Funny how history repeats itself. I committed months ago (I won’t even embarrass myself here by admitting how many months) to doing a solo show at the Blue Nile in August. When I met with Emily, she asked if I preferred doing the show in the upstairs space or the downstairs space. I stupidly replied with, “has anyone ever done both at the same time?”, to which she said “no,” while probably questioning my sanity. I had plenty of time, I was feeling gutsy, and I was clearly forgetting to be self-aware in the moment. So here I find myself, in a place I know all too well, less than a month out from my show, 6 paintings down, 10 paintings started, and 8 yet to begin. Yet, because I have been here before, I am also oddly calm, with full confidence that while I may not sleep in the next month, I will complete what I have committed to. Oh, and there’s also that Art Lotto portrait hanging around waiting to be completed by the 18th. At least I’m about halfway finished with that one, which is leaps and bounds beyond where I’d usually be at this point. Time to celebrate the small improvements.
Aside from the stress I’ve created, I am actually really excited about this show. The idea sprung out of a fascination with sibling relationships and the realization that the vast majority of my close friends are little sisters. The show, titled Little Sister, will feature acrylic and mixed media paintings that have been inspired by descriptive words given to me by the sets of siblings I asked to participate. The little sisters and their older siblings were also asked to write several sentences about their sibling or about their relationship. The entire process has been so interesting, from the reactions of the people I’ve asked to the range of words used to describe each other. The written tributes are honest, beautiful, touching, and some made me laugh out loud. I can only hope to visually personify these lovely individuals in a way that truly represents their nature.
I hope to see many of you there!
