occasionally i will find some random press about myself. ok. maybe not press. but a mention in a blog or what not. i love it! it’s so nice to be appreciated! although, i do wish appreciation would turn into money just a little more than it does…. 
at any rate, thanks to those who have taken the time to notice my work and appreciate it! (click on the pic to go to the website)
ok. ok. i am like the worlds worst blogger. it is almost july and i have yet to do the artist interview for may! i am behind on a few things right now. but i am still planning on doing a feature artist and i have the first several artists that i will be featuring it’s just a matter of getting things in order. my to do list keeps piling up! maybe i need an assitant? oh wait, i probably need to make more money first - i have nothing to pay an assitant….
in April i ended up having surgery on my right elbow (read: drawing/painting/typing/everything arm) for tendonitis and it has been a slow process of healing. i am still not able to do much with it but it is getting better. and as much as this has been a pain in the butt i believe the surgery was a success. according to my dr. it was definitely necessary. but damn those tendons take a loooong time to heal!!
aside from that i am itching to get back to painting and drawing. i am sooo excited to unveil some new work!
(gotta love Charlotte’s Web)
So. I would like to start featuring a different artist each month. The feature post will consist of a small interview and a few choice images along with links to the artists websites, shops, etc. I feel like I run out of ideas to write about and feel slightly selfish/egocentric using an entire blog to write about what is going on in my life.
I am looking for submissions from different artists of every kind. May has already been taken by artist Kristina Rolander. I plan to have the post up by May 1st. Artists who would like to be featured on my blog either email me or leave a comment. Please include a link to your work.
Really, it all comes down to supporting each other.
i am having a huge surge of creative output. it’s so weird when this happens. for the longest time i was feeling so uninspired. and if i was inspired i just didn’t have the energy/time/thoughtfulness to make anything. or maybe i was just thinking too much? this tends to happen quite frequently for me. i over think everything. right now i am just going with my instincts. making art for the sake of my sanity/just because.
this idea of making art without an end in sight or in mind is a rather hard thing for me to do. i think this is because of art school. now, i graduated in 2001 so that has given me plenty of time to unlearn a few things. school is great, don’t get me wrong. but i feel like in a school setting art can be theorized to death. sometimes (at least for me) my education works against me. (in more ways than one - getting a completely un-employable education definitely has worked against me).
anyways…
can’t. stop. painting.
© lauren b. woehler 2009
at the rate i am going things should be finished soon. and hopefully i can get my printer on the mend and offer some of these in the shop.
dying paper with coffee and coffee grounds in the bathtub.
and this above is what it’s turning into. working with animals/animal heads. kind of excited to see where it all leads. i am having printer problems right now (updated to leopard and my epson is not printing right) but when i get that figured out i will be offering prints of this in my etsy shop.
© lauren b. woehler 2009
So these days I am pretty much unemployed. Or maybe I am underemployed? I have a couple little projects going but nothing that is bringing in money. One thing that I am in the process of finishing up is the redesign of a website for wedding photographer Kimberly Zsebe. You can check it out here - www.zbimages.com. Since I don’t really consider myself a web designer - there are a few kinks that need to be worked out. Overall, we are both happy with it.
One of the reasons that I am not working (the economy is definitely in play) is because I was supposed to have surgery for severe tennis elbow in my right arm on March 18th. That has been rescheduled for April 15th so things are in limbo for me right now. I can’t take on more steady work or any major projects. My rough plan is to start working outside of the home after I am all healed up for surgery. At least part time anyways. They say it will take at least a few months to heal up. So no money to spend. We are living pretty simply these days.
One good thing that has come out of everything is that I have been painting alot. I have also been taking a good look at my life and where I want to be at. It hasn’t been easy but definitely necessary. Things were not working out - especially where business is concerned - and things need to change. I kind of thought I had it figured out but I was wrong. Right now, I am not really sure where I am headed. Being a single mother, that is a little scary for me. I am just trying to have some faith, to let things just play out. Just sort of riding the waves. Trying not to let fear determine where I should be.
I have been reading a little bit of the Tao lately and I suppose that has inspired my outlook a bit. One passage that really struck a chord with me was this:
Cultivate harmony within yourself, and harmony becomes real;
Cultivate harmony within your family, and harmony becomes fertile;
Cultivate harmony within your community, and harmony becomes abundant;
Cultivate harmony within your culture, and harmony becomes enduring;
Cultivate harmony within the world, and harmony becomes ubiquitous.
Live with a person to understand that person;
Live with a family to understand that family;
Live with a community to understand that community;
Live with a culture to understand that culture;
Live with the world to understand the world.
How can I live with the world?
By accepting.
mixed media on photograph printed on paper.
© lauren b. woehler 2009
Sometimes when you are having a bad day (week, year…) the only thing you can really do is put things in perspective.
things that I appreciate (in no particular order of importance):
*my son
*jelly bellies
*thoughts of mexico
*the perfect dirty vodka martini
*dancing!
*finding a great pair of shoes for an even greater price
*super 8’s from my childhood
*a full tank of gas
*ginger peach tea
*eggs
*a clean office/studio
*a freshly gessoed canvas
*bare feet
*liquid eyeliner
*that one yummy salad from cempazuchi’s
*live music outdoors (or live music in general)
*pale, minty green
*beautifully sad songs
*dinner parties
*eyelashes
*big bodies of water
*sunshine
*the unexpected nap
*how excited my son gets about EVERYTHING
*a good soy latte
*beards
*reconnecting
*banjos
*the color turquoise
*comradery
*witty banter
*a well played board game
*cereal (any kind, all kinds)
*west
These are only some of the things I enjoy. I could go on and on.
It felt really good to write this list. What are some of your favorite things?
Hope everyone is having a great start to 2009! Mine has been filled with changes. Alot of stuff going on that isn’t necessarily art/design/business related. One thing that has been floating through my head quite a bit is going back to school to get my masters. I am not sure that this degree of education is needed for what I want to do or where I see myself going. It is alot of work and I am a s.ingle mama, so we will see. In other news, it looks like I will be having surgery on my elbow. My right elbow. I am right handed and I depend on my hands for my livelyhood. So this isn’t exactly something I am excited about. The problem lies in my tendon - I have tennis elbow. Tendonitis. I’ve been doing physical therapy, acupuncture, cortisone shot, wearing braces, rest, stretching - nothing has helped. I am going to see another dr. today for a second opinion. So, we will see what comes of this appointment. Overall, I am leaning towards having the surgery. I feel like being out of commission for two months or so is worth having this problem taken care of. It’s very painful and makes everything difficult. Oddly enough, it doesn’t actually bother me when I am typing or working on the computer - but it gets really bad after.
So I would love to hear anyone’s opinions about the surgery. If you have had it or if you know someone else that has had it.
I have a lot of things I need/want to get done before the surgery. This includes, wrapping up some albums that are in limbo, finishing up some artwork, updating my shop, deciding whether or not to apply to school for the fall, and tying up general loose ends.
Whew. Wish me luck!
And just because blog posts are always more fun with pictures, here ya go:
© Lauren Woehler 2009
