Welcoming a New Year
Welcoming a New Year
Thoughts on a year of gratitude & community as well as reflections & self doubt in art making going forward in 2021.
What. A. Year.
To finish things off in true 2020 style, I reached a tipping point late November where my current coping strategies were no longer enough as additional concerns presented themselves. I had to take a break, prioritize, ask for help and space, and then focus on what I could to get me through the rest of the year. Rest assured, and thanks to the support of family and friends, I am now approaching a more manageable level of stress as some problems resolved while others are improving. Now, in this moment at the start of a new year, I am reminded of how lucky I am to start another year with you and I’m very happy to be able to share my gratitude, a few reflections, and a new poem, “Home”, with you.
Thank you for continuing below and taking time out of your day to share this moment with me. May we enjoy the start of a new year together with hope of better days ahead.
Gratitude
First of all - I have been reminded many times over this year that it is in these moments of chaos and uncertainty that we can find the ties that bind us together and keep us strong becoming even stronger. I would like to mention a few of these such moments and the folks who made them possible.
In gratitude…
To all the artists who found ways to support and promote each other throughout the year with a special thanks to artists who helped me create a video of gratitude and to the Sunday Stories Art Walk of Instagram artists organized by Alexandra Schaefers - an event created to share our work and learn and grow together.
The Arts Center and their dedicated team of employees, board members, and volunteers - working hard to safely and continually provide projects, inspiration, and support for students, artists, and the community.
To family and hikes on the local trails, pilates with my daughter, and virtual running events (thanks to the Blerch & the Holiday Half) with my family that kept me motivated to exercise and safely enjoy the outdoors as much as possible.
Movie nights to span all genres (made possible, along with plenty of books to read, thanks to our amazing Corvallis Library quickly finding ways to serve the community remotely.)
And plenty of music making, knitting, journaling, stitching and cooking & baking with family in person and friends remotely - making the best of a difficult year and finding ways to still be connected.
Reflections
Things I tried in 2020…
As my first shows of the year were quickly canceled, I had to find new virtual ways to share my art and engage with the public. Here are a few of the things I tried. I wanted to give you a simple “what worked, what didn’t” synopsis, but I find that many times my decisions to go forward are based on where I find enjoyment, not necessarily “success”. Hopefully you may still find my reflections helpful or a little interesting.
a Virtual Art Show (April 2020): With new work ready to share, I wanted to find a way to provide an art show experience to my viewers (including “live” music). This YouTube video was challenging, but fun to make. It really tested my video making & editing skills and provided me an opportunity to learn more about the process and find tools to make it work. I hope to create more of these in the future, currently planning on three events in 2021. Given the amount of work it takes, however, I will be happy if I can just successfully finish one. I’ll be sure to keep you posted in my e-newsletter. (If you haven’t already, you are welcome to subscribe here).
LIVE painting events (August 2020 plein air painting, September 2020 fox painting, November 2020 bunny & birds): I thoroughly enjoyed painting these live on YouTube - actually having a bit of fun dialoguing with myself in trying to reach out to those who joined me. I’m sure there were plenty awkward pauses and moments, but hopefully an interesting painting process for my audience to enjoy. I especially enjoyed the plein air session and plan on doing another summer of plein air paintings with more of them being captured live in 2021. I also tried to make the events special by only making the live (approx. 3 hour) events available online for a short time and then reducing the full process into a short time lapse (pictured in the links above).
LIVE painting tutorial (December 2020 Winter Trees): I have found the tutorial process traditionally difficult for me as my painting process is definitely more intuitive then process oriented. In creating a painting in advance I had hoped to make it easier to capture this process and provide something fun and participatory for my audience. When I made the original painting I had written down my steps, including the colors and techniques I used along the way. However, when the day to paint LIVE (on YouTube) came around, I realized I had accidentally thrown out my handwritten notes. For the actual painting event I felt especially awkward and didn’t quite complete the painting how I originally intended. For this event I was especially grateful to those who participated for giving it a go and even sending me some amazing pictures of their completed work! I may give this process another try, but I may need to let the memories of my first attempt fade a bit first (but remembering to keep my notes next time!) The link to the full event is provided above if you want to give the painting “Winter Trees” a try. :)
Fiber Arts (Stitch-a-long event & Knitted Leaf Designs): As many of you have noticed, I keep increasing my time in fiber arts practices - partly out of love for the process, and partly as one of my life coping strategies (I find knitting and cross stitch very soothing). I especially enjoyed stitching the Mystery Stitch-a-Long with many of you as I desperately needed that focused time in my life at that moment myself. I definitely made mistakes with the rollout and engagement of this event, however, and am grateful to a community of folks willing to let me know while being kind, thoughtful, and willing to adjust and continue with the stitching process. I hope to do more of these in 2021, but with better planning and procedure to make it successful for my participants. For knitting, I am still engaging in designing, printmaking and sculptural work using knitted pieces. The process has been slow, but there will be more to come in 2021. Going forward, I’m still figuring out how I want to incorporate these new passions into my art practice, but it will happen nonetheless. Past projects slowly and quietly continue. New projects are being developed. I look forward to sharing it all with you along the way!
