Each year, beginning around Thanksgiving (which usually falls within a few days of my birthday), I begin reflecting on the year. I find it is very affirming to acknowledge everything that happened, good and bad. I tend to look through photo folders, month by month, and there are always surprises; “Oh yeah! I forgot about that!”
I started this year with a pledge to myself and my family to slow down. My goal was to pace myself; to take the summer off to do some fun things, see my friends, go for hikes, focus on family, clean and organize the studio. I said I would install the project in Port Townsend, teach at a conference in early April, then take a break for a few months.
BUT, in January, I was struck with the crazy notion to launch a community mural to be my big splash for Fall Arts Walk when I would be the cover artist. “I will only be coordinating it,” I said. “Other people will be doing the work; I’ll just facilitate,” I said.
The year started off with a group residency at Centrum in Port Townsend, where my mission was to work with local kids to create artwork for a new low-income housing complex through OlyCAP. I was also beginning work on the project that would be used to promote Olympia’s fall Arts Walk festival. The rest of the participants were Lynn Adamo (Bend, OR), Mark Brody (Portland, OR), Richard Davis (Whidbey Island, WA), Joanne Daschel (Lincoln City, OR) and Karen Rycheck (Portland); part of a posse of regional mosaic artists who often collaborate and exhibit together. I brainstormed the new mural concept, bouncing ideas off of them, and it was clear that they thought I was off my rocker. I didn’t have a client or budget or wall, and my design was still in draft form- yet I was already going for it. This is how I do. I live in my imagination and the people around me try to keep me anchored to reality. Without them, I would be blowing around in the wind. But amazingly, you all joined me up there!
The above collage are a few photos of the project at 7th Haven in Port Townsend, which includes mosaic and painted panels, made with help from kids at a local YMCA after-school program. The theme is a celebration of the Salish Sea, with emphasis on the relationship between kelp forests and sea stars. This was completed in April.
During the first week of April, I traveled to Las Vegas to teach at the Glass Craft & Bead Expo for the first time. I taught 4 classes, back to back, which was nuts! But it was also very inspiring and fun to finally teach in person again after 5 years. I also got to hang out with some very lovely glass artists and vendors, sparking relationships that continued to grow in ensuing months.
In between 7th Haven and the conference, I squeezed in a small mosaic floor inlay for a restaurant in Nantucket called The Pearl, plus a quick repair job for a stone mosaic.
At the end of April, I facilitated the first hands-on event for the Metamorphosis mural at Olympia Spring Arts Walk. Over 3 days, participants made the large, colorful wings for the central figure from recycled glass tiles.
And, as anyone else would have guessed, this community mural project was far more labor intensive for me than I anticipated. Yes, many hands make light work and lots of butterflies arrived in the mail from all over the U.S. (and a couple of other countries), but I was filling and adjusting everything, applying for grants, trying to raise funds and find community partners (which was a bust), and most challenging for me: coordinating people and events. I had some help, but my summer was completely absorbed by this project.
And yet, I also led another community project during LoveOly SummerFest! This was a 4′ x 4′ mosaic with the LoveOly logo inside of a stylized heart shape. After a few weeks of adjusting/filling and setting into mortar onto a tile board, this mosaic was delivered and is being mounted in a steel frame. I don’t have word yet on where it will be permanently installed, but it will be somewhere downtown.
In June, I was awarded a grant to lead a community event at the Armory in Olympia, inviting the public to make mosaic butterflies to be incorporated into the Metamorphosis mural. This was honestly one of the most terrifying things I’ve ever done! The goal was to engage as many participants as possible over only 2 days and I had no idea if 10 people would show up or 200, what age ranges they would be, what kind of behavior I might need to manage, or how to help guide a lot of people to create little individual mosaics. The first weekend of July, I was at the Armory with bins of tumbled stained glass pieces, pre-shaped glass tiles, and hundreds of butterfly templates. A cadre of volunteers showed up to help from around the area and over 100 people came to the event over the two days. It was the exact right amount of participants and the flow was perfect. Everyone was happy and I was relieved and exhausted as we loaded my little car with boxes of butterflies that would require many more steps to be ready for the mural, but were all lovingly assembled by community members.
