Life is messy. Paint anyway!
broken clasp
broken clasp
Max
Max
flood trash
flood trash
flood of 2019
flood of 2019
What do all of these images have in common? They don't seem to have
anything to do with art, do they? Yet they are all connected. One of
the challenges of making art for a living is keeping up the momentum.
It sometimes feels like the normal (and not-so-normal) events of life
get in the way of where we want to go. The favorite necklace that broke
a clasp right when I was getting dressed up on Mothers' Day, our
beloved Max who got old and very sick when I was creating an important
series, the pile of trash generated by damage from a city drain
back-up, again, while in the midst of a project, and the not so minor
flood on a fellow artist's street. Any of these things can have the
power to derail us if we give them that power...if we forget that the
very nature of life is that it's full of disruptions. It's how we
respond to them that shows our true character and gives us the
opportunity to inspire others to persevere.
I don't know about you, but I sometimes get torqued over the stupidest
things and then feel a little embarrassed when I realize they're really
no big deal compared to someone else's difficulty or when I think of
how bad it COULD have been. The necklace was a no-brainer...just wear
something else and move on. I admit I was a little bummed out at first.
I really wanted to wear that necklace! But by the time I reached church
I had forgotten entirely. And that is as it should be.
Max was a different matter. Max adored me. He always seemed to know
when I needed comfort and his purr was so loud it always made me smile
no matter what else was going on. He would cup his paw in the crook of
my elbow and pull on it just when I was about to apply paint to canvas
with that arm. I worked a regular full time job back then and so my
painting sessions were necessarily late at night. Max simply would not
go to sleep at night unless he could curl up under my chin. By the way,
if that makes me the neighborhood cat lady, I embrace it
wholeheartedly. Max was more loyal than I deserved. I was working on a
painting about the time it was clear he would not recover. It's been
several years since he left us and I still have not finished that
painting. Molly, the cat we have now, won't tolerate being held more
than ten seconds at a time, doesn't purr, and I'm not opening the door
to find out how loyal she is just yet. I gotta say that if it weren't
for Molly, who NEVER interrupts my painting sessions, yet loves me in
her aloof sort of way, I might not have realized how blessed I was by
Max's unbridled affection. I would welcome his kind of interruptions
any day!
Now, about the flood that wreaked havoc in SE Michigan a week and a
half ago...
You may have seen it in the news. Severe thunderstorms seemed to suck
up a whole lake and dump it out on several cities all at once. What
would already have been a good sized calamity was made much worse for
some communities whose city officials had neglected maintenance of
their storm drain system. Ours was one. We've never had a flooding
problem in our basement before because we're at the apex of the street
and everything runs off downhill from us. We were not spared this one.
We awoke to a burbling sound and discovered a few inches of water
pooled up near each drain. You should have seen these two old people
fly into action, me bailing water into Home Depot buckets and Wes
carrying them up and out to the street almost as fast as I filled them.
Someone told us later that this would have been technically
ineffective, but it worked somehow, probably because the rain had
already stopped and the water soon began to recede anyway. Whatever the
reason, we felt fortunate that it wasn't worse, especially when we
thought of the folks who live right across from Ecorse Creek. And we
were also grateful that my studio is upstairs. As it turned out we lost
only our carpeting and a lot of junk we needed to throw out anyway.
We're not even filing an insurance claim because we had already planned
to get rid of the carpet eventually and we don't want our insurance to
go up over such minor damage. But while we were still in the midst of
tearing out the carpet ourselves (everyone else was busy tearing out
their own carpet) my aching body was in agony. At one point I stopped
working, sat on the basement steps rubbing my bum left knee and prayed
for help or the strength to go on. Strength was given and we finished
the job in two days, just in time to prevent our home from becoming a
black mold statistic. It has taken me more than a week to get my
stamina back. I'm just now getting back to painting. I've got three
projects for other people that are nearing their deadlines and I'll
need to work in high gear to get them done....and that's with a fairly
minor interruption. Others did nor fare as well.
This morning I had a conversation via text with fellow artist, Elena
Adam whose cars (gone now) and house are pictured above. I asked if any
of her paintings were damaged. She shared with me that the water
flooded in her door and down her basement steps and filled it up to
three steps from the top. Her studio was safe though because she'd
moved it upstairs after the last flood in 2014 destroyed EVERYTHING in
her basement studio; art books, oil paintings, supplies, furniture and
more. When I asked how long it was before she was able to get back to
painting, she said she was so heartbroken that it took a year to start
up again. But start again she did!
A person of lesser character might have given in to despair at this
point. But Elena is resilient. Other interruptions and painful losses
in her life have taught her to persevere. All you have to do is take a
look at the delightful pet portraits
she does to know that she
will be more than ok.
So....the next time something temporarily prevents you from working on
your next masterpiece or anything important to you, be it a necklace,
your kitty, or your studio...just take a deep breath, cry on the
basement steps if you need to, and pray for the strength to take care
of it. Expect that life will bring you flash-floods from time to time.
Be strong and ready to start over when the waters recede. Thanks,
Elena, for your perseverance.
Sanctuary
"Sanctuary" 4" x 4" Oil on hardboard
Painting Giveaway
Just a reminder that I'm giving away a small oil painting at the end of
May. This is for my newsletter subscribers only. Here are details about
the giveaway.
If you don't already receive my newsletter, but would like to,
subscribe here and you
will be automatically included in the drawing.
Alyna, pictured here, just finished her second acrylic painting,
working at her own pace, learning just what she wanted to know and
choosing her own subject matter.
Alyna, pictured here, just finished her second acrylic painting,
working at her own pace, learning just what she wanted to know at the
point she needed it and choosing her own subject matter.
You nailed it, Alyna!
Call For Students
If you or someone you know living in the Detroit Metro Area would enjoy
an open studio-style art class for themselves or their child (Grade 3
and up), please share this newsletter with them and ask them to contact
me via jandale@dalehousemurals.net for details.
If adult groups are interested in doing a paint party, I can arrange
that at a special group rate.
Sent from:
{{FASO_DOMAIN}}
{{AM_COMPANY_NAME}}
{{AM_COMPANY_ADDRESS}}
{{AM_CSZ}}
{{AM_COUNTRY}} Artful Mail by FASO
Learn More about ArtfulMail
unsubscribe from this newsletter