There All Along

For as long as I can remember, my approach to making art has been to find the spark of an idea and run with it. Fast and furious was my motto, and this established a routine of working on multiple pieces at a time, all inspired by a specific theme. A quick glance at past portfolios shows work inspired by travels to Tokyo and Cuba, text-based concepts, an ethereal female character with one especially large eye, the color turquoise, and wings. For a time, organizing shows and gatherings to share this work was my primary occupation, which gave me an opportunity to collaborate with many of my favorite people.

As I began to focus more on writing and facilitating retreats, making art became something I did in short bursts, and most of those small collections were sold online and individually rather than at large shows. All of this was happening while we were living in California. When we decided to move to Wisconsin, I also made the decision to return to my art in a more intentional way, and I looked forward to seeing how our new home and environment would influence the work. I was also excited about finding a new community and sharing whatever it was that I was certain would emerge in my studio as soon as we got settled.

It ended up taking nearly five years before I was able to really get back to it. Part of that story is right here. The surprising twist was that I always felt OK about this delay in my plans, which probably had something to do with the fact that I still managed to write and publish two books during this time. I was still creating and sharing my work, but all the while my longing to give birth to a new body of artwork held steady.

When I finally reached a point of being able to begin this work, I went into it with an entirely different attitude—one of patience, curiosity, and exploration rather than fire and unbridled energy. I had an idea for a concept, which I really loved, but my intuition told me I needed to follow the example of the butterfly rather than the hummingbird.

After months of trying this and that, I have meandered my way to an entirely different artistic landscape than the one I started out in. This has me wondering what other ideas and possibilities have been hovering in and around the general area of past creative pursuits. And it feels slightly miraculous—to realize that the seeds that are just now beginning to bloom have been there all along, and could have very easily remained dormant had I not made the conscious decision to allow more space in my creative process than ever before.

So from precise, image-based compositions arranged in hexagon patterns I have found my way to loose, abstract designs, and no one is more surprised by this than I am. The path is emerging more each day—one drip of paint, one stitch, at a time.