I had every intention of posting to my blog last week and it escaped me. I realize now that though I share my blog posts when I do a new one I have never vocalized any commitment to regularity. Commitment to that is scary. Life happens and sometimes I don’t get to the things I intend to. My intention is a new post each Monday-and with typing it here I guess that is the commitment I am making. With having said that I will do my very best!
Now, for the reason why I didn’t post, some art news and a general life update.
We got home last week Sunday and I was exhausted. I am pretty sure Cory was too. We had just driven over 4,000 miles round trip and spent three and a half weeks away from home. Cory’s parents were both having medical problems that merited a trip and we decided to go only a day or two after his sister had been with us for a (much needed) visit. All of these goings on during a pandemic we have been taking seriously with no gatherings of multiple households, having not seen many friends or relatives- it felt risky but necessary.
A recurring theme from our trip was how we want to prioritize our health. Spending three days in the car one way left me tired and glad I had brought my kettlebell to exercise with when we arrived. Usually on road trips we make stops to take short hikes and sightsee on the way. This time we were leaving after Cory finished work for the day and were trying to stay ahead of winter storms so we weren’t able to stop like normal. I wasn’t the best about maintaining my daily routine as being away on a different schedule with more people around distracted me somewhat, but I was still able to exercise some mornings and we made a point to bring snowshoes and used those multiple times while we were there. Now that is a workout! As we were staying in Cory’s mom’s house we could utilize her kitchen so we went grocery shopping and stocked up on veggies and drinks like kombucha and kefir. Eating healthy helped get us past feeling sluggish from the time change and days in the car. I’m saying this because road trip or not, I believe my health matters and it should be a priority. Many things happen in life out of my control, but eating healthy and getting exercise are something I can do-even on a road trip- to take care of myself. Taking my kettlebell was an easy way to guarantee I could get a decent workout in while away from home. In the past I even had one shipped to my parents’ house to use while there! If you’ve been reading my posts or following me on Instagram you may know I have scoliosis and with that arthritis and some other fun misalignment problems that cause pain. My routine helps me work better, play better, and recover from road trips, etc better.
Snowshoeing on my mother-in-law’s acreage. Photo by Cory.
Now home from all of this excitement I had a lot of work to do before I could get back to painting. I had three paintings up at Alberta Street Gallery while we were away and finishing up there I had art to mail, (I sold all three I had made for the show between people buying at the show and ordering them from out of state!), commissions to plan, a ton of prints and original work to take to a shop I am newly selling at (more on that shortly), and an art supply run to make as I am starting a BIG new landscape commissioned by Agger Chiropractic for their lobby. It is going to be SO COOL.
My jellyfish (sold) on the far left at the Alberta Street Gallery show.
SO! NEW SHOP ANNOUNCEMENT- I AM SELLING AT LADY FERN IN PARKDALE! I have original work, prints, and woodcut (collab with Cory) pieces there. Check it out next time you go up Mt Hood or are in the Fruit Loop area!
Sorry for the IG stories photo, but it is the only one I took of the sweet print rack my husband made for my work at Lady Fern.
Also, currently I am putting together greeting card packs for sale on my Etsy. They are a cool way to send art to your friends and to say you care when there is still so much social distancing going on.