The Art of Nurturing…Yourself

I’m starting to realize what I’ve been missing. Through the bouts of distraction, doubt, and low energy it has finally been made clear.

I haven’t been nurturing myself.

When I painted Through Darkness Comes Depth I didn’t realize how much I would need this message later. My painting process is intuitive and best when I stay out of my own way, so I try to keep my mind out of it as much as possible. But when I look back at my own thoughts and behaviors over the past few weeks, it dawned on me that this Postcard From The Future is to me, from me, right now.

Like many of us, I’ve spent a lot of time over the past few years nestled into my own space in the world. And while I actually enjoyed a lot of that alone time, I’m starting to see how it affected my motivation and communication. I used to find inspiration everywhere and I loved sharing it with you, whether it was here on this blog more than 10 years ago or in more recent years on Instagram.

I truly felt joy in sharing my life, the things that inspired me, and my own art. Lately I’ve felt that it’s just something that’s a necessary part of being an artist. I’ve felt detached from sharing. It has felt more automatic and uninspired, and I hate that.

While I’ve been obsessing about Instagram and know that some of my lack of motivation stemmed from their algorithm changes that made me feel like I’ve been sharing posts with maybe two people, it’s not just that. It’s my own disconnect with myself. I think I’ve been spending too much time in my studio and not enough time in the world. I’ve been focusing on my work too much without refilling my creative well. I haven’t spent enough time going out and soaking up inspiration and energy and experiences that fill me with joy. And really, why would I feel like sharing my life if I’m so focused on my work? I’m all for sharing behind-the-scenes stuff in the studio – which I HAVEN’T been doing either – but I think too much of that could get boring too.

to be able to share, i need to live.

I’m going to Portland with my family this weekend. Just thinking about the experience makes me feel lighter and happier. Next week I’ll be back in my studio working on paintings for my September art pop-up at Casa di LaValle. And the cool thing is that I already know how great I’m going to feel when I’m home from this mini-vacation. How seeing new things and being with people that I love and having novel experiences enhance my well-being. How we all could use a reminder every now and then to get out there and live. To look our routines straight in the eye and run the other way as fast as we can and inhale brand new life.

Some General Housekeeping

1. Writing here today has felt amazing and I’m excited to keep it up. Here is a link where you can sign up to have new blog posts sent to your inbox if you don’t want to miss them.

2. Rather than turn on comments here again, I’m going to add a feed post on Instagram where we can discuss things that I share here. It’s going to be at the bottom of every post, starting today. If you happen to read the posts before I add the Instagram links for comments, just pop back over in a bit to get it.

There are a couple of reasons why I’m doing this. One, I had to close comments last time I used my blog a lot because they were almost ALL spam. Every time I logged in I had to deal with it and I don’t want to do that again. Two, this is going to be part of the new way that I use Instagram. While the company has rolled back some of the current horrific changes thanks to influencer outbursts, they own that space. I want to show up first and foremost in a space that I own, which is here. I also want to continue to use Instagram in the way that I want to use it, which is sharing the things that inspire me, getting back to sharing more of my creative process, and connecting with people like you. I don’t want to feel pressured to share things in a way that I don’t want to share them just so people who follow me *may* have a chance to see more of my posts. This space is my priority now.

3. I’m considering sending out my newsletter on a weekly or bi-weekly basis and including some links back to whatever we’re chatting about here in my Artist Journal. You can sign up for my newsletter here if you’re not already on it. I haven’t been sending it out all that often over the past few years, even though I’ve meant to. I’m excited for this change!

Thanks for reading, for showing up here, and for supporting my art. I feel like I’m finding my way back to myself again and I’m excited to connect with you.

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