?… but wait! Was it even owned by an artist? It’s been so many years that I’m not sure what paint marks are mine and what was here from before me.

Here’s what I can be sure of: This easel has been loved and cherished for well over 40 years now. It is an important part of my art history and I am so very grateful to have it in my life. I am thankful to whomever chose to give it up and to the woman who didn’t know this great piece was an easel.

What has traveled with you for a good part of your life… something that shares a long history with you and is beautifully woven into the tapestry of this lifetime of yours?

Finding Inspiration in the Majestic Presence of Trees

Trees are a magnificent presence in our world, standing strong and tall, lifting their branches towards the heavens, growing their roots down into the earth in order to support their height and breadth and to feed the tree with nourishment. They are able to bend with the winds, withstand the storms, and in the case of our local redwood trees, are even able to survive the fires. 

With their remarkable longevity, I have often reflected on the history they have witnessed and the environmental changes they have experienced through the years. The intricate shapes and textures on the bark of a tree tell the story of its personal history of growth and resilience. And these beautiful formations, sculpted by nature, become visual inspiration for those who take a moment to observe this artistry.

Years ago, I used to spend time in a peaceful forest behind a museum. With each visit, I would sit under the canopy of leaves and limbs, asking the question, “What lesson do you have for me today?” And I always received one. The lessons had to do with concepts like: flexibility, balance, or growth. 

Now, in considering the lessons in the ridges, nooks, and crannies of a tree trunk, we are reminded of how we are able to thrive and grow through life’s challenging moments. Just like the textured bark, our own journeys are marked by experiences that shape us into the unique individuals we are today.

Trees offer many lessons… such as the importance of staying grounded and drawing strength from the foundations we create for ourselves. They teach us about the beauty of flowing with the natural rhythms of our lives. As a tree changes with each season, it becomes an ideal symbol of gracefully accepting life’s natural cycles.

In these final days of summer (and beyond), as you walk out among the trees, may you find inspiration and wisdom in their presence, their resilience, and their beauty.

Painting Doesn’t Take a Holiday

"Effervescence" 20" x 20" acrylic mixed media on canvas.

Tomorrow is the first day of February and I am spending time today, reflecting on the experience of painting during Thanksgiving week. Somehow I managed to shop, cook, entertain, and still complete a painting while also preparing for a studio show just one week later. On that Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving Day, I was busy in the kitchen preparing food for a small family feast. But while the veggies were sauteing and in between cooking the various dishes, I was in the studio adding paint to my latest creation. I managed to embed studio time in a day focused on cooking. By the end of the day, I felt nearer to actually being able to complete the painting I had begun more than a year before. Then, while other people spent Black Friday shopping, I was able to work on and finish up that painting.

"Effervescence" in process. Sewing the painted cloth onto the stretched canvas.

“Effervescence” was inspired by a vision I had of the mist created when opening up a bottle of carbonated water. Each mist particle represented one of us and we were all connected in this sea of bubbles, swirling around one another, playing our role in the whole of our shared existence. We were one, together, rather than individuals, separate from the whole.

I began working on “Effervescence” in the fall of 2018, almost immediately after the concept took shape in my mind. But soon after I painted the two cloth layers, I put it aside with too many ideas on how it might be developed. Over a year later, a friend encouraged me to return to the painting. And I’m so glad she did. It was only then that I had the idea for the background to mimic the cutouts in the top cloth. So I got busy cutting holes in paper before adhering the paper to the back canvas. That’s when I was finally able to move the painting forward towards completion.

"Effervescence" in process after adding the cut paper to the stretched canvas background.

I added the finishing touches with a quote from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe... "In nature we never see anything isolated, but everything in connection with something else which is before it, beside it, under it, and over it."

“Effervescence” and I took a journey together and I embrace the bond developed in the process. A relationship is created between the artist and his/her creation. When I’m working on a painting, it’s as if a dialog develops between us, with the painting sharing its needs, making suggestions, providing guidance. All I have to do is be open to listening. We spend time in the studio together. It’s a shared experience. And when a painting takes longer to complete, the opportunity is there to create a closer bond, just as in any relationship. “Effervescence” was signed and wired in time for the studio show and it was one of the first to be sold.

And…I have to just add: For an artist, any day is a day to create, whether it’s a weekend, vacation day, or even the week of a major holiday.

Becoming a Blank Canvas

I’ve been taking part in Tara Leaver’s Instagram Challenge… 21 Days in My Art World. Tomorrow is day 11 and the prompt is: Turning Point. I’ve decided to share the experience that placed me on the path of creating the Transcriptions Series. With this in mind, I thought it applicable to re-post an article I published a few years ago on the Shared Easel Newsletter. Here it is:

2016 was the year I "birthed" a new series and grew myself in the process. I believe it all began with the adventure of dismantling the old and opening the doorway to something new.

I entered the year believing it was a time of wonderful possibilities - that I could create anything I wanted and make anything happen. I had the power to create!... But the question was, "What did I want to create?"

I was determined to release any and all past creative goals and open to a new creative vision, unfettered by my prior ideas and expectations. I wanted to wipe the slate clean so I could see what I might create now. First I would need to clear away years of stuffed and stored creative project ideas. I have always had more ideas than the time and ability to create. Most have remained stored in my inner closet, occasionally reminding me they were still there. It was time to finally clear out that closet and release the old notions conceived by a no longer existing me.

Over the course of several days I converted our living room into a brainstorming space. I taped sheets of newsprint paper all over the windows, door, and furniture. With markers and pens, I generated lists of:

• old expectations and projects ideas

• creative ideas that were already begun

• my past successes and achievements

• my skills and abilities that I can draw upon in anything I choose to do moving forward

• my hopes and dreams

• positive affirmations to fuel the new

• I Am statements (examples: I Am Fearless, I Am Grateful... )

• some ideas of things I might consider getting involved in or find a passion for

• and more

"Transcriptions #1 - Lokah Samastah”
12" x 12" Mixed media on canvas.

The main goal was to make myself a blank canvas for what I might create in the year ahead (and allow new ideas and creations to unfold). I'd say it worked out pretty well and led to the development of the Transcriptions Series of paintings!

(This was originally published on April 2017 in the Shared Easel Newsletter.)

Note: In the months that followed my brainstorming days, a series of new experiences, ideas, and materials came together to form a new way of working and a new series. I ended up producing 30 paintings in that series, which has led to all the work that followed. I’m so very grateful for those days in February 2016 and going with my inner guidance to become a blank canvas at that time.

Changes

Establishing a new website, blog, and newsletter can be very positive. It feels like everything has a fresh new look and feel which can be quite energizing. But, there's another side to this.

Last night I spent some time at my old blog. I have been posting articles and artwork there for almost ten years. Although my experience with Blogger has had it's frustrations recently, it has been home to the Shared Easel blog and newsletter.

Finding a new home through Squarespace means letting go of the past and moving on. Even when change is good, it still has it's moments of needing to embrace the new and release the tendency to hold onto the old. This is true whether we are talking about a website or a life experience.

Life is a series of changes... changing times, changing relationships and experiences, changes in mood, beliefs, thoughts, and dreams. We are constantly faced with new opportunities, challenges, and obstacles. 

So, as I travel the path of my fresh start, I am reflecting fondly on the past and the steps of the journey to this point. I am very excited to be where I am now. 

What changes are you making in your life?