I am excited to embark on this new adventure and rebrand my creative business. This has been an exciting time to look at what I want to accomplish and the direction I want to go as I reenter the waters. The analogy of a boat going into water works so well because I like the thought of letting the waves impact the path a bit. Having so much time away from my creations and studio gave me a new perspective on what this could look like and now I get to implement my vision. The boat is being rebuilt around the old version of my business. At the heart, “our kitchen table creations” will always be where this started. It was the perfect place to begin- literally from our kitchen table. Our creations allowed us to explore different mediums and approaches and dabblings (that is definitely a mandy-made-word). Emily and I created together as we thrifted frames and found side of the road scores and salvaged in the backrooms of antiques stores for the unprocessed gems. We never had a business plan or knew what we would be creating from month to month, let alone year to year! Our hearts and hands literally guided us. And it was so fun.
We were able to create throughout the year and have space on the walls of Kelly’s Bakery and Café in downtown Bloomington to share the pieces. During the almost a decade of sharing art at Kelly’s, starting in July 2011, we were able to put together different shows and one of kind creations around various themes sparked by my interests and passions. These shows and pieces were truly a part of my soul and I appreciated the love that the community showered on us as they enjoyed the creations with us.
When 2019 came and my cancer was discovered, our world shook. As 2020 shut down the world and I fought for my life, our creations were packed away and my studio sat untouched as I spent hours, days, and weeks in the hospital and going through treatment. As the months drug on, I found solace in coloring, journaling, and creating small collages in my artbook as I laid in bed, sat in treatment chairs, or lounged on the couch. The doctor told me to fight the neuropathy in my hands and fingers by moving them. So I colored and cut and glued and wrote and drew. My creativity saved my soul during those long days and helped me have something that was mine during a time when the world felt like it was spinning out of control.
With the word REMISSION, a new fight began. I needed to gain strength and endurance. The brain fog from chemotherapy needed time to clear. Dreaming in collage began again but I did not have the stamina to be in the studio. Like a rubber band, we want to bounce back to our former form. However, this time the rubber band had been stretched and the new form was unfamiliar…and felt so broken. Doing everyday life felt so heavy and I resigned to the fact that I may never return to my studio as I had before.
I was right. The old me and how I did things before would be forever changed. I had been burned down but something amazing was emerging from the chaos and ash, much like a phoenix. Ever since I was five years old, I knew I wanted to be a teacher so it made sense to return to teaching. Teaching felt comfortable and relit my passion for helping others. Luckily, teaching at the university allowed me to come back in one class increments instead of needing to go back full time all at once. I was also able to return to coaching softball in April of 2021. Well, I would make it to the softball field and sit in a chair in order to offer a bit of assistance to the players. This offered me the perfect incentive and physical therapy each day as I peeled myself out of bed and, metaphorically and physically, kept going. If you are familiar with the spoon theory, I had no spoons left for creative energy. If you are familiar with post-chemotherapy treatment and the emotional, spiritual, mental healing that happens once treatment ends, you know. You know, and I’m sorry you know!
In the summer of 2021, my studio flooded. The rains came and our basement had a foot of rain water sitting throughout it. I had just another surgery on my road to recovery and could not do anything from my bed to help with the rising waters. My friends and tribe showed up and helped to rescue the things in my studio and Emily waterproofed and rebuilt. Instead of getting back into the studio to create, I used my energy to move back into the space and organize my things again. As I continued to unpack, the tickle to create pulsed in my fingers and before I knew it, there were canvases on the easels and I was flinging paint, blasting music, and dancing around.
As I finished pieces, I had no place to display them. The café had closed and the world looked so different than it had before Covid. Making pieces that I could not share felt strange and creating for just myself was foreign. I gave myself permission to dream and researched starting a business and what the new chapter for my art business could look like. For the first time, I created an actual business plan and consulted with talented business owners in my life to dream bigger than I thought possible.
I am excited to share this new adventure with you. Collage and painting and found objects (be they from nature or thrifted) and all things mixed media call to my creative soul. Adding a little bit of inspiration or reflection or letting someone else feel seen complete my pieces. Stay tuned as creations start flowing out of my studio again.
mindful art by mw 