I've been working very hard for months on a solo show at Seeing Things Gallery. It's been a wild ride of commissions, returning to teaching about 10 hours per week and creating new work for this show these last few months. I spent a lot of quiet time on a chaotic workload. I am happy the flyer is finally finished as the December 6th opening date looms closer. Please come by from 7-11pm!
Lay Low, new work by Frances Marin at Seeing Things Gallery
For me, working on a show means digging into the fragile parts of my brain. It means negative self-talk happens, moments of insight create positive and productive work time and this up and down usually happens up until the night of the show, when I breathe a big sigh of relief. This show, more than any prior, was very intuitive. The paintings evolved and changes were made by gut feeling. I can often over-think my work, and though that still happened, I was more easily than ever able to quiet that side and just get to work.
A big reason I was able to work on this show, commissions and teach part-time these last few months, is because of a very disciplined schedule. While I wasn't actively working every single second, 24-7, I was working pretty close to that. I missed shows that I wanted to go to (Mazzy Star?!), celebratory events with friends and overall most human interaction that was outside of my teaching job. I exercised almost everyday and only drank water, coffee and green juices. Spending a lot of time alone is great in some ways. I found the past resurfacing and made better sense of that. I thought a lot about changes I want to make for next year and beyond. I realized what was most important to me in all categories of my life. Spending a lot of time working alone can also be rough. There can be too much thinking and too much self. You realize how important it is to get outside and live life.
While self-discipline has been a recurring thing in my life: it got me through college, put me in a swimming/yoga/running routine years ago, quit smoking, multiple detoxes/cleanses, it was this time that I felt it in a more true sense of the phrase. I'm excited to see where this goes.