Grounded Opens This Friday in Jackson
In which I share images of the new work for "Grounded", opening Friday, March 7th at Gallery Wild in Jackson
The week is here! After 3 months of work, the show opens this week in Jackson at Gallery Wild. The new show called, “Grounded” is my attempt to work through the problem of what it means to be grounded. I was asked in an interview last week if I had succeeded. “Did I finish what I set out to do?” she asked.
My response was that it was a grossly unfair question to ask an artist! Did you succeed? No, of course not, and I would never presume to have done so, because my work is ever evolving and I will never get it done. Which is perhaps the most grounded realization of my life.
The work is never done.
A few years ago, I would have been disheartened by this, but I’m finding it so freeing, because it’s like a weight off my shoulders. I don’t have to “get it done.” I don’t have to check off all the things on my to-do list. I don’t have to finish, even if I started something.
The nature of the world, is that nothing is ever done, not completely. The rivers shift and flow, the mountains crumble and grow, and the winds howl and blow. We evolve alongside the world, never stepping in the same river twice, because we have changed and it has as well. And because it all changes, sometimes so slowly we don’t notice, and others so rapidly we are startled, it means there is always opportunity, and grief alongside it. And that is ok.
My work isn’t done just because the show is hanging on the walls. I’ve already begun painting anew. I’m working on that whole “celebrate and give yourself a break” thing too. And even though my heart is breaking at the change I’m seeing in the world, I’m reveling at the change I see within myself.
This show includes 23 new wax works, about half encaustic and half cold wax in a range of sizes from 12x12 studies up to a 40x60 in diptych. You may wonder from the images which are the encaustic and which are the cold wax, but if you see them in person, you’ll be able to tell. I like that the two mediums are feeding off each other, and I’m excited and curious to see where this new work will take me.
If you’re interested in any of the work shown here, please contact Gallery Wild directly to inquire. The Jackson opening is Friday, March 7th from 5-8pm and anyone is welcome to join.
Gorgeous!! Congratulations!
What a major milestone - opening night! The artwork is beautiful.