 Every Monday I send out my Mixed Media Monday newsletter which has also been referred to as Maniac Monday. Please let me know if you would like to be added to my email list. It's short. To the point. Hopefully gets you thinking and always has a mixed media tidbit.
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 Apples & Art! It is that time of year at the orchard when we celebrate the change of seasons! This is a quick newsletter to invite everyone to come celebrate with us! Mark your calendars! I know we live far from many of you, but I tell you, it's beautiful up here. And we'd love to see you. It truly is worth a road trip. Come stroll through the orchard, enjoy the fall foliage and apples and cider, and bask in the art of some fabulous local artists. Doesn't that sound wonderful? For our 2nd annual Apples and Art Fall Festival we are starting the day with yoga in the orchard! Thank you Life Is Bliss Yoga! Bring your mat and join in! We have 7 local artists joining in as well as music from the porch (yay! we have a porch this year) - thank you Zach! AND it truly looks like the sun is going to shine! Mother Nature is giving us a major bonus. Meet the Artists! It's fun to plan a pop-up exhibit when you get to invite your artist friends. We are all just looking forward to having a good time together. And Jeff and I have been baking up a storm and pressing fresh cider. All the goodies are donation based. For fun, each of the artists answered a random question to help you get to know them better. You can find examples of their art below. LORI FELDPAUSCH What do you most appreciate in life? Being in my 60's now I don't sweat the small stuff. I always keep paintings joyful and try to keep the negative out of my work. LAUREN EVERETT FINN What unusual superpower would you like to have? Teleportation!! Along with a clone to do all the icky jobs so I’d be free to travel to see family, friends and interesting places. JENNIFER FLYNN What is your favorite tradition? My favorite tradition is celebrating Easter, hosting my family, celebrating at church with beautiful music and flowers and the promise of Spring! WENDY MCWHORTER What special talent do you have? I'm an excellent parallel parker. MARK MEHAFFEY What do you most appreciate in life? Painting. Fishing. A good cheeseburger. All 3 may be equally important. PAM SPICER What's your favorite tradition? As far back as I can remember, enjoying a home-made meal around a dining room table with family or dear friends (or both!). ADAM VANHOUTEN Do you have any hidden talents? In addition to painting I also play guitar and was in several bands in college. I should play more music, but I am more focused on my visual artworks. JEAN WEISHAAR Life is Bliss Yoga What animal represents you? Australian shepherd - energetic, can run forever, loyal and loving but gets bored easily and can be annoying as hell. AND ME! JESSICA KOVAN What's your favorite word? SONDER. The profound feeling of realizing that everyone, including strangers passing in the street, has a life as complex as one's own.We can't wait to see you this week! If you can't make it to Apples & Art (perhaps it would require a plane trip?), you can still find my small paintings on Daily Paintworks. As always, I will happily put them in the mail to you. If you are interested in a painting on my website, please email me directly. You can also find my paintings in Sleeping Bear Gallery in Glen Arbor, MI, Blue North Arts in Suttons Bay, MI, Lansing Art Gallery in Lansing and Hayley Gallery in New Albany, OH. I am also teaching two classes this fall at Oliver Art Center in Frankfort. You can find more info here. Or ask me about them when I see you on October 2nd! I hope to see you soon! All my best, Jessica  Wisdom Watch (15x30) The world is a place where the extraordinary can sit just beside the ordinary with the thinnest of boundaries. Jodi Picoult  What a whirlwind this summer has been! A whirlwind of emotions, a whirlwind of activity, a general whirlwind of life. I truly believe summer is going to end and we will be picking apples before we know it. I am writing to invite everyone to the opening of my show this Friday (Aug. 12) in Glen Arbor, Michigan. I know many of you aren't close but wouldn't it be nice if you were? I would so love to show you my new paintings in person. Bearing Witness. Last fall I took a semester long class led by Terry Tempest Williams on climate change. While digesting all of the information, I kept thinking about how to include it in my art.  