Now More Then Ever
It has been hard to want to do anything business-wise this past week. Posting feels silly, writing feels hard, even making art feels a little cumbersome and pointless. All I have wanted to do is hug my kids and slow down. To sit in the still morning and listen to the birds and breathe. I have felt deep sorrow, intense anger and such helplessness. This country again and again keeps disappointing, slipping further and further away from the values I try to teach my kids about difference, choice, beauty, goodness. My heart hurts for the families in Texas; as a parent the love of your child is endless. I feel anger that politicians put guns above children. That parents, teachers and kids have to bear the brunt of shootings in schools because of greedy, NRA-funded a-holes. And I feel completely clueless on what to do besides give money and call my senators.
I have a big show coming up in a few days in Aspen, CO. I have been making artwork for months now, preparing and sinking into painting. Month by month this dream of shaping an artistic business, building a career that fits my life rather than my life fitting around a job, is happening. My love of creating, being in my studio and in my rhythm, is mixing with brave steps I am taking out in the external world where opportunities are occurring. I’m working with the voices in my head that feed me the starving artist myths, gently telling them to take a backseat and quiet down a bit. It is easy, in the wake of another national tragedy, to dismiss all of this as trivial and not important. Easy to tell myself not to share my art on social media, in my newsletter, and via word of mouth. But in fact, mixed in with the phone calls to senators and the money to Moms Demand Action, is the importance of sharing joy, the things that light me up, my gifts. In fact it is a piece of the puzzle that cannot be forgotten, for without people doing what they love and what makes them ripple with electric energy , the world will remain dark and uninspired. Change won’t happen with imagining and creativity hidden away; beauty and light are some of the tools needed to create change in the systems that oppress and spread violence and hate.
What are things that you love so deeply that bring you joy and have the capacity to bring others happiness? Don’t hide these gift away. Rather weave them into the rich fabric of your life; hold the hardships with the beauty as much as possible.