Reevaluating…pretty much EVERYTHING.

So remember when I got all excited about alcohol inks about three years ago, but never followed up? I finally decided to follow up…and it went very badly indeed!

I thought I had done my research. I looked at surfaces, sealants, UV protection, the works. I bought all the highly recommended things. I sat down to commence fun and artwork and came headlong into what should have been obvious, and yet I somehow managed to overlook. When I had done them before, I was working on Yupo paper. Doing them now, I decided to go with canvases (for a lot of reasons I could detail, but won’t) not considering that the inks themselves do not work or interact the same on canvas as they do on paper. They don’t spread. Or bubble. The mist does not cause a chemical reaction. They just lay there, inert.

This, by the way, leads to terrible art. See?

A complete lack of movement and vibrancy that makes them fun to play with.
So.
Now I need to reevaluate my entire plan and decide if I am now going to invest in expensive paper, give it up completely (do I really need another art?), or learn to cope with what I have. If the first two, then I have a lot of canvases to work with and no concrete plans of what to do with them.

“Reevaluating my entire plan” actually seems to have shoved in to be my new theme, as everything seems to be in a bit of an upheaval at the moment. This blog is here to share pretty art things, but I haven’t made any since April. Part of that is the lack of a really good space in which to work and continual construction, part is a low-grade depression (it feels like February, when I forget how to paint), but a good chunk of it is simple distraction. My mind is elsewhere as a major life change is ahead.

We are moving. Not just moving, but moving to the Bay area of California. It is a huge change coming, and, frankly, it came out of left field. We were not looking to move. However, my husband got an unexpected job offer he wanted to pursue, and while we may do a number of things wrong in our marriage, the one thing we do right is support each other on our hairbrained schemes (like deciding to quit one’s job and become a fulltime artist). So California, here we come.

Due to Covid he is currently working remotely, but we will be all moved and settled by summer 2022. Which gives us plenty of time to consider things. Unfortunately, my brain is now full of new high schools, and housing options, and taxes, and many other random thoughts that have me thoroughly derailed. And, of course, everything I have built here goes away and I will have to start all over in a new place. Am I sure I want to?

So. Reevaluation of everything as we decide how this next chapter of our lives is going to go.

In the meantime I am pausing this blog until I figure a few things out. Things will resume when my creativity can figure out how to get through the fog. I always work better with a clear direction, and right now I am mostly bewildered. Time to pause and reflect….and prepare to move!

Before I go, two bits of news which show that despite my dithering, I am still basically famous.

My Summer Bee is going to be showcased on a utility box on the corner of University Drive and 12th Avenue North, across from NDSU.

Isn’t it exciting?

Also, I have been polishing my writing skills and you will shortly be seeing my name on articles highlighting community projects, as well as other artists in our community in the Fargo, INC and Design & Living magazines! It is so exciting to see my name in print, and to be able to bring attention to so many amazing groups and individuals in our community. My first article, highlighting the Kindred Park Board’s StoryWalk, can be read here.

Different times ahead!