And that is how new series are born. Right when I started working on the series - life is magical sometimes - I was invited for a solo show in Lake Street Studio's Center Gallery in Glen Arbor. And suddenly - well, 36 paintings later - the time is now! The opening reception is this Friday, Aug. 12th, 6-8pm. Everyone is invited! To me, bearing witness invokes a sense of interconnectedness with all beings and acknowledges the wholeness of life with open awareness. We are bearing witness right now to dramatic changes to the planet and the impact on all living creatures. While working on the show, I kept thinking “the birds are watching us.”  Included in the show are also a series of small 5”x5” paintings created while “bearing witness” to my mom’s death.  Through that time period, art, nature and square breathing (a deep breathing technique) helped me stay grounded. While spending time with my mom, I found myself imagining ways to creatively express my emotions on canvas. I would then go home and in the quiet moments, paint. Sharing these paintings for the first time in the show touches my soul deeply. I would love to see you Friday! Bearing Witness will be up for one week: Aug. 12-18th. The gallery's hours are daily 11-5pm. On Wednesday they will be open until 7. You can find all the info you may need on their website: Center Gallery. (Stillness, 16x20)  My art. Where else can you see my art? My small paintings are available for purchase on Daily Paintworks. Once purchased, I will happily put them in the mail to you. You can also find my paintings at Sleeping Bear Gallery in Empire, MI, Betsy Bay Furniture in Frankfort, Mi and Hayley Gallery in New Albany, Ohio. If you are interested in a painting on my website, please email me directly. If it is in a gallery, I will put you in touch with them. Thank you to all. Please stay healthy and happy and creative and enjoy the dog days of summer! My love to all, Jessica Stay up-to-date on classes I am teaching and art show happenings through my website, Facebook page Jessica Kovan Art or follow me on Instagram.  Barefoot Beach Ballad (36x48)
Hope is like a road in the country; there was never a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence. Lin Yutan  Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it. ― Mary Oliver Celebrate FallIt is beautiful outside today. Tomorrow I have four art friends visiting that I haven't spent time with since pre COVID. We are going to paint, talk and immerse ourselves in friendship. At the same time, I am in the midst of planning our first ever fall festival at the orchard including a pop-up art exhibit with three fabulous artists living close by. So today I am taking time to celebrate. Celebrate fall. Celebrate living in northern Michigan. Celebrate friendships. Celebrate life. Celebrate paying attention. I am paying attention to the beauty around me and I am paying attention to the brokenness around me. Both need attention. Honestly, I have been astonished by my emotional highs and lows recently. I can take some pretty deep dives into climate change and women's rights and grief. Yet I know how lucky I am to be living in the midst of nature and how lucky I am to have a supportive community around me. We are in this together. We all need to recharge. So today, my focus is on telling about the good things ahead (thank you, Mary Oliver!).  Crowded Table Orchard. This is still astonishing to me. Over a year ago we uprooted ourselves and moved to 55 acres in northern Michigan and we OWN AN APPLE ORCHARD. What do you do when you suddenly find yourself living amongst apple trees? Celebrate the season! Zach made us a fabulous logo. And we are putting it to use at our first annual Art and Apples Festival. Mark your calendars! I know we live far from many of you, but I tell you, it's beautiful up here. And we'd love to see you. It truly is worth a road trip. Come stroll through the orchard, enjoy the fall foliage and apples and cider, and bask in the art of four exhibiting local artists. Doesn't that sound wonderful? It's fun to plan a pop-up exhibit when you get to invite your artist friends. Come meet Mark, Lori, Lauren and me too. We love to talk art. We'll show you what we are working on. Demo a bit. Basically we are all just looking forward to having a good time together. Don't you want to join us? Plus Farmer Jeff has been baking up a storm and is getting ready to press some fresh cider. You gotta come cheer him on!
