What have I done?

I have a couple of comics I have fallen in love with over the past year & 1/2. They are funny, vulnerable & disgusting... my kind of people. They also have a tremendously cool & artistic fan base.

MisterBowen & I cooked up a way to help them sustain their work, which inspires us by making us laugh, cry & carry on, while promoting our own artwork to a group of people that "get it".

Here's what we're going to be giving away:

Here I Go Again!

"Quitting smoking is easy, I've done it a thousand times." ...Is one of my favorite quotes from Mark Twain and one I've been repeating to myself a lot over the last year. Everyday is a fresh start and a chance to try again.

I feel like this art "thing" is evolving and becoming easier. The inner critic is finally learning to shut the hell up and I'm learning to balance my time better. Between Responsibilities, Restoration, Relaxation, Reproduction and avoiding a Rut it's quite a balancing act.

Most people don't realize how much "business" goes into being an independent artist. I am extremely fortunate to have a wonderful partner in this life who is financially supporting us while I'm building this business of art. Being an artist himself, it is a wonderful gift everyday. One I am working very hard not to fritter away.

To help stay focused Husbang (@misterbowen) & I have started Podcasting. We are working up to consistently posting 30 to 45min every week. We are discussing what inspires us, this grand journey of art, and people we meet along the way.

Our hope is to encourage ourselves and others to get out there and create. Create anything...pick a number and do it. We have each been working on 100 paintings each. We're getting there!

Check it out at: One Hundred of Something

Art Heals

It's been nearly 40 days since I last updated my Twitter or Facebook... and months since I substantially wrote here. I've been in what I call a "cocoon phase", which means I checked out like JD Salinger.

I deal with a myriad of health issues that prevent me from working in a "regular" job. Fortunately I have a wonderfully supportive and amazing Husbang who financially supports our family single-handedly and quite comfortably. Plus, he consistently tells me to stop beating myself up and do what I love. I am blessed.

The past 2 months have been difficult. I've been mostly bedridden with the inability to walk due to a 10 year old back injury and severe depression. I know it's cliche but, the chronic pain I have is not something I'd wish on anyone.

So the first few weeks was spent mostly sleeping, zoning out on movies and doing my best to shower on "good days" when I wasn't hobbled like a geriatric line-backer. It was not a good place.

Since getting laid off from my theatre job in 2009, we made the decision that I would follow one of my dreams and work on art full time. I realized about 3 weeks ago that I didn't have to get out of bed to make art. I decided that I wanted to find other artists with which to trade ATC's (artist trading cards) to have a "reason" to make art.

Well, it worked. Since finding Swap-bot, a website connecting people who love to make stuff, at the beginning of May, I have successfully made more progress with my art than I have in the past year. I am making art every day. And slowly, but surely, I'm having more "good" days than bad.

I also learned from another artist that Frida Kahlo suffered from chronic pain her whole life... and she accomplished so much. If she can do it...so can I.

Geisha ATC set of 3

Geisha ATC set of 3, a photo by ArtHarpy on Flickr.

I made a set of 3 ATC's to experiment with different painting techniques. Geisha #3 went to a loving home in Canada as part of the "G is for...ATC" Swap on Swap-bot. As of May 25th 2011, Geisha #2 is looking for a home if you would like to swap ;-)

9/1000 On the Edge

Stand on the edge of a cliff. One step forward you will fall to certain death. The salty air chides your throat, the wind whips your hair, the sand stings your skin all in a choreographed dance. Warning of Danger? Protecting the beauty from your prying lens? Perhaps, perhaps. Stand strong and capture the light. This all may be gone tomorrow. Your witness may be all that remains.

8/1000 The Road Less Traveled

I've found of late, my creative rhythms gentle to move me on the dance floor from one medium to the next. I am transformed. Creating with spirit, words and objects at random times and all together. Faithful in following My Muse, she is leading me to interesting places.

7/1000 Baby Steps

The Theatre Arts has been my life. I wrote, directed and created costumes for my first play when I was in Kindergarten.

Fortunately Mom and Ms. Rising, the poor soul teaching me that year, were not only tolerant of my antics, but supportive. I remember giving Ms. Rising a preview copy of my script; getting her approval to produce the performance one sunny afternoon in our plant filled classroom.

All of the costumes were made of construction paper which I generously let the actors keep. I gained a reputation for being "bossy" from the other kids after directing a stunning show. A trait I have since learned to both embrace and temper.

I've continuously engaged in some kind of performing arts since that day. And held some pretty interesting jobs as a result...actress, carnival barker, director, costumer, circus ring mistress, producer, radio personality, adult educator, stand-up comic, improviser...

Having babies didn't put a damper on my passion. I was breastfeeding my 5 week old daughter on rehearsal breaks while directing "12 Angry Men". When we moved to Seattle I got a job teaching adults. I traveled around the country teaching... which was really just an 8 hour one woman show for intimate audiences in hotel ballrooms. So there wasn't a lot of time to commit to the process of being in an actual bone fide theatrical production.

Even though the kids weren't exposed to theatre constantly, they grew an interest in the art form at early ages. My son convinced me to do my first Seattle audition because he wanted to be in "A Christmas Story". Luckily we were both cast. He played "Show Mommy How The Piggies Eat" Randy and I the cackling school teacher of "You'll Shoot Your Eye Out" fame. So began the past decade returning to my beloved Church of Illusion.

But I've become disillusioned.

The same routine, similar characters with different names, no new adventures to take my breath away... the "been there, done that" t-shirt of predictability is moth-eaten.

Two years ago Husbang & I discovered the world of Alternative Arts. A mis-mash of techniques, tools and mediums. Although fine art has a different rhythm, it takes my breath away.

This past week I realized that I can't just make the leap to art and expect to land where I was in the realm of theatre. I guess when you spend 30 years honing a certain skill set it's easy to forget how to take baby steps.