When my work is serving others, whether I am teaching art, having a conversation about art, or knowing that one of my paintings is now hanging on a person’s wall and bringing them joy, that is a good and meaningful life.
But life wasn’t always that way. As my peers and I were coming of age, our story was the story of the Gen X’ers, that generation that plays the middle child, not chosen for leadership, not given the fruits reserved for the beloved youngest. We are the smallest generation in America, and we are the generation that America passed over. To cope, many of us self-medicated and became radically independent. I was one of those kids. It wasn’t until I was getting an MFA that it became obvious that my extreme behavior was getting in the way of the person I was meant to be. Thanks to integrative medicine, I began my journey of cultivating a life that nourishes me instead of depleting me. That life developed into who I am today - a person who makes art, practices meditation and yoga, and is a mother to her two children Emilia (6) and Oliver (4).
Previous to parenting, I had a blog the “Contemplative Process,” which I maintained from 2011 - 2017. Exploring contemporary and modern art, I focused on work that had a connection to materiality and spirituality. In 2017, I also wrote for Pyragraph, an online journal which focused on creative career stories for artists, by artists. However, over the past couple years, I have taken a pause from writing, in order to focus on my studio work, while raising my two children. By doing so, I realize that writing is an integral part of my process and practice, and thus am thrilled to be back doing it!
For my blog, “Unfettered Happenings,” I will be writing about the process of my work by including documentation of the everyday activities such as play, cooking and sleep, which take place on top of my surfaces. Using these chance incidents as a catalyst, my work takes form in performance, large-scale collage, installation, as well as drawing and painting. I will also be writing about other artists work I see which inspires me and demonstrates a curiosity and intelligence in its making. I hope you will you join me on this journey and continue to follow my blog? If you are not yet signed up you can do so by hitting this submission link. If you already follow me, I welcome your questions and comments through my contact page.
Thanks for reading, and following me on my journey of integrating art and life.