I'm happy to say that after weeks of feeling tired and aimless, I've had a great week and feel like I'm heading in a good direction.
It started off with a visit to art dealer Grey Carter's house last Saturday. Grey is a collector and dealer of Visionary Art and represents a variety of artists, many of whom have been featured at the American Visionary Art Museum. It is always inspiring to see the work of other artists, and my wife and I were particularly taken with the work of JJ Cromer. I was inspired to get it into gear and start cleaning and organizing the studio on Sunday.
Also, on Sunday, I was able to take in the artwork of good friend and metal sculptor Brian Kirk at an artist's reception at a local winery. I taught alongside of Brian for nine years when I taught high school art. Over the last few years Brian has been exploring rust prints and has devised a way to have steel objects, shapes, and plates rust onto watercolor paper. The results are unpredictable and very stunning. At the reception, I ran into another artist/teacher friend Steve Loya and his wife, and we spent the rest of the afternoon at another local winery catching up and having a lovely time. Steve is a longtime friend and author of the blog Go Flying Turtle. His Splotch Monsters are amazing.
So it was an art filled weekend, and though the week wasn't filled with as much art, I had a great week at school. Teaching art at the elementary level can be an amazing experience. The kids come up with some incredibly creative things, and their curiosity can't be beat. Too bad many of them lose those qualities as they grow. I also had time to finish the cleaning and organizing of my studio (See the photo above). I now have space to work, and I can actually find things. It was nice to purge.
To cap off a great week, I was able to work on some of my own art last night, and I feel like I'm getting back into the groove. And afterward, I spent the chilly evening relaxing in front of a perfect fire in the backyard fire pit. It is so calming to watch a fire burn.
What a great week. I feel like I'm opening up and letting the universe in.