Fresh New Work Headed to Gallery Wild in Jackson
In which I unveil some new paintings while we are enroute to deliver them to Jackson and tango with the stories we tell ourselves.
Did you ever think you would be here, in the place you are, doing what you’re doing, at this moment in time? I sure didn’t, and lately it’s all felt quite surreal.1 Obviously, I wasn’t in possession of a crystal ball, but I never could have imagined I would be here, that we would all be here. Not only as an artist, but in Utah, living in a cabin, snowmobiling for 6 months, or be the owner of 2 dogs. I never expected any of it - could have never guessed the good, the bad, the hard, or the fun times I’ve had. Maybe it’s a mid-life crisis speaking up, more likely it’s the state of the world2, but this year has me thinking about how I want my life to be going forward.
We all tell ourselves stories about our lives, our origins, the things that have happened to us, who we were, are, and what we do. Stories like - how I quit engineering to become an artist, how I’m an artist who has to snowmobile my work out in the winter; that I’m a teacher, a writer, a dog mom, a wife of a firefighter, that I’m a terrible snowmobiler, but a great gluten free baker. These stories become so central to our lives and we hold them so close grasping onto them as if they were precious jewels. But sometimes, those stories become anchors, holding us down, keeping us back.
I’ve talked about this before, how I always thought I was too sensitive, that I wasn’t tough enough. But that was just a story I told myself. A friend of mine recently told me how when she’s doing something really hard, especially something outdoors, she thinks about how I have to snowmobile home, and thinks, “If Bridgette can do that, then I can do this.” Fuck. I was honored. And that made me think about a girlfriend of mine, who I think is so strong in spirit and who has overcome some truly hard times. I’ve always considered her my standard bearer for someone who was tough as nails. So it blew me away that I could be that for another person. And maybe I can be sensitive and tough at the same time.
All this to say, I’m pondering the stories I tell myself and the limiting beliefs I might have. Did you know that a belief is just a story we tell ourselves over and over again? Did you know you can change your story at any moment? For whatever reason, to something, someone completely different if you want. You may not be able to change the law of gravity, but perhaps you could become someone who was a good dancer; someone who could do that really loud ear-piercing whistle with their fingers in their mouth; someone who wrote a novel, skied down couloirs, played the ukulele, wasn’t afraid of snakes, loved jazz, could arrange flowers, put their laundry away right away, or meditated regularly.
I’ve said for so many years how I don’t like meditating, that I wasn’t good at it. But I started meditating this year. Just 5 minutes when I can in the morning. Even writing it makes me cringe a little because I’ve had such an aversion to it for years that I’m not sure I want to admit to having a mediation practice. I’m not a changed person yet, but I decided to at least stop telling myself that I was bad at it. And sometimes when I sit there listening to the birds in the morning, my thoughts actually do slip away.
And then taking that one step further - what is the story I actually want to tell? Am I the person my 16 year old self would have thought was amazing? Or at least kinda cool? If I can be anything, what do I actually want to be and do right now? What new dreams do I have now, and can I let go of those old dreams that maybe I no longer need or want? Something I know for sure for myself is that no matter what, I want to have more fun along the way. The last four years haven’t been that much fun, and I think we all need way more fun in our lives right now.3
I wrote a list the other day of things I thought were fun - biking, hiking, paddle boarding, skiing, camping, wake surfing, but also reading, baking, watching rom-coms, coffee dates with friends, a long lunch at a restaurant mid-week, thrift store shopping, cloud watching, book stores, farmer’s markets, impromptu dinners with friends, board games, dressing up for dinner out, and picnics. Sound off in the comments and list out some things that are fun. Maybe we can help remind each other of all the wonderful things there are out there.
Today we are headed up there to Jackson, WY to deliver some new paintings to Gallery Wild. I’ve been having more fun in the studio lately, trying to really focus on that goal I had earlier this year - quality over quantity. Also, listening to the ACOTAR series audiobooks makes the time fly. I’ve been experimenting with cold wax (I have SO much to tell about this!), playing a lot of Wingspan (which is SUPER fun if you like board games), and trying to befriend a hurt raven in my neighborhood (although sadly, I haven’t seen it in days, so I am worried about it). I’m also very much looking forward to a few days of camping with all my boys.
Curious about any of the new work - please contact Gallery Wild directly.
info@gallerywild.com | 307.203.2322
They may have warned us about a global pandemic, but that seemed far-fetched years ago, so maybe I shouldn’t be surprised at all that is happening now. Especially because I am convinced the Mayans were right and the world as we knew it actually did end in 2012, and we are now on some insane alternate timeline. It wasn’t supposed to end up like this, and now we’re all trapped in the upside-down. I’m just hopeful this ends more like Sliding Doors and that we took a slightly detour rather than any of the following apocalypse movies - The Day After Tomorrow, The Hunger Games, Snowpiercer, Waterworld, Mad Max, Armagedon, Civil War, I Am Legend, etc. I’ll tell you right now, I don’t have it in me to fight zombies for the rest of my life.
Can I block my browser so I can’t hit refresh on CNN 30 times a day?
Wait. Am I actually having a mid-life crisis? I haven’t bought a new car, but I did get bangs in April…. Or is this just adulting?