Sunday, February 13, 2011

Transitions

    Transitions, 30 x 40" oil on canvas - first oil painting in the new studio

Transitions. They are met with eager excitement as well as a shy sense of loss. The old familiar settings we uproot mingle with the knowledge that the new is a necessary and welcome step.  Okay, so I'm only talking about moving my art studio from a small portion of an open shared studio space to my own private studio about twenty steps away but it is a transition none the less.

I am a member of S.E.C.C.A. (pronounced SEE-KAH), the South Eastern Coalition of Contemporary Artists, the vision of JJ Graham owner and co-director of Hollingsworth Gallery, who is expanding his footprint at City Marketplace and will soon open the S.E.C.C.A. Tree Studios.

When JJ made the decision to expand he knew the area not only needed a place where artists and art lovers alike could get together but that many of the artists that stopped by, took classes and/or taught classes at Hollingsworth also needed their own space so he planned out 8 private studios and one gallery and before the drywall was painted they were all rented.  And bazingo! I am thrilled to have one of them. While I am still unpacking here are a few photos of my new space...grand opening will be March 12.


I was sitting in the chair above reflecting on my new space and feeling really good about my first few days painting here when a memory flooded over me. I was transported to a large art studio in college where I was working on a silk screen project by myself on a rainy Sunday afternoon. The room was filled with the smells of inks, paints and other chemicals with only the sound of the rain and the gliding of the squeegee over the silk and I, I was seeped in the process. Lost in the act. And I knew with every fiber of my being that this is what I was meant to do. Where I was meant to be. And now, so many years later, now I feel the exact same way. In a way I feel like I am home. Finally. Home. A place that has been calling out to me for years. And now thanks to this and a line of transitions that led me here I am able to turn the corner into my next phase in life. And it teaches me that while it may take a long time to get there,  never give up on your dreams. And as a note I received from a great friend yesterday said, it is never too late to start anew. Brush on