Spring is coming!
And it’s come in like a lamb.
It’s been a long winter, rife with illness, pandemic spikes, isolation, missed daycare and sporadic days in the studio, perpetual arctic freeze, and burning the candle at both ends. Suddenly, though, spring is starting to break through and we are seeing a warm day here, a warm day there… and some breakthroughs from the studio.
I’ve been working to get my art out into the world and it is starting to pay off. Today I’m celebrating! I’ve won the chapbook challenge through Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance, a literary organization that works to “bring together Maine writers, editors, publishers, booksellers, and literary professionals at all stages of their careers to sharpen craft, create community, and celebrate great writing.” Quote via their website… MWPA about
The challenge was to provide the winning piece of artwork for the cover of the 2021 literary award winner “The Rabbit” by Coco McCracken. The literary piece was chosen by Melissa Febos, author of Whip Smart, Abandon Me, and the National Bestseller, Girlhood. The inspiration for the piece I provided was from an excerpt of The Rabbit, which I found rich in visual imagery. The manuscript felt like a moment from my own youth chasing bands, boys and “coolness”, with an irresistible nod toward 90’s grunge. The image pieced together in my head clearly, and I knew I had to record it, and pursue it. The book will publish this fall and be distributed in the fall of 2023, with my art on the cover!
In addition to this wonderful news, I’ve been riding high this week from a full weekend teaching a two-day workshop in gouache painting held at Cove Street Arts in Portland. The workshop was a success! Students who hadn’t ever touched the medium before were learning how to mix colors, how to apply the paint, and were brushing up on (or learning for the first time) the basics in color theory and composition. I was officially invited back to teach again, which I will follow up on once this baby is born!
Photo credit: Alison Rector
Me at Cove Street Arts teaching “Painting with Gouache”
And so we segue into the other long anticipated coming event… baby #2! Baby girl Myer has been kicking and moving and grooving for some time now, though nothing like she has lately! Due end of May, this kiddo is already gearing up and so are we. “Some assembly required” furniture has been delivered and is piling up in our garage until we have the time to address it, hopefully this coming weekend. Meanwhile, my husband is away toiling on the cottage until Saturday afternoon- a final push to get the place ready to escape to during our parental leave.
I’m just so excited. It’s a spring that brings with it a whole new chapter on its sweet-smelling breeze. We are fortunate to be safe and healthy, and we have so much more to be thankful for besides. Thank you, thank you, thank you is my mantra, which I feel profoundly when I stop to reflect.
