During the first several months of Alexandria's life, I put my art making aside and focused entirely on caring for my new daughter, as it should be for a brand new mom. By about 8 weeks or so after the birth, I found myself aimlessly wandering my mind and also the house (which is saying a lot, since our apartment only has 4 1/2 rooms minus the tiny bathroom - but you don't really wander around in tiny bathroom...) and in a word: bored and watching too much TV on Hulu (make that 8 words). That is precisely when one of my college art professors (who doubles as a good friend) came to visit and told me point blank that being all-consumed with the baby is good for a time, but after a while I need to still try and be myself and get back into doing the things that I love - or in other words, "KEEP MAKING ART!!!"
This summer I set some goals for myself. One of them is to have a collection of work that is worthy of a show in a local gallery (make that a local and humble gallery) or art venue by next fall. Another goal, among many, is to make work that is meaningful to me and that gets me excited (otherwise, what would the fun be in making it?). So far, I have done a horrible job at fulfilling my goals, as I never have been one to be motivated by my own self-inflicted pep talks. And then last week, in the middle of having a pity party while Eric graciously listened and inserted the appropriate comments here and there, I started surfing Etsy. (If you aren't familiar to Etsy, click HERE. Your life will be changed.) It doesn't take much to be inspired by the things you see on that site. Seriously, what pity-partying artist is not inspired by seeing the work of thousands of artists and craftsmen (who are all ordinary people, by the way) all together in one place?!? (It also makes me feel a tad lazy, but that's a post for another day)
That being said, I have found a new avenue in my art making endeavorers. I am newly inspired and have already created two new pieces which will be a part of a series of about 10 or so. The best part is that Eric has become very involved in what I am creating (and is just as excited about it!) and has been my right hand man in the creating/executing process. After all, who knows cameras and flashes better than he does?!? And while I can't reveal what I am working on just yet (I know you're dying to see) I can tell you that it involves Alexandria (the watercolor version, of course) and some rather curious animals...
Last night after Alexandria was in bed, I got so into what I was working on that I had to go ahead and just finish it. I made that decision at 9:30 pm. By 11:30 pm, I had employed two other people to help me finish (it's amazing what homemade turkey soup in a homemade bread bowl can do as a manipulation device...) and my dining room table had all but disappeared underneath the mountain of paper cutting and paints and flour dust and other stuffs that had accumulated on it.
By midnight, the piece was perfect.
Even though I only got about 6 hours of sleep last night (a baby who goes to bed at 7 pm generally doesn't sleep much past 8 am), it was a lot of fun. So here's to early mornings with a cute baby and snuggly cats after a wild night of too much creativity!
Cheers.
this I love
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