Make a weekend of it. Right before Art and Apples I am teaching at Oliver Art Center in Frankfort, MI. You can make a weekend of both activities. Class on Friday, Art and Apples on Sunday! In Collage for the Soul (Friday, October 15th) we start by taking an awe walk and go from there. It is a pretty magical day. All levels welcome. If you haven't taken a class at Oliver before, the setting is gorgeous. I am also teaching a three day workshop at the beginning of November at the Glen Arbor Arts Center. Finding Courage: Painting for Deeper Self Expression is about looking inward, discovering your sources of inspiration, communicating personal vision, learning new mixed-media techniques, and developing your own unique artistic style. This is such a fun workshop to teach and be part of - helping people get in touch with their emotions and putting them down on canvas is why I teach. It's what I love about art. And it constantly astonishes me.  If you can't make it to Art and Apples, you can still find my small paintings on Daily Paintworks. As always, I will happily put them in the mail to you. If you are interested in a painting on my website, please email me directly. You can also find my paintings in Synchronicity Gallery in Glen Arbor, MI, Blue North Arts in Suttons Bay, MI and Hayley Gallery in New Albany, OH. I hope to see you soon! My love to all, Jessica P.S. A huge thank you to Sarah for making our fabulous flyer for Art and Apples. This is definitely a family affair! Stay up-to-date on classes I am teaching and art show happenings through my website, Facebook page Jessica Kovan Art or follow me on Instagram.  Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the Earth seeking the successive autumns.
George Elliot  The human soul doesn't want to be advised or fixed or saved. It simply wants to be witnessed - to be seen, heard and companioned exactly as it is. Parker Palmer Friday ThoughtsThis has been a heavy year. Yet the apples are still turning red and the fungi in the woods continue to astonish me with color. I am amazed and appreciative of nature and its ability to be a grounding force in my life. A sense of re-emergence is happening. Getting back on the horse, writing down my musings, and sending them out has felt bigger than a bread box. Yet it also feels important. Perhaps letting go of the pressure of feeling the need to have something worthy to say is part of the re-emergence process. So my random Friday thoughts. Thoughts on life. Thoughts on art. Thoughts.  Mom's are pretty special. Where's my heart right now? A friend once told me you never really truly understand what it is like to lose your mom until you lose your mom. I get it now. My apologies to every friend I didn't hug long enough, ask how they were doing often enough, touch base as time went by, sit by their side quietly, and so on. I get it now. It's amazing how we can continue to grow and learn no matter how much living we have done. Just enjoying beauty is OK. What's moving me forward? I have always used my paintings to help process emotions. Yet I am coming to the conclusion that sometimes it is ok to paint flowers or landscapes or beautiful colors or llamas. Yes llamas. Earlier today I watched three young llamas play. It was delightful.  Everyone has a story. What's inspiring me right now? I have become fascinated with the fact that everyone has a story and we all gain from sharing and listening. At an art fair this summer, I asked everyone walking by to write what re-emergence feels like on my painting. What a gift to hear the stories. If you are close by, come write on my painting. It's waiting for your words.  Try something new. I took part in my first ever plein air competition this past weekend. I love painting outside when it is quiet, private and definitely no one watching. For the "paint out" (which was neither private nor quiet) I put a temporary tattoo on my arm, "I AM THE STORM," and jumped in. So. Much. Fun. Gotta remember to do stuff like that more often. Goals work for me. How am I moving forward? Goals. Deep breaths and courage help me jump into my goals. Currently I am taking part in Oliver Art Center's 30/30 challenge for the month of August. It's my way of picking my paint brush back up daily. I have committed to 30 paintings in 30 days. Gulp. You can follow my process on Instagram and/or see the completed paintings on Daily Paintworks. Dwell in the good. I believe in art. I believe in people. I believe in the fact we need to make some radical changes in our world in order to continue on. That last sentiment can become destabilizing. So I breathe, paint, support the causes I believe in, shop locally, love my kids, don't stick my head in the sand, and try to figure out how to be the best human I can be.  