No Naked Walls: A Time for Reflection

Into the Future
Collagraph plate

One of the blogs I follow is that of Donna Iona Drozda.  http://donnaionadrozda.com/ABOUT.html  She is a wonderful artist who has come through adversity and risen above it.  I was quite taken by a recent post on her blog Following the Moon, http://donnaionadrozda.com/blog/.   It was about November being a time of introspection.  I have always liked the idea of the cycle of things but the past few years I seem to have lost the habit of reflection.  The idea of things dying away in the fall, the possible new incubating in the dark of winter like a baby in the womb, then awakening and growing in the spring is wonderful.  Her post has revived my commitment to introspection, to thinking what it is that I want to leave behind as 2010 comes to and end and what it is that I want to nurture and grow over the winter months ready to burst out and bloom in summer 2011.  "An unexamined life is not worth living" said Socrates so I better get to it!

Open Studios

Open Studios are fun for both the artist and the people who visit.  I have done several in Ottawa, Canada and in York in the UK.   Perhaps there is an element of voyeurism on the part of the visitors.  We all like to see inside someones home or private space, to see how they live and who they really are. I guess that is why feature articles in home decorating mags are so popular.  An Open Studio also allows visitors to learn about the artists process and they can take away with them a greater feel for the artist and their work. 
I am in the final stages of organizing my November Open Studio, the first one I have done here in Toronto.  I intend to make it an annual event.  Because I am new to the city I am not expecting to have lots of visitors this year but over time I know it will grow. I have been putting out lots of postcards and sending info to my mailing list.  The next challenge will be to decide what work I am going to show and how I will arrange it in the house.  I usually rearrange the furniture in the main rooms, editing as much out of the space as possible and moving it to the side of the space all in an attempt to make it look more sparse and gallery like so the focus