Embracing the Unknown: the momentum of change

I'm closing shop and setting out to see the world.

View this email in your browser

"There is a time for departure even when there is no certain place to go." -Tennessee Williams

Much has led to this moment: a mashup of normal life - schedules and lease-agreements, and the artist's life - successful shows and sometimes less-than smooth sailing to get there, along with matters more tender - hopes and self-discovery, balance and boundaries and other such weighty vulnerable things. I struggle with the chronology of life: a beast we are expected to lion-tame with no real training on the matter. So instead of crying into my soup about my unpreparedness for the landscape of this moment, I have chosen to embrace the unknown.

I will be closing The Beauty Shop this month as I take steps toward a more nomadic lifestyle. It's been an amazing 4 years of Beauty at this cornerstore spot in New Orleans. Bittersweet is the only word that can describe such a moment as I close the doors on this chapter of my life and career. The Beauty Shop has hosted so many memorable shows, salons and days with the double doors open wide to the streets, the rain, the setting sun. As the sun sets on this moment, I hope you will join me for a casual closing celebration:

JULY 17, 2015
6:00-9:00pm
3828 Dryades St. New Orleans

This is a party for everyone who has had a memorable moment at my atelier.

The Paintings:
There are a number of valuable original paintings and drawings available currently, and I would love to see them go to a new home rather than storage. As I close the retail aspect of my business I invite you to invest in artwork before I leave town, at a time when I will be finding placement for these paintings, and when the money will certainly be helpful to me in my travels. Any unsold paintings by the end of July will go into Art Storage, only to return when I am in town and able to arrange a show, or decide to place them with a gallery or museum. To view available works, please email me to request a private link. You may also make a purchase at The Beauty Shop on the night of the Closing Party. It would be my pleasure to deliver to you in New Orleans, or provide a shipping quote to your area.

Perhaps crossroads are fabrications of the mind. But when you arrive at one, to refuse the fact that you are at a crossroads is to remain stuck. To proceed is to choose a direction. That is what I have done.

I don't know how to live this life.

More times than I care to admit... those are the words that have come out of my mouth when I face the mirror in the morning. Because of blogs, social media and the incredible pace of the world today, we are all attempting to edit our highlights reel in real time - a nearly impossible task without the benefit of hindsight and the passage of time. I say to you "I don't know how to live this life." I don't know where to put my love. I don't know the highlights in real time. I don't know where we are in time and space.

I don't know what I am doing, but MY how I try. I am proud of what I have accomplished. I'm proud of the gifts I have shared. I open myself to what's next. I need to change my life. I'm trying to survive and triumph. The artistic temperament is sometimes so heavy. I'm trying to stay in my magic.
It is time then, for sturdy boots, for physical movement, a metaphorical walk (to where, I don't know yet) but just the rhythm of steps shall do more than I can do with my internal landscape alone. So, I'm off to be a cliche: scale the Himalayas, motorcycle through Baja, live in a hut in Tanzania, scuba dive in actual archipelagos (not just those of the heart) and surf actual tides in Portugal. At least if I get hurt, or fail, it shall be with a skinned knee or an empty wallet.. and I will try to savor the tangibility of such aliveness.

I am not saying to you "Wait over there while I figure myself out, so I can return seemingly perfect and together with an enviable life." No. I'm saying to you "I don't know where I'm going. I don't know how to do this. But you can join me on my journey. Let's pool our bravery. Let my quest inspire yours."
I will try to live this next chapter openly, fearlessly, shamelessly, with vulnerability, honesty, and a willingness to admit when I am scared and confused.

I am not saying to you that because I am an artist I must travel and be inspired or that my normal life bores me. I say to you that no matter my travels, I'll be an artist in the way I go about living. That is my only guarantee. I don't want to make any more promises about what I will do and how wonderful it will be. I don't want to commit to a number of paintings or a show date or a project deadline. For the first time in a long time, I want to see what comes out, see what takes shape, go where my passions lead.
Maybe I'll write a book. Maybe I'll paint murals. Maybe I'll fill 17 sketchbooks. Maybe I'll go to the Maldives and never return. I don't know. So I invite you to follow along on my blog, and facebook page to see what happens.
I might hate traveling. I might miss my studio and my bed and decide that to be uprooted is in conflict with how I live. No matter where I am I will continue to make art. While I'm closing my shop and online store, I'd like the option to share with you via my blog, and even sell pieces along the way. It will take some trial and error I'm sure. But I will try to communicate what is happening with my blog and facebook page. For the time being though, there will not be items in my online store and I will not host studio visits.

In between adventures (and sometimes during) I will be painting Family Tree Paintings. I am so honored to paint the stories of families and I hope that one day my paintings will leave a legacy of humanity that will tell future generations where we were in time and space. These paintings continue to inspire me and push me in new directions. My worldwide family grows with each new commission and in turn I learn from others about life, values and customs. One reason I feel so excited about this new lifestyle is because it will allow me to focus more than ever before, on these commissions. I admit that in the past, I have sometimes let these paintings fall behind the creation of other bodies of work, the year fills so fast with endeavors. But I have made a renewed commitment to these pieces and I'm so excited about it. I am currently at work on the trees for a small number of families in New Orleans. In addition, I have recently re-opened my waiting list for new families. There are currently 2 spots available for this cycle. If you would like to receive more information on a Family Tree Painting, let me know. I will be integrating my new nomadic lifestyle with my commitment to family trees by traveling to my families, and sometimes remaining in your area to create the painting, wherever you live in the world. I am keeping a small studio in New Orleans where I can create paintings between travels and anytime it will not work to paint in another city.

So that's it. Travel and Tree Paintings. The rest is Unknown.

Thanks for reading this update, for letting me say all this so ungracefully. I look forward to what's to come.

With passion,
Rebecca