That said, the owl painting above (Here I Am) will be part of Higher Art Gallery's Wings of Wonder exhibit raising funds to build the first Tribal Eagle Aviary and Rehabilitation Center East of the Mississippi River. The painting, Sandhill Cranes, was my donation to the Oliver Art Center's recent fundraiser. It was purchased and donated to the Raptor Resource Center in Iowa for their fundraiser. Jumping back in. How am I re-emerging? A big part of me is sharing and teaching. And, fingers crossed, it's starting up again! I taught my first in-person workshop in over a year in July. It felt so good. As classes and workshops are slowly getting rescheduled, find my most up-to-date information on my website. Coming up quickly are classes at Oliver Art Center and Glen Arbor Arts Center this fall and North Carolina this spring (Kanuga). My art. Where is my art? My small paintings are available for purchase on Daily Paintworks. Once purchased, I will happily put them in the mail to you. If you are interested in a painting on my website, please email me directly. If it is in a gallery, I will put you in touch with them. And don't forget my self-paced online classes, Good Morning Creativity!, are always available. Thank you to all. Please stay healthy and happy and creative. My love to all, Jessica  Re-emergence (24x36) - a community project “Look closely at the present you are constructing. It should look like the future you are dreaming.” ― Alice Walker
 ...there is still so much beauty in the world... a peek into my heart I was struggling with how to start this note when an artist friend said, "I love how your art let's us peek into your heart." Words can be such a gift. A peek into my heart....what a year of paradoxes! Somedays I want to hide. Then I look at the temporary tattoo on my wrist: "Be Present." When I write and paint I start by asking myself: Where's my heart? Lately my heart has been grateful and fearful at the same time. I know I am not alone. For me, 2020 has produced a tension of wanting to be both seen and not seen; visible and invisible. I tried to capture this tension in the painting above, In/Visible. Looking closely, you see me peeking out of the painting, with layers of thoughts written on top in white. The largest words are: Here I am. Though large, you have to look closely to see them. I find myself wanting people to see my art, wanting and needing community, wanting to fight for things I strongly believe in, and wanting to remain safely and quietly tucked away in my home in the woods. I don't believe I am alone in this dilemma.  While working on In/Visible, I suddenly envisioned a totally different way to communicate my 2020 emotions - hiding behind and hugging a tree labeled "Enough." Peeking out and holding on tight at the same time. I am grateful for the beauty around me, my family and friends and art. I have enough. Yet, we've all also had enough. Such a strange dichotomy. (As an aside, picture me running around hugging trees and taking pictures of myself to use as resource photos.) I share these thoughts in the midst of a very odd holiday season. In that spirit, I thought I'd mention a few things I love (my power tools) in hopes they inspire you.  Reading and listening and painting.
If you like to read, my good friend, Emily Fine, who also happens to be the mom of my niece and nephew, has her own podcast, The Book Cougars, which is all about books. Such a fun listen and so many good suggestions! Check it out. (I am reading Richard Powers book right now, The Overstory. Wow.) Kelly Anne Powers has a wonderful podcast called Learn To Paint. I have been lucky to get to know Kelly over the past few years. She is a fabulous human and is joined by great artists talking about their craft. I love the insights I gain every time I listen. Supporting the creators. For my mid-Michigan friends, Sara Bishop put together a gift giving guide to shop locally. She is so cool. Art comes in so many forms. I'm related to one of my favorite jewelers, Samuel Valensky. Sam is Jeff's cousin (and mine too). His jewelry is beautiful and meaningful and from the heart. He calls it "personal medicine for the wearer." How can you go wrong? Since I mentioned my temporary tattoo, I love the company Conscious Ink. Many of their tattoos could be titles of my paintings. I must say, though, Zach's working on his skills to give me a permanent tattoo. That's a tad scary. I encourage you to shop on-line locally, know that many artists struggle with the same paradox I am exploring. Please support small independent businesses. I adore my galleries and want them to continue. We need art in our lives. My art. My paintings (and mini-art journals and cards) are available for purchase on Daily Paintworks. Once purchased, I will happily put them in the mail to you. If you are interested in a painting on my website, please email me directly. If it's in a gallery, I will put you in touch with them. And don't forget about my self-paced online art journaling classes, Good Morning Creativity! They would make a wonderful gift for someone needing a little extra creative handholding at the moment. I also have started teaching one-on-one classes on-line. Shoot me a note if you have questions. Thank you to everyone who has supported me. I truly appreciate you more than you can know. Please stay healthy. My love to all, Jessica Stay up-to-date on classes I am teaching and art show happenings through my website, Facebook page Jessica Kovan Art or follow me on Instagram.   