Instagram LIVE: I would like to make more use of this particular method of engagement in 2021. In some ways similar to the live painting events, I enjoy briefly jumping online and sharing a moment with you. I was first drawn to the medium watching Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez engage with her audience. It was such a personal way to reach out, coming from the living room couch or while cooking a meal while sharing her impassioned efforts and struggles of what I’m sure was a long, hard day. While my days are not nearly so hard or so exciting - from chats about my day to giveaway announcements, I hope to engage more with you in 2021 using this platform.
NEW Website: As I confronted a future sharing my art only online, I also knew I needed more flexibility and control with my website and how I share new work with my customers. I decided it was finally time for me to remove my original work from the Etsy platform and give it more room to grow and be shared in a more organized way. So, in April, in conjunction with my first virtual art show, I opened JenniferLommersFeaturedArt.com (created via SquareUp & Weebly) - replacing my previous site at JenniferLommersArtForSale.com (created via Etsy). I have enjoyed the move so far, and plan on continuing to improve my new site. I also plan to continue offering discounted work, books, buttons, stickers, cards, and more fun items (printed via third parties) via my traditional Etsy site, jenlo262.etsy.com. Thank you to everyone who followed my progress and kept shopping along the way! I couldn’t have done it without you.
Less Social Media (a little contradicting to the above, I know): This morning I read an article by Alicia Kennedy (On Online) that really struck a chord with me about what social media is and how it affects us by presenting only one curated dimension of a person. Social media doesn’t necessarily capture the subtle nuances of people and ideas. Adding to that, my concerns about Facebook and its dishonorable practices is one of the many reasons I no longer post there and am slowly deleting past posts & images. In general,I find myself less attracted by the content I find on social media and more attracted to deeper writings and texts. While I will still post on Instagram (mostly images of work I’m excited to share) & Twitter (rare postings of art, a few musings, but mostly my place to find interesting political insights and quips), I don’t plan on making social media a large part of my process in 2021. I’m hoping you choose to join me in other more meaningful ways (which is hopefully why you’re here!)
More journaling, writing, and poetry: I am grateful I decided to re-engage in the practice of daily journaling in April (as shown here). This practice set me up for a more thoughtful and grounded art making process. My journal entries are not always daily now, but they are frequent and also include longer essays, poems, and many new ideas to keep me moving creatively onward in 2021. I hope to share more of these writings with you over the coming year.
Self Doubt & Creativity
In this year of chaos, I have also been reminded of how much art making can truly be a reflection of life, going in unexpected directions while we struggle along trying to make the best of the mess in front of us. And as we try to find a path forward, self doubt can creep in and hold us back from continuing in our efforts. But the failures and successes we experience are all a part of our personal and creative timeline and give us the depth and layers of understanding and purpose to make new and interesting work. It is in this struggle that we can find our greatest artistic fulfillment, finding and defining success in our own terms.
I was raised on certainty. Right vs. Wrong. Good vs. Bad. Simple or Complex. Understanding the subtleties of a continuum were not explored in our household. I find the older I get, the more I need to learn, explore, grow and understand the nuances between the chasms. And part of that growth includes embracing the knowledge that I can be both confident and filled with self doubt. I can live in a dynamic pendulum of reflection and action, and as an artist, I can now see this fluid dichotomy as essential to my process.
And for me, that’s the key to sharing what I make with you, confidently, yet filled with self doubt - knowing that we all live within a complex continuum of ideas, knowledge, and experiences. It’s not easy to share your deepest most personal thoughts, but that’s what happens when you share what you’ve created. It forces a reckoning within oneself about the person he/she sees reflected in one’s own work and in the eyes of others. As I try new methods, techniques, mediums; as I get older; as I look and see a world in all its complexity of color and design; it becomes even more evident. And the pendulum swings more slowly, more deliberately, never resting, but finding peace in the motion.
a Poem to start the New Year
Poem text below & Video on YouTube
Home, a poem
I remember when
I didn’t know.
My home unnoticed,
unlocked,
empty.
Nat King Cole
Pink Martini
Debussy
on the record player.
Me
quietly working alone
while watching the birds out my window.
Moving from studio to kitchen
to desk to cozy chair
waiting in the warmth of the afternoon sunlight
to welcome the arrival of family.
Doors opening, closing
cupboards ajar
stories from the day shared.
Sounds of saxophone, piano
someone singing along.
Distant sounds of electronics and games
of negotiating and navigating
a meal shared
at the kitchen counter
dishes clatter in a sink
dirtied then washed.
An unnoticed symphony
a house empty and full
in the quiet and the din
a yin and yang
an etude and overture
bringing me balance and joy
as the evening fades away.
Now my home gently seeks
a new kind of comfort
sheltering in place
doors locked,
keys quietly tucked away, forgotten.
Nowhere to go.
Yet I’m grateful for the safety and security within.
A home filled with work and chores,
music and entertainment
a constant hum
keeping the quiet at bay
while I oscillate
between grief & reconciliation
exhaustion & strength
fear & comfort.
In chaos,
distracted.
Yet finding Hope
quietly and slowly steadying its call
waiting for time to pass
as surely as it will.
Gifting us a new day
when chaos is calmed
balance is restored
strength and resilience
filling every home anew.
With determination and joy
we unlock the doors
to a concert hall, reopened.
A symphony taking the stage.
Audience weeping.
Me, weeping.
As the music plays once again.
Thank you
for sharing this (rather long!) moment with me. Wishing you a happy and hopeful 2021!
Cheers,
Jennifer