Making myself talk (art, of course)

"new beginnings" 4"x 6" (sold)

Generally I belong to the camp of people who choose not to make New Year's resolutions. I tend to check in throughout the year and make lots of little resolutions as I go. But this year, a few resolutions just sort-of "happened". And they all belong to the "being social" category of life.

It began when one evening my partner said " I really want us to begin seeing friends more. It is driving me a little crazy that we never go out and socialize. We need a community". My partner is a social person. I am not. at all. Literally, I could go for months without seeing anyone, contentedly holed up within my own little schedule. I even go out of my way sometimes to avoid people. Not that I don't like people- once I actually get out, I enjoy myself quite a bit. I just have to be pushed. So, I promised him that I would make an effort to invite friends over and go out more.

Then I realized this probably should also carry over into my art life. Happy making studio work, I only show work when someone approaches me to do so. Now there are many reasons for this (some shyness, some not thinking I have enough work yet, etc) But most of it is, I am just uncomfortable talking about (and selling) my art. I LOVE talking art, just not mine. However, every successful artist I have spoken with has told me to go to openings, meet people, talk to people and approach galleries. Oh the horror! So many opportunities for awkward moments and social faux pas. Yet here I go, New Year's Resolution #1 and only: Get out there and talk.

Beginning small, of course, don't want to set myself up for certain failure :). So the goals are to:
1) go to at least one opening per month. The actual opening. Not just quietly sneaking early on a weekday to look at the work.

2) update my blog at least every Monday. I love doing this, but it is amazing how I think I never have the time. and yes, I know today is Tuesday, but today's excuse is my sister left town yesterday evening and we were hanging out. I started off with a bang this past spring and have slowly gone down to one post a month, if that. This includes taking regular photographs of my artwork. Not waiting until every 6mos.

3) contact at least one gallery per month. Here's where I am the most afraid. But even with rejection, it is great practice to finally get to a few that say yes.


So there it is, in writing. Now I am accountable, even if just to myself!

On another note (but still in the talking subject), I shared a booth with two artist friends at the Keep Austin Bizarre Bazaar last December.(you can see all the work at jaynemccoyart.blogspot.com) I was very unsure what to expect, as I had never done an art fair before. This one was pretty small, so nice for a first go at is plus my expenses were kept down with sharing. Other than freezing my butt off- I had a great time! Great conversations with people about both my art and art in general, had quite a few friends come by and say hello (thank you!) and sold some work. Final verdict: exhausting but worthwhile.

Again, met many wonderful people. And a few who freaked out :). Below is the piece that one lady saw while walking by and exclaimed "EWWWWWWWW! THAT'S SO WIERD!!!!" Evidently, she does not share my love for insects :).

"wonderment" 4"x 6" (8x10 framed)

summer is gone

Ahhh, with the arrival of September, my life is creeping towards some basic organization once again. The second part of the summer has flown, and to catch up- I am going to be typing in a few of the events from this last part of the summer...

1) lovely vacation with my family. Watched my sister race in a half-ironman in NY. She placed 3rd in her age group and qualified to compete on Team USA in the World Triathlon championships in Australia this Oct. Amazing. Our Dad also competed in the sprint triathlon the day before and he did really well also! I loved getting to see them both compete and support them.


2) Saw Niagra falls on the way back to Ohio for the first time in 10yrs. Interesting family trip- Falls were beautiful. My son was starving during the whole hike, my sister was limping along, completely exhausted from her race the day before, my mother seemed very moody and kept getting ahead of everybody else, my dad sort of bounced between all of us trying to keep the peace. There is no family picture. :)


3) Rest of time in Ohio goes pretty well. Lots of time with my sister- who has become one of my best friends as we get older. Mother seems very emotionally fragile lately. This is stressful for me. :(. We did go to a wonderful museum in Columbus (Franklin Park, I believe?) that had a butterfly observatory and many greenhouses dedicated to different ecological systems all over the world. Gorgeous.


4)Home again. All of my grains, plus pretty much everything else in the pantry becomes infested with weevils while I was out of town. Bf did not notice this as he does not cook. YAY. Spend rest of week cleaning out entire kitchen.

5) Good news from weevil infestation- I discover my cookbooks again. In my newly clean kitchen, I am cooking up gourmet food like a storm!

6) Triathlon training for me too!- working hard to overcome new psychical challenges like swimming and biking. Doing well and am finally getting back into really great shape. Got completely out of shape during school last two years. Feels good, but takes time.

7) Emotional talks with bf. Heavy- like marriage and children. Feel like annoying stereotypical woman. We have been together for years. We both want this? but the question is when is really the right time. Not on the same page. Still not resolved. Still emotional.

8) Even more emotional fight with my ex. He seems to think that he does not need to ever read the signed agreement to find out when/what his visitation is. Misses it, and is angry at me for holding him accountable. Transitions from holidays always seem to be especially difficult. He sends me incredibly ugly emails that has me reeling for a bit.

9)My son is going into the 5th grade! How did that happen already! He continues to amazing me with how smart and intuitive he is. We still have the teenage years to come, but the young man he is slowly becoming is pretty impressive.

10) Not making much art during this time- feeling incredibly guilty about this. Can't seem to get organized. Can't seem to get ideas organized. Constantly finding other things to do. Distracted.

11) I can finally swim over a mile, bike over 30 and run after it all. Race is September 7th, and I am nervous!

12) Bf is on vacation from work. When he is off, it is like living in a constant music video. He walks around the house playing guitar, or is recording in his studio. It is both wonderful and sometimes wonderfully irritating :). in the best way, of course.

So now the end of summer. Something just hit me this week and I am able to get organized again. I finally wrap my head around how I want to practice my ideas (though I have missed the importance of daily regimented practice lately) and develop latest work. I don't know why this has been so elusive lately. First couple of tries are not so great, but giving me a starting point at least. I am going to try to log in at least 20hours of actual studio time a week this fall. Working and with my son, this is a challenge, but I need to at least get as close as possible. The house will always need to be cleaned and the laundry will need to get done. Work on managing my time more effectively.

Thank you for reading this- and for staying with me when I have so neglected my blog lately! I am looking forward to spending time this weekend catching up on all the blogs I have been missing. I hope your end of the summer has been a sweet and productive transition!!