update!

1: The Religions in Conversations conference was so much fun- I sat in on the poetry readings for most of the day. It was so pleasant to sip ginger lemon tea (they had a vegan/raw foods caterer called Rawmazing Food- http://www.rawmazingfood.com/- very yummy) and sit in the auditorium listening to interesting words. The poems were displayed in the lobby of Garrison Theatre – they looked nice, all fancied-up in their frames. 

2: On October 2 B and I went to a lecture at Scripps (put on by the Scripps College Press, so of course we went) presented by artist Diane Samuels. She was AMAZING. Here’s her website, but unfortunately, you won’t get a very good idea of her work from it- http://dianesamuels.net/. Her work is incredibly thoughtful and detail-oriented. I told her afterward that, for me, she had really thrown open the doors to what it meant to be detail-oriented and meticulous. What also struck me about her work was her willingness to experiment with different ideas and not to worry about “wasting time” trying things that may not work. She had installations that were borne out of many, if not dozens, of experimental pieces that were themselves finished and beautiful, but that she felt just didn’t “work” perfectly.

I have had a lot more free time since the conference, and I’ve been experimenting with some drawing projects. Ms. Samuels has inspired me to just try things, and not to just try them for fifteen minutes, but to start and finish something even if I don’t know completely what I’m doing, or even if I think I don’t like what I’m doing after a couple hours of work. I went through a pile of unfinished projects about a week ago and found an idea I’d had for a drawing about the Fruit of the Spirit. I had an idea for what I thought I wanted to do, but couldn’t do that particular idea at the moment, so I decided to experiment with color and media in preparation for that idea. At first, I really didn’t like it. But I decided I’d finish it anyway, just because there were more things I could learn….and now that it’s done, I’ve really grown to love it (see below- 20x25 in, pens on paper). But that’s not all- last night I thought of another way I could to the same drawing, using a different medium, and I’m really excited to experiment with that. 

3: I’m now selling work at Belle’s Nest in Sierra Madre! It’s a lovely little shop- all local artists, run by two sisters, and they have great pieces. Those little owls on the blog arrived the same day I did my interview with Gloria (one of the sisters) and they are adorable- completely impractical, but adorable. Anyway, it’s a great opportunity to get some publicity and be a part of a little community (unlike etsy). We’ll see how it goes- I had some cards in a consignment shop in Potsdam once, and I think over a period of four years I sold $10-worth. ;)

4: One of my favorite contemporary artists just published her first book! I’ve only looked at the first few pages so far and it is…scrumptrulescent. Truly.