I'm Here For You (24x24) L'shana tovah to all! May the new year bring you good health, peace, and good news. The Jewish new year is a deeply reflective time. In honor of the new year, I want to pick up my paintbrush and fully immerse myself in the beauty of the season - feel gratitude for the changing trees, for birds and apples and dragonflies. It's a beautiful time of year in northern Michigan. Yet in my art I also want to be my authentic self. I want (need) to allow myself to paint what is going on inside my head and heart. That's pretty raw stuff right now. As an early morning fog hovers over the vineyards and orchards, two sandhill cranes land in the field in front of me. Their beauty takes my breath away. The dissonance in the emotions within me is hard to wrap my head around.  My anger and fear are personal and global. Watching environmental destruction occurring in front of our eyes while climate change and global warming is being denied is beyond my comprehension. Concurrently, COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. have reached over 200,000. Two hundred thousand. And those numbers are only part of the story. COVID long-haulers, people experiencing symptoms months after having contracted the virus, are coping daily with their life and health being upended. One of those being my daughter who was exposed in early March - before we understood as a nation to "mask up." I can reason that we just didn't know better. But our leadership did know better and chose to remain silent. Withholding that information had a direct detrimental impact on a person closest to my heart. Watching her struggle to take a hike, cook a meal, study, have enough energy for the day is heart wrenching. This past week, the administration suggested 20-somethings are not getting COVID and families are not feeling the impact. My blood boils.  As an artist, what do you do with these emotions? For a bit, I found it very difficult to paint. Then I reminded myself of the healing power of nature. The loons were calling while I sat outside and painted "Otter Lake" - the small painting to the left. It was a moment of pure soothing salve to the heart.  Yet, as an artist, I need to acknowledge and share all of my emotions through my art. Hence, "I Am Here For You" (the heart above) and the painting to the right, "Trapped In The Grey." I am honored that "Trapped In The Grey" will be shown in the upcoming "Citizen's Coping" show at the Higher Art Gallery in Traverse City. My words on the plexiglass are "trapped" in the grey of the painting and in the texture of the paint. (You can read the words below.). The plexiglass reflects the viewer 's image noting we are all "trapped in the grey." We are weeks away from one of the most critical elections of our lifetime - perhaps our country's lifetime. My love for our country and our world feels at stake. The safety of all that I love feels at stake. We cannot put teflon around our hearts and pretend that all is well. I know I am not alone with my mixture of loving the day and being afraid for our future. May we all vote with our hearts and for humanity. Wishing you good health and love and lightness. From my heart to yours, Jessica Trapped In the Grey “Feels like an elephant sitting on my chest.” I breathe in. I breathe out. Try not to panic. She's trapped in the COVID cloud of grey. My energizer bunny. My athlete. No energy. No answers. "Try meditating." I say. Lost for words. "Be your own best advocate." Lost for words. Her anger erupts. Understandably. Breathe it all in. Love it all out. She'll get better. No one knows. Ventilators. Deaths. Asymptomatic innocence. Long-haulers. Headlines scream. My love for her immense. My fear for her concrete. Heavy. Looming. "Not a good day" she says. "Go to the emergency room" I plead." "No. They don't know what to do. It's better if I meditate." My words bounced back at me. "It's a marathon, hon, you'll turn a corner." "Feels like a long walk, mom, with no corners." "I don't understand why people don't wear masks. It's easy." They need to hear the fear. Experience the grey. Feel the grey. Love it all in. I tell myself. Breathe it all out. I remind myself. Trapped in the grey.  “You and I are flowers of a tenacious family." Marci Thurston-Shaine  From March through June, I taught online classes focused on finding beauty everywhere. Beauty in the chaos. Beauty in our fears. Beauty in the world. Beauty in being. I thought of the classes as helping to right ourselves during the midst of sheltering-in-place and our fears of the virus. Helping place focus on the beauty that surrounds us every day. Helping to see the loneliness and lack of hugs in a different light. We continued on, and I kept painting...while my daughter was sick...while my mom healed from her fall...while we moved out of our family home. My art and classes focused on the beauty of love, the beauty of health, the beauty of change. I taught. I painted. I intellectualized. Then Zach called. "Mom, have you seen what is happening in Portland?" I turned on the news. I paid attention. And I put down my paintbrush. I give a lot of thought to my role as an artist and to the role of art in the world. Art can help people heal. Seeing beauty everywhere in everything is powerful.  Yet, it is also important to recognize, to see and to name the ugly side of humanity that surrounds us. To see the racism. To see the generations of pain that is surfacing. To see the unchecked violence of the police. To see the gassing of peaceful protesters. And to be outraged. To say loudly: black lives matter. I can't even pretend to see beauty in what is being done to human beings around me; my friends, my neighbors, the youth, the people. What is the role of the artist in these times? To document history? Help people find joy? Inspire people? Wake people up? Express collective emotion? All of the above?  I put down my paintbrush trying to figure out the role I want to play. During this time, I have been told: "But people need pretty. People want to see pretty art. People need beauty." Yes, I agree. But enough is enough. Voices need to be heard. Change needs to happen. I do still see beauty all around me. Beauty in the murals popping up in urban areas across the U.S. Beauty in the street art. Beauty in the dancing during demonstrations. Beauty in the voices speaking out. Beauty in the strength and power of people.  But I also see ugliness. Ugliness that is being made visible over and over and over again. I know I need to pick up my paintbrush again. Right now it is easier to take paintings off my walls of my home as we move. To think. To listen. To reflect on my role in the problems and the solutions. To grow. To re-find beauty. To ponder how to make art that touches the heart while being an active citizen of this world. Yet pondering is not enough. If you are asking, like I am, how can we do better as a society?, this comprehensive list of resources is worthy of close examination. The list includes organizations to support, books to read, artists to follow and much more. Seeing beauty isn't enough. There is too much at stake. Enough is enough. From my heart to yours, Jessica   “Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it." Mary Oliver  Today is my mother's 83rd birthday. Happy Birthday Mom! It is also the day Jeff's brother, my brother-in-law, died 26 years ago. I went into premature labor with Sarah during Brad's funeral on my father-in-law's 60th birthday. This is a week filled with memories. Why do I tell you all this? Because I missed the arrival of spring that year. When I suddenly realized the trees were budding and flowers were blooming, I was so mad. How could the natural world have continued on? Nature was my heart and soul and it didn't wait for me. I now know I was being offered a gift that I didn't see - the gift of everyday beauty. But I wasn't open to receiving it. This very clear memory was why I picked back up my art journal when Michigan (and most of the nation) started shelter-in-place. I knew I had to remind myself to see beauty in the midst of my worries and fears. Art helps me do that. And it was very clear I was not alone. I so appreciate the folks that jumped on board to art journal with me and joined Good Morning Creativity! - Seeing Beauty. A community developed of creative, kind, thoughtful art journalers who were ready and willing to learn new techniques, new ways of thinking, and new on-line friendships.  Like everyone, for me, the past month has had it's share of family drama. Jeff and I drove 21 hours (nonstop) to pick up our oldest and bring her home where she has been quarantining in our house for the past three weeks. My middle daughter had a scary ER visit in a state too far away and is now slowly recuperating. My youngest is on the west coast in the mix of it all. And we have worked very hard to keep my mom out of the hospital - with a bad fall last week being an exception to our carefully laid plans. Through all of this, my art journal has provided a haven to contemplate beauty. I DID see the daffodils bloom. I DID hear the red wing blackbird singing. I DID contemplate what my comfort foods are. And I DID observe carefully a pileated woodpecker in my backyard. I so appreciate the power of art to remind me to pay attention and provide a place to lose myself in the page. I think what surprised me the most about the first 4 weeks of Seeing Beauty was how much beauty is actually out there when you pay attention. So we are not done. The next four weeks will be starting Monday. Anyone is welcome to jump in. It doesn't matter if you have never done anything "artsy" before or if you are an experienced artist. Everyone finds their place. You can be part of the Facebook community or not. Your choice.  