Remembering

Being in Delaware Water Gap is not about making art, and I need to remember that. I always have high hopes of feeling creative while I’m here, hanging out in the space where I used to paint for so many years. There is a small area that I keep carved out in the room where I spent so many happy hours and that now functions mostly for storage. I always imagine that I will feel enticed to spend time in that room sitting at the drafting table drawing and painting small things. I keep paints, pencils, charcoal, paper at hand just in case, but it never seems to happen. So accept it, Susan, and release the feelings of self-doubt and guilt that go along with not creating for two or three whole weeks at a time.

Remember that being in Delaware Water Gap is about doing lots of Reiki, selling mandalas, showing paintings, seeing friends, listening to music at the Deer Head, taking walks, and having fun. It’s about reconnecting with my history, staying connected to so many people that I love, keeping my East coast energy alive and well. And that’s more than enough.

Seven years into this process, still loving the art of being bi-coastal.

Onward…

This has been an amazing summer for me.   I’ve barely left home.  And I have developed what for me is almost like a routine.  Emails in the morning.  Sit outside, eat lunch, and read a little.  Work in the garden.  Work in the studio.  Work in the garden a bit more if there is still light in the sky.  Make a basket or a bracelet.  Cook dinner with lots of wonderful things from the garden.  Watch a movie.  Sleep.

A very simple, magical summer!

Tonight is the opening at ESU.  Finally!

Then on to the Jazz Festival!  Come see this and other drawings there!  And of course, Anita’s fabulous jewelry, Marci’s great photos, Stan’s inspirational music, lots of mandalas, and more…

Back home at the end of September to establish another routine.  Onward!  Upward?  Let’s hope so!

The Time Has Come

Deep Meadow

It seemed so far away when Jan Selving first asked me to be in a show with her, Andrea Levergood, and Susan Lange.  I felt honored and there was plenty of time to get ready.  Endless time with the show itself in the distant future. And now…

It’s here. The show opens a week from today on Thursday, September 8th at ESU in the Fine Arts Building.

I am filled with an equal amount of anticipation and dread. Revealing the work is revealing myself.  Not always easy.  Not always fun.  But always worthwhile, as I keep telling myself.

So if you can make it, please come to the opening next week.  Try to be kind!

My Empty Nest

Terrifying!

what are the odds?

To get some insight, I’ve been pulling cards from a deck that I made about a year ago.  In the past week, I’ve chosen three cards, and no lie…I’ve gotten the same card all three times.

What are the odds of that happening?

The universe is really trying to tell me something and I am really trying to listen.

I guess that it’s all about the upcoming four-person show that I’m going to be in at East Stroudsburg University in September.  The work is finished and so now comes the most challenging part:  going to the opening.

OK, I get the message!  I will set aside my insecurities about my work and about myself.  I’ll forget all my memories of past openings and how I dread them.  I will trust my instincts about the work and remember the joy I experienced while creating it.

I will go to the opening feeling calm and open.  I’ll look forward to seeing my friends and to meeting new people.  I’ll talk and laugh and drink some wine.  I’ll visualize people liking the work, and I’ll have fun.  I’ll remember picking this card three times, and I’ll think…pretty damn good odds…