What’s going on my peeps? I was supposed to send this on Monday but I have been trying to stay on top of a few different things. I know a few of you have been unable to eat sleep or drink without needing to have an update from me on this blog so do not fret, the life update is here!
But before getting into what’s going on in my life, I wanted to share about the cool opportunities that are on the horizon for me in the art world. It is a very busy time. It feels like these happen every so often right before some gear is about to shift or things in life are about to take a different form… like the last leg of a race or just the last 10% of the task. Tying up the knots and securing the details. In June, I will have had my first business open for a whole year. Sometimes it feels like you’re so busy trying to keep the thing alive that it’s easy to forget to be thankful about it all in the first place… but opening Blooms Emporium has been one of the great teaching experiences of my life so far - it has forced me to grow, take more responsibility over my life and my time, and ultaimtaely if there’s anything I would take away from it, is that what goes around in life always comes around. This goes for personal, business, relationships, money… everything. Business ownership has shown me how much of an active role I play in my own life…and that through dedication and hard work, one can steer certain aspects of life. No all of it, but some aspects. But all that to say, it has been such a teaching year and I’m preparing myself for the next phase of what this whole art adventure may be. So, just briefly, here are my next few weeks in a nutshell.
Dogwood Arts Festival
This weekend I will be a featured artist for Coca-Cola for the Atlanta Dogwood Festival. What’s crazy is that my assistant sophia sent me the link this year and we had missed the deadline to apply for an artist booth… Then a few weeks later they hit me up and we started working on our concept to be a featured artist right near the entrance on 14th. It’s crazy how the universe works! So, come. see me and my team this weekend from Friday until Saturday, we will be there all day painting and hosting FREE Dogwood Flower classes for the festival. There is a lot of art and music happening that weekend so please check out Dogwood Festival for more info.
Off To Europe
Right after the festival I will fly to Frankfurt, Germany from where I will board a train to Paris. Over the last years, I have been working towards my dream of seeing the world through the lense of an artist - having the opportunity to be inspired and create in different places… commemorating the experiences through pieces of visual art. All the time I’ve been putting in, I’ve always tried to stay focus on my goals… it has helped me push through times of not feeling like doing things or feeling discouraged… I always tried to remember my dream. So on Sunday I will go to Paris where I will tattoo one day at @Larmarque.tatoo - the other days I plan to see some historic sights and artworks and also work on my solo exhibit in Frankfurt.
“the Long way home” scrolls exhibit in Frankfurt
After my 4 days in Paris I will return to Frankfurt where I will host my first international solo exhibition at Retablo Coffee. I have been brainstorming ways to travel with artwork and it hit me… scrolls! I’ve been wanting to learn how to make scrolls for sometime now to further explore traditional Chinese art techniques. I found a way I could begin to mount my watercolor pieces on scrolls so I can roll them up to work on them and bring them along with me in Europe. I plan to bring my papers and paint the show as I am inspired in Europe. The opening for the exhibit will be on April 19th in conjunction with their Friday Night Bar events. I am excited to be able to bring my art and showcase it outside of the country! And as a thanks for reading my blog, here’s a sneak peak photo of how the scrolls are turning out!
GODS OF INK
After my opening I will spend the weekend in Frankfurt at the Gods of Ink Tattoo Convention. I am excited to meet and witness some of the greatest tattooers alive on the planet today. Tattooing takes a long time and lot of patience and dedication, and I feel like this trip for me will be good to see some of tattoo heroes in action and to grow a deeper appreciation for the opportunity to learn tattooing.
COMING SOON: ART CLASSES AT THE ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDENS
So, This one has been a long time coming. I’ve always envisioned an art class at a garden where people could observe a real life flower… for about year now I’ve been wanting to do it with the Atlanta Botanical Gardens… and now it’s happening! On May 4th, I will be doing a very special edition of my art class at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens… just as the Peonies briefly bloom for May we will be able to take a look at these peonies in real life and then make paintings based on the real life models found in the gardens. This first class is to see how everything goes but I hope that this will turn into a long time partnership with the gardens… one of the most beautiful places in Atlanta.
So what about me?
So that’s everything going on in the arts world. but what about me? Well, I turned 31 a couple weeks ago. It was a quiet birthday just spent with a couple friends by a river. My recent life has been really quiet, despite everything I’m need to “do.” I can feel myself changing - my values, goals, desires - are ever so deepening. Sometimes I wonder what it is I’m holding onto… be it a “better time” in the past, something I’m missing out on… I don’t know.. but more than ever I am feeling the urgency of now. Sometimes our entire life can be swallowed up in the “what will become?” and “what could have been?”… spending so much time over trying to correct the past or to see the future. Many times, and for long periods of time, we forget that what we have is the present moment. I have been amazed at the possibilities of the present moment - in which one can decide totally to walk a new direction. I think sometimes we are so afraid of the change we can’t bare admit the fact that we can decide to be and do anything we desire starting today.
I’ve been struggling and wrestling with my own procrastination in life… putting things off, waiting until better times, doing it “later.” I’ve realized how much of my inability to move forward with certain aspects of my life boils down to fearing the change that it will bring. But in the end, you cannot wait in a place you do not belong for too long because it is your conscience that you will eventually face, what you decided to do. With a lot of things in life, we wait and wait and wait, try to go around, try to hide, try to escape… yet somehow we always find it there with us. The only way to deal with the fear is to accept it, look at it, and embrace the free fall of change.
For me, some things that used to work for me - satisfy me, excite me, numb me - don’t anymore. I’m looking for something different, a new place and a new time. I’m trying to hold everything in my life with open hands, trying to know when it is time to be emptied so that I can learn something completely new. I cannot hold on so dearly to the old and expect for there to be space in my spirit for what is meant for me next.
Change is difficult, but how I see it, we’re not given much of a choice. The only way to lasting freedom, understanding and fullfilment is never around, but always through.
Thank yall for reading… I will continuing to be blogging throughout my travels this week so stay tuned and as always thank you for the support. Let’s do something great!