Making Windows With Art and Letting the Light In
The beginning of a new solo show and how my art can be used as a window.
I have a solo show at Gallery MAR opening on November 7th here in Park City. I’m well underway in the making of it, my schedule is planned out, and I have a rough idea of what most of the paintings will be of. It’s a process - one that started earlier this year mapping out in my calendar how I will get all the work done, and now I’m in the stage where I just keep plugging away. I’ve got a road map and now it’s time to follow it.
Last year, I wrote about how I use my engineering skills to plan the work of the show - everything from sizing to scheduling. At the beginning of the summer, I decided on the sizes of paintings I would make and placed an order with my frame and panel builder. Then at the end of June and beginning of July, I started pouring through my images from the last couple years to see what inspired me to come up with compositions. I have a folder filled with images that serve as inspiration to dip into when deciding what to paint.
Each show also has a theme, and how I go about deciding that varies greatly from year to year. Sometimes it’s about what I’m feeling at that moment, other times it’s inspired by what I see going on in the world and my reaction to it. Last year’s show “Grounded” was all about including a foreground in all the work, while the one before that, “Embodied” was about physical and emotional connections to the American West.
This year’s theme came about after a conversation I had with Maren Mullin of Gallery MAR and some recent comments from clients. Maren and I were discussing some sizes, and she reminded me of an interesting painting I had done years ago - a diptych, but a vertical one. The client wanted a really large painting, but because of my size limitations, I had to split it up into two panels, stacked on top of each other. Afterwards I got thinking of what other groupings I could do.
I was also thinking about some feedback I’ve gotten over the years that a lot of clients like my work because it feels like an extra window. In fact, I recently worked on a commission for clients that wanted a painting that brought their backyard into the home, so when you stand in the living room, you felt as if it were a continuous view.
My paintings embody the feeling of the surrounding landscape and the organic, ethereal nature of the work, can feel like a portal to the outdoors. Perhaps they are magic windows after all, offering a enchanted portal to a dreamlike space - a place of possibility, of peace and calm, a connection with the environment, as if you could just reach out your hand, you might step through into a different place.
So, I’m working on a theme this year about these portals, these windows into the outdoors, a chance for you to contemplate a new reality, one of your dreams and your own making. I’m not trying to create photo realistic landscapes - that’s not the point of my art. Rather, I’m working to create a calming presence and a reminder that nature isn’t separate, it’s all around us and we’re connected if you let yourself.
What is a window after all? At it’s most basic, it’s simply a physical barrier that protects you from the elements, but one that let’s you see out while also letting the light in, and god knows we need all the light we can get right now. Our homes are safe havens, where we go to recharge, regroup, rest, and recover. And windows to the outdoors help us plan and dream about what we want to see in the world.
As I was pondering these ideas last month, I kept saying over and over in my head, “It’s how the light gets in” and I had to go find the Leonard Cohen song/poem, “Anthem” to remember how the whole thing goes. Luckily, it was as I had hoped to align with my thinking about the show, and also has offered me some advice for my work. Interpretations are what you make of them, some see this poem as a take on letting go of perfection, others as a take on democracy and forging on despite things being broken, or perhaps a reflection on how we confront our failings by finding the cracks and working through them.
For me, the song is bittersweet, an emotion I strangely love, and it makes me think of pottery, broken and repaired with the Japanese art of Kintsugi, the art of repair. In Kintsugi, craftspeople heal broken pottery by forging the pieces with resin and gold, creating beautiful works highlighting the imperfections. None of us are perfect, we all have our baggage, our problems, our quirks, and our trauma, but all of those things make us uniquely US, and they give us powerful insights into the world around us.
My depression from the last few years, isn’t some moral failure and while it sucked during the middle, now I understand pain and sorrow in a way that I never understood before. Those scars and cracks aren’t something to be glossed over or hidden away, but something that lets me have greater empathy with myself and also with others who have suffered. Cracks show where the pain is or was, and they give me a chance to connect and share my souls with others. And through that act of connection, we let the light in.
So embrace your pain, your sorrow, your hurts, your bruises. Reflect on how you have grown from them, how they make you see the world in a new way, and how they have made you who you are. The cracks are portals for understanding ourselves and each other. So keep an eye out for the cracks - those are your openings to share in the song of humanity, to connect deeply with others, and the world around you. Let the light in.
What I’m Into This Week
↠ Really proud to be part of our local Elks Lodge where this weekend we celebrated the work of our local first responders with an awards ceremony for Firefighters, Paramedics, Sheriffs, Police and Dispatchers. These people are integral members of our community and keep us safe and help us in times of need. If you’re looking for a service organization and good people in your local community, perhaps consider becoming an Elk. We are after all the Best People On Earth.
↠ Outside is the New Inside - Make your art outside
Enjoyed this article by artist David Speed about making art for the sake of making art, outside, for all the world to see. Let’s stop relying on the algorithm to share our work and instead connect with real people in the real world by sharing your art in real time. I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, and definitely want to do more of this.
↠ Self Employed, Self Exhausted
As a small business owner, (aka, an artist), the work is all my own for better or for worse. I make the work, the wins are mine, but so are the mistakes and the hard work. This was a nice read to remember while I’m responsible for my own work, I’m not alone in the struggle. Also a reminder that I don’t have to muscle my way through.
↠ What Is Even Instagram Now - Wired Magazine
This is how I feel about Instagram lately. Sent this to my friend Anna Brones after discussing our lack of enthusiasm for the app. Her response - “That opening paragraph 😳” Also check out Anna’s recent post, “Women In Trees” that was featured in Substack’s Weekender post.
Your work is beautiful! I am sure you will have a great show.
Seeing your pieces in their new homes was lovely.