Big Win - Calm & Grounded Art Show Process

I just dropped off my artwork - all 24 pieces - for a big solo show 4 hours before the deadline, and I'm feeling so grounded and embodied and calm. Don't get me wrong, I'm super excited for this exhibit, but in the past I would have been a bit frazzled and frantic and working on my submission up until the very last minute. This time I was able to pace myself, work steadily over the past five days or so to wrap everything up, organize, finalize, and catalog everything. I wrote a new artist statement with joy and less concern for what others may think, and I'm truly feeling joy for getting to share my art with more people.

Also I'm tired now after having finished all the hard work leading up to this - but the difference is that my house isn't a total wreck and I'm not completely wiped out (exhausted) like I have been in the past - many times. Big win - yay! Thank you for allowing me to share this, by the way, I strongly believe that if I don't stop and appreciate the small (and big) wins along the way, then I'll always feel like I'm on a hamster wheel of striving for more and more.

I'm on a mission to live a more embodied life - less disassociation into my mind (where I learned to go as a child when I felt unsafe) - more grounded in my physical body, A stronger sense of being in this present moment in this physical space I'm in. I'm extremely sensitive to nearly everything it seems, so I get triggered into disassociation quite frequently. A loud annoying sound, harsh lighting, a cluttered environment, a hot and humid climate - any of these things can send me straight up into living solely from the neck up. I just thought I'd share this, in case anyone reading this can relate - you're not alone! (:

So yes, I'm so excited for the upcoming show at Camino Bakery in downtown Winston-Salem, curated by Toni Tronu - owner of Visual Index. If you haven't yet been to her art gallery of a shop, then get on over to see it while you're here to see my show! She has amazing works of art from all 50 states in her impeccably curated shop which feels like a tastefully hip art museum with loads of natural light.

Visual Index - a woman-owned shoppable gallery and website championing independent artists and artisans from across the country!

My show that Toni is curating and hanging will be exhibited at Camino Bakery on Fourth in downtown Winston-Salem, NC beginning on September 1st and running through November 30th. I paint for myself, for my sanity, for a sense of letting my inner world come out into the light. I am deeply interested in the role of our subconscious and how Internal Family Systems and Jungian dream psychology can connect us to what is hidden from our conscious mind. My intention is to bring forth a tangible experience of the unconscious dream world through visual art. For as Carl Jung said, “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”

My work is very tactile and textured, subtle yet profound - much like our dreams. I find so much joy in creating art, and I truly hope this joy travels through to reach you, the audience. I invite you to come see some of my latest pieces that I am purposely allowing only to be seen in person for now. They have been born from my work with dreams and tapping into the more hidden parts of myself and perhaps all of us (in the collective unconscious!)