Some thoughts from the Studio

I've been thinking lately about galleries.

I currently have five pieces in two different galleries, which is something I'm really pleased about. There's something about seeing my work in a gallery that still feels a little bit surreal. I think part of the allure is simply that feeling of having my work taken seriously enough to be invited into a space where people go specifically to look at art.

And yet, I continue to submit work for shows and gallery opportunities even though the part that comes afterward—the artists' reception—is not exactly my favorite thing because I'm an introvert. Very much so.

Put me behind a booth at an art show and I can talk to people all day. I actually enjoy those conversations. But put me in a room full of artists and strangers at a reception and suddenly I remember approximately 49 reasons why I could be home drawing instead.

Still, I keep submitting.

I suppose that's because putting my work out into the world matters to me more than my discomfort with doing it. And every once in a while, being accepted into a show or gallery feels like a little nudge that says, keep going.

I've also been spending a lot of time at outdoor shows this summer, which brings me to one of my favorite peculiarities of art-show life: “Rain or shine.”

Apparently “rain or shine” has an asterisk.

At a recent show, a thunderstorm blew through, and shortly afterward the vendors were told that we could break down early. I understand why, of course. Nobody wants to be standing under a tent during a storm.

But I usually hang on until the end anyway.

This time I made only a few small sales during that extra stretch, so it wasn't exactly a brilliant business decision. But I watched quite a few people walking by who were clearly disappointed that the show was closing just as they arrived—people who believed they were arriving on time because, well, they were.

It made me wonder how many potential connections and sales get lost when a show disappears just as people are finally getting there.

Anyway. That's probably enough of my little art-show grumbling.

Back in the studio, I'm still making small things.

I've started working on these little ink-drawn pendants, which have been a fun change of scale. I like the challenge of taking what I normally do on a larger piece of paper and figuring out how to make it work in such a tiny space. I'm still experimenting with them, but I thought I'd share a peek at what I'm working on.

I'm also continuing to make some of the smaller nature pieces that aren't birds. These mushrooms are a good example. I find that I don't really want to limit myself too much when I'm drawing. Birds are very much at the center of my work right now, but there are so many interesting little pieces of the natural world that catch my attention.

Sometimes it's a bird, sometimes it's a mushroom, and apparently, sometimes it's a mushroom from underneath.

And then there are the flowers.

Before birds became such a large part of what I was doing, my work was much more centered around flower compositions. I still have a few of those pieces around, and something interesting happens whenever I put one in my booth.

People stop and look.  They tell me how much they like them. And quite often, that eventually turns into a print sale.

Most people, though, seem to enter my booth because they see the birds. So I've been wondering what would happen if I brought those two things together.

The piece I'm working on now takes some of the ideas from those earlier flower compositions and adds a bird to the picture.

I'm curious whether it will have the same appeal as the flower pieces, while also giving people the bird that initially caught their attention.

I don't know yet.

That's one of the things I like about where I am with my work right now. I'm still experimenting. I'm still noticing what people respond to. I'm still trying things simply because I'm curious about what might happen.

I don't always know exactly where this artistic journey is taking me.  I just know that I want to keep paying attention.

And apparently, keep drawing birds, flowers, mushrooms, and whatever else happens to catch my eye.😉