as of 3•30•2024
"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working."
— Pablo Picasso
"The more I paint, the more I like everything."
— Pierre-Auguste Renoir
"Creativity is intelligence having fun."
— Albert Einstein
I am a curious old woman, no euphemisms necessary. At 77 I have learned to be proud of and grateful for my age. There are many reasons for this, but an important one is that it is significant as an element in my artwork.
I loved art even when I was a child, but I abandoned it for many decades to enjoy experiences with the family that I adore, to focus on my work as a writer and instructional designer, and because I didn't think what I created would pass other people's judgment. But over the years, as children move on and work diminishes, there is time for new seeing, touching, hearing, tasting, feeling, and introspection, all of which are important ingredients for creating art. Age makes you grateful for every sense and wakes you up to a new desire to express those senses and emotions in new ways before all the time is gone. It also gives you much more freedom from the judgment of others. It's a lovely place to be.
I'm curious about everything, but over and over again I'm drawn to the natural world--birds, deer, insects, grasses, dogs and cats, squirrels, feathers, spider webs, flowers, rock formations, human faces, beetles, trees. There is an endless supply of wonderous things every day to fill the senses and capacity for joy. Who wouldn't want to load a paintbrush with a unique color they provide, or cut and paste a shape, line or texture they display, for no other reason than to honor and thank them for sharing this time and planet with you?
It took me a lifetime to call my "spare room" or "craft room" my studio. I felt like that word was reserved for amazingly talented people who are professionals or if not, doing work at that professional level. I since have realized that any place a person chooses to create their art is their studio. It may not be a magnificent dedicated loft in a brick building downtown; it may be a spare room, a corner of the garage, or a dining room table. That's their studio, and this is mine.
Thank you!