These days I find myself often reverting back to what I used to tell my students. “Just go do the work. Time will bring it all together.”
My dear mother passed away a little more than a year ago. And even though I am still grieving for the loss of her in my life as well as caregiving for my husband, work in the studio is indeed going on. All the work I do on the house, in the laundry room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom have their different rewards but nothing grounds me like being in the studio. Nothing else brings my spirit back like the work of the studio. Even walks down the wooded paths that lead from home to the natural world no longer lighten my load or show me the way to my spiritual path. And although caregiving for Alan fills my being with love, it does not settle like contentment in my soul.
Time in the studio comes on unpredictable days and hours of the day. Often, because of caregiving a trip across the garden to the studio won’t start until noon and then might end suddenly at 3. Or it may start at 10 and go through until 5 with breaks for medication and meals. Because of this I no longer work with medias that require set up times or clean up that must happen on the spot and could take 45 minutes or more. I have learnt to compensate. I mostly use textile paints again, while also dying with tea and coffee which can be left indefinitely in the pot and requires virtually no clean up. Stitching is of course an easy one. I have also been painting small works on cradle boards and then using them as a springboard for textiles pieces that begin with digital printing on fabric of the original acrylic painting.
I now have a small cart with art materials in the house to work with in the morning. That time spent painting and drawing in my sketchbook has been amazing for the growth of my larger pieces once I get into the studio.
I am slowly updating my website and now reaching out to you in this format again.
In the meantime follow this link to view the paintings on cradle board and I’ll be in touch again soon. http://www.cherscapes.com/new-gallery
xoxo Cher
Studio from the north side.
Acrylic painting on panel