The theme this month will be "Everyday Beauty." Prompts arrive three times per week for four weeks in your email inbox. There are so many ways to think about and journal around beauty. Included are special jumpstarts, inspirations, and tips given around the 4 C's: creativity, concept, color and composition. Intrigued? Join in! You are all my community. I hope you and everyone you care about is in good health, staying safe and finding positive and creative ways to spend time. And I most sincerely hope you are able to find beauty in the every day. From my heart to yours, Jessica   “The object of art is to give life a shape." - William Shakespeare  I met Diana when I was 6 or 7. She was the older sister of one of my best friends in elementary school. We reconnected last month when I delivered a little wren to her. It was such a gift to sit on her couch, bond with her dog, and talk and reconnect after so many years. It is a gift I have found repeating itself over and over. I like to think of it as one of the powers of art - if we let it happen. I made the decision in November to start painting smaller and be more visible. I didn't make a decision to build community or reconnect with people but I had forgotten about the magical side of art. And that we all need community. There is so much confrontation and disconnecting in the world right now. Everywhere. Yet a natural part about being human is connecting. As an artist you put your heart out there for the world to see. It's vulnerable. Galleries feel safer. You can remain invisible. You bring your paintings in, set them down and leave. You don't interact with the buyer. You don't even know who the buyer is. If you have a good relationship with the gallery owner, your heart glows when you drop your paintings off - and then you run away.  It is a little like being a goldfinch. Flit in. Flit out. Maybe be a little showy and sun shiny in the moment. Then be gone. Yet goldfinches also seek company. You rarely see a solitary goldfinch. But you often hear about the solitary artist. I am a bit of a hermit. I rarely paint in groups. Being alone in my head is a big part of my creative process. I need to be able to hear my heart. Yet I so enjoyed sitting at LouAnn's kitchen table, a friend I hadn't seen in years. Catching up while she purchased a painting for a cousin who just received good medical news was heartwarming. It brought me true joy to re-meet Jann who had taken a workshop from me years ago. And I loved dropping off a painting to a mutual soccer mom. All of these connections are real and matter. What I have come to realize is we all have a drive for reconnection. In these polarizing times, we are searching for relationships. I believe we need meaning, purpose and connection for a happy life. That is a lesson art continually reteaches me.  My goal with my art is to engage. I want a person to look and think and feel when they see my paintings. At the same time I have to take a deep breath before interacting in groups or even picking up the phone. My mom tells long stories about pulling me out from between her legs where I would hide as a little kid. My mother-in-law still jokes that I always bring a book to hide behind. Yet I need people. Art helps me connect. I just have to continually relearn this lesson. I thank each and every one of you who is part of my community and allows me to be vulnerable. You are so important. I thank the magical side of art for continuing to reteach me these lessons. As always, you can find my smaller works available for purchase on Daily Paintworks. Once purchased, I will put them in the mail or hand deliver them (and say hello!) depending on where you live. If you are interested in a painting on my website, please email me directly. At this time of year, you can also find my paintings at Lansing Art Gallery, Shiawassee Arts Center and Be.Gallery in Ohio. From my vulnerable heart to yours, Jessica  "Our lives are shaped by our interactions with others.. (E)very interaction makes a difference. The results of our encounters are rarely neutral; they are almost always positive or negative. And although we take these interactions for granted, they accumulate and profoundly affect our lives."
- Tom Rath & Donald Clifton (How Full Is Your Bucket) |
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