But it wasn’t all work and no play! In mid-July, I headed off on a 3-week trip to Nepal and Thailand, and it was fantastic. Nepal is ancient and multi-layered, full of surprises. It was our second trip to Thailand, but we explored farther north this time, working our way from Chiang Rai through Chiang Mai, with a few days in Bangkok. Thailand is a magical place and the whole trip was beyond inspiring. I post about my travel adventures on a separate instagram account: @folkartadventures. I do this so that my regular art account isn’t confusing for people who are just finding me.
Back in the states and 2023 (it’s waaaay in the future in Thailand and Nepal) work on the Metamorphosis mural was the focus through August. It was all I could do to keep up and get everything ready for a September installation. Luckily, the volunteers who helped me at the Armory kept showing up. By September, even more were joining in. The installation went smoothly over the first two weeks of September. I drove home each day feeling utterly grateful for all of the amazing helpers who took time and traveled long distances to be a part of the process. It was completed just in time for me to fly away on the next adventure.
During the second half of September, I taught at the Gem5 Conference in Whitewater, WI and then at the SAMA/SGAA conference in Buffalo, NY. I was already exhausted when I left, so I really just wanted to get the conferences overwith. However, it turned out to be such a fun trip! I became more acquainted with some of the people I spent time with at the Glass Craft & Bead Expo in spring, and I got to see many of my mosaic colleagues for the first time since the pre-pandemic era. There were so many unexpected fun and beautiful moments.
Once I was home in October, it was a mad scramble to get everything ready for my exhibit at Hot Toddy for fall Arts Walk, plus the Metamorphosis mural dedication. It all came together and that weekend was a blast! The weather was perfect and people came out in droves. It was very fun to be in the spotlight and to see my artwork on posters and guides everywhere. I felt supported and invigorated and extremely thankful.
After Arts Walk, I was ready to enter hibernation. An unscheduled calendar for many months was very welcome. I did have one weekend workshop to lead at the Nisqually Reservation in early November, which I loved. Otherwise, I have one large commission to work on; a floor-to-ceiling mosaic project for a public restroom. The room is small, but the total square footage and challenge of working around counters, fixtures, windows, etc. is quite daunting, mainly because they don’t exist yet. So, the mosaic I make over winter and spring will need to line up perfectly with everything that is still being built. This is new territory for me, but it is a welcome challenge and I can’t wait to see it all come together.
Meanwhile, I have been shortlisted for two more public art projects with proposals due this winter. It seems like I am often tasked with proposals at exactly this time of year, when the holidays are also demanding much of my time, and we usually take a family trip over winter break. Most often, we head to Mexico. This year, we’ll be exploring Puebla and Veracruz, with a few days in CDMX. So, I am still in hibernation mode, but busy working on designs and the big project.
As much as I still want to slow down and take some time to work on some personal projects and life-stuff, 2024 is already lining up to be very busy. I’ll be completing this large commission at least through April, by my estimation. I’m working with the Nisqually Tribe to plan a community mural project for their youth center this spring. And if one or both of my proposals are selected, I’ll be nose-to-the-grindstone for the next 2 years. And now we are discussing a complete overhaul of my studio spaces. We are planning to turn my current big studio into an apartment (yes, I only just had heat installed!) I’ll reclaim my cute garden studio for most of my work and we’ll transform the garage into a storage/messy work space. The apartment will be for our daughter, but will be a useful extra space to have if and when she is able to afford to move out. At that point, the space may be a place to teach classes, with a bedroom for students who are traveling. And I can structure the new garage studio to be more suitable for my needs now that I’m working on large-scale projects. It’s a chance to start fresh. BUT it is going to be a major disruption and I’m not sure how I’ll keep working while we move everything around. Luckily, I’m pretty adaptable, and I know it will be a good transformation, long-term.
I hope you are all staying warm and safe, wherever you are, and I wish you the happiest of holidays! Thank you so much for being a part of my journey; I would not be doing any of this without all of you!
