There always seems to be a tug-o-war between my desires to create things in my studio and my life outside my Studio.

This year is no exception.

Life things:

We need to find a way to accommodate our daughter's disability and it appears that moving to a bungalow style home will be the best option. (Installing an elevator is also a possibility. We need to investigate this further)

Moving means that…

We need to prepare our house to sell. This will be an enormous undertaking. After occupying this home for 20 years there’s an accumulation of things to deal with. Comings and goings of my parents especially my mom before they passed away, the accoutrements of our kids from living away to attend university/college… our own stuff.

Its rather overwhelming at times and there will be a lot of decisions to make. Ugh. However we will tackle this work as anyone would who must eat an elephant. One bite at a time.

Of course a job this big is going to take time. It may take a year to not only edit and reduce downsize the amount of stuff we have in the house but also do all the things that a person needs to do to prepare a house to be sold. Painting walls replacing carpets all kinds of stuff. I have already begun painting my kitchen cupboards and kind of wish I had done this earlier. Suffice to say though that there is a lot to be done and with my symbol full of energy and the slow rate at which it refills this will take time. It also will take away energy from my studio practice.

There is also the ongoing needs of my daughter that require attention.

And don’t forget the animals… especially our three legged dog Pepper who was diagnosed with Cushing a couple of years ago. Her body is beginning to fail hard. Her hind legs behave like a marionette whose strings have been cut. She may have a neurological issue going on that is not showing up on x-ray. However even consulting with a dog neurologist then pursuing diagnostic tests is prohibitive in costs. Costs beyond our means at this time.

In order to manage my energy better I'm going to be reducing how often I post to social media. I will probably be writing more on my blog perhaps even starting up my Substack again? I find Substack so easy to use and MailChimp so awkward and not intuitive that it's complexity is enough to stop me from continuing to write emails to my Studio friends. Hopefully my dear Studio Friends will not mind that I am switching back to Substack. But it does seem to be the easiest most comprehensive use of my energy, limited as it is. Given that it is also searchable on the Substack platform it can perhaps fill in some blanks for my lack of social media involvement.

I've also been reorganizing and reappointing my studio spaces. I have taken over a couple of rooms on the main floor of our house and this is not necessarily conducive to good workflow. So I have got to spend a little energy and time reorganizing that. Then perhaps I can dive back into creativity itself. I would like to develop a series of work that I would feel good about submitting to local shows and exhibitions. Eventually I think I would like to get my work into a gallery. It seems a bit bold and adventurous to think this way but perhaps it's time. I have usually done well when my work is seen in person so perhaps I will find my people there, somewhere in person?

If I do manage to get some pieces into a show I'll be sure to let you know. I would love to have you along for the ride. Meanwhile I hope you're enjoying the weather this spring where you are I hope spring is kind to you and the Advent of Summer will bring fresh energy and peace.

~ Renée