Christmas 2013 I'm back!

After a 3+ year hiatus I am finally no longer encumbered by owning and running a restaurant. The restaurant was formulated as a solution to the economic downturn of 2008. We have now closed the restaurant and are expecting to sell it in the next few weeks. In the mean time I'll once again be able to focus on some creativity while also being caregiver for my mother. For the last 3 years Mom has been living in either assisted living or a nursing home while Jon and I worked 14 hour days. Now that we are no longer tied to the cafe our plan is to bring Mom back home to live with us. My studio is about 2 blocks from home and since Mom seldom is awake before noon, I can spend my mornings there. Another activity will be pulling my time and attention, as well. We'll be prepping the house with intent to put it on the market. We'll try to have it ready for a very well done staging by March. That'll involve extreme removal of extraneous "Stuff" that has made its way into our lives over many years. It is time to severely downsize and divest ourselves of the junk of our lives. Once the house sells we'll be returning to Florida to be in the vicinity of our children and grandchildren. It feels lovely to say that.

As I write this we are in Florida with our kin. It is warm—a  far cry from the miserable weather previously and currently happening in the Missouri Ozarks. We had carolers in shorts at the door last night.

As I look forward to extended periods of creativity I am also a bit alarmed. Do I still have an artistic voice? Do I have anything to say visually?

My game plan is to simply begin by journaling a bit, collecting imagery that inspires me and play in the studio using materials with which I am quite familiar. I am hoping my muscle memory gradually responds to the motions and internal conversations are started back up.....or ...new conversations are started.

This is what I know—

• I love to work tactilely and texture is an important element of my work
• Color remains an element that evokes emotions
• I love various forms of printmaking and mark making
• I like to apply printmaking to fabric
• I am attracted to natural elements
• I like to make commentary about life, often pointing out irony. 
• Humor is an important element to my life. Perhaps to my art.
• My focus will first be creating art for my sake—to entertain, stretch or play
• The future remains unknown and a bit scary
• I am excited about it

With the long days of the cafe behind us, I am most hopeful that my creative energy will once again be accessible. Most of the time I was simply too exhausted to do more than long for studio time. There was simply no juice to fuel the creative center. But I kept paying rent for my studio even though I have probably spent less than 30 hours in it in the last three years.

To those of you who have remained on my blog subscription, thank you. I do hope to expand my reach and have the opportunity to influence lives in a positive way through my art or at least, artful living.

~~Susan