Wednesday, May 26, 2010

the road less traveled

I am thankful for flooded roads. I know that sounds odd, but if it weren't for flooded roads, I wouldn't have a painting on display at The Giving Room in Southold, NY this weekend. I was on my way to my mom's house early last month (when I picked her up to go to Frank's Change of Command) and there had been several days of heavy rains. Many of the roads on the east end of Long Island were completely washed out, as I discovered when I got off the ferry at Orient Point. There was a detour set up, so I followed it, and that's when I spotted The Giving Room. Their sign really jumped out at me: the words "Yoga", "Art", and "Philanthropy" were prominently featured. I scribbled down some information and told myself to look them up when I got home.

"Giving Hope" is the name of the event happening this Memorial Day weekend. There will be four days of community events (including yoga classes, live music, poetry readings, and an art auction) and part of the proceeds raised will be to benefit The Retreat, a local domestic violence service. I am so excited to have one of my paintings ("Seated Mountain Pose") up for auction, and I am happy to be involved with such a worthwhile cause.

Friday, May 21, 2010

turn that frown upside down

I had a bad day last week. I won't get into the whys and hows of what made that day not-so-stellar. What I will mention is that my day got infinitely better when I retreated to my studio for my daily discipline of painting. I picked up my brush and got lost in one of my current pieces. Half an hour went by in what felt like a fraction of the time, and then I got inspired to begin a new collage. I dove into it headfirst and next thing I knew, over two hours had gone by. I ended up spending at least another half hour up there even though it was getting very late. It is such a wonderful feeling to get lost in the process of creating artwork, and that experience completely turned my whole day around. Of course, it didn't change what had happened earlier, but it sure did make me a whole lot happier...and it's so nice to end on a positive note.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

name game

I had an interesting experience today. I was wrapping up an appointment at a client's house in Winthrop, ME. Since we had an enjoyable time working together, when I gave her my business card, I wrote my website address on the back and told her I was an artist. She looked at it and said, "Brushstrokes By Maria...I've seen this somewhere! How do I know this? Where did I see it?" I was so surprised I immediately assumed she was confusing it with something else and that there must be another site out there with a name similar to mine. I thought for a minute and then it dawned on me. I said, "Have you been to the Community Wellness Center in Farmingdale?" She said, "Yes! I saw your work there! I really liked it!" It's always great to get positive feedback, and having someone recognize my website's name from a good-sized group show they had attended is a completely new experience to me.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

four new collages











Here are some more new collages! Three of these ("Bliss Bliss Bliss", "Pennies From Heaven", and "Woman Energy") are on display at North Star Music Cafe this month, and one ("Open Your Heart") will be at the Community Wellness Center.