This week was a good one, as I had a couple of revelations thanks to my studio mate Patti. Patti is a glass artist and works along side me so to speak, (actually just across the studio from me through a closed door as she has a kiln) I see Patti most often as I keep morning hours and the other artists that I share the studio with don't.
With another open studios show coming up at Gstudio in September, a few things happen right now: committing to the show through the Napa Valley Open Studios group, pony-ing up cash for the entry and a commitment to what may be in the way of art. That last item tends to be the hardest.
I am constantly striving to generate not just new work but work that is mine but fresh, better, different. But with an open studios show every six months, it's a real challenge to allow myself the time to explore what I want to be painting, to challenge myself to push myself as an artist, paint with abandon, take risks and produce something that is my next personal step.
Within that context, Patti and I agreed that we both have plenty of inventory to show that each of us consider "safe" and commercially successful. And that was when we had our simultaneous light bulb moment, knowing that we had all this inventory and instead of working on padding out that inventory, to take these few precious months and try something. Make the art that has been bugging me at the back of my mind, rolling over and over, trying to find a way out.
I have three beautifully built 44" square custom stretchers, and four additional canvases that are now earmarked for my something different. Stay tuned.
Thanks Patti. That's why I love where I work and what I do.
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