Updates, Long Overdue

Once upon a time, blogging was the best way to stay in touch online in long-form with friends, fellow artists, collectors, and potential collectors.  Now, Facebook and Instagram, which offer immediate feedback are the quickest and easiest ways to connect (sorry, I don't do TikTok).  I confess to relying upon Facebook and texting (I need to do better with updating my IG feeds and stories) for that immediate sense of connection.  However, I have missed the opportunities to engage in a longer dialog (although sometimes it can feel more like a monolog) with readers.  I won't attempt to fill in all of the blanks between my last post and this one....I'll begin where I am now.

After my husband's death last September, I am figuring out the way forward.  He was also an artist, and we often worked together to develop designs, especially with new substrates for my work.  I am fortunate that he was able to build many of my larger pieces before he died, so I have a supply of them for the foreseeable future.  He was also the driving force behind our outdoor art festival set up, from packing the car to unloading, to onsite set up and break down, and all the hanging decisions in between.  The challenge of being able to do shows without him is a daunting one, and definitely a work in progress.  I am also fortunate to have a friend and fellow artist who has volunteered to assist me in many of the ways that Stan did.  Thank you, Barton Hatcher.

Since 2022, I have been actively seeking more gallery representation, online sales, and retail outlets (including Museum stores) for my work.  I am now accelerating the pace of applying to galleries and shops. In my newest venture, I am looking forward to working with the Waterworks Visual Arts Center Museum Store in Salisbury, NC to sell my Kianga Tiles and Leaf Dance notecards. The arts center houses several galleries, and the work on exhibit when I visited this week was excellent.  I am also planning to apply in September to be considered for a solo exhibit of my work in addition to being a Museum Store artist.  

I continue to sell my Leaf Dance panels, bamboo plates, and notecards at the North Carolina Museum of Art Store here in Raleigh.  A fun moment happened last week in one of my classes:  two of  my elementary school students saw my work (and my picture) there on a school trip, and excitedly told me about it.  Love when that happens!  

Teaching still brings me joy; I marked 13 years as a part time art instructor at Raleigh's Sertoma Arts Center in January.  Hard to believe that the students in my first classes are now in middle or high school!

And, my recent trip to Ghana, West Africa with my sister and a group of Black women led by Dawn Booker, creator of Pack Light Global was inspirational in many ways.  It has given me renewed appreciation of the West African esthetic, and I have an abundance of ideas for new work percolating in my mind. The sights, textures, fabrics, pottery, woodwork, carvings, symbols, photographs, patterns, and colors will be the starting points--stay tuned to see how it all comes together!  

Until next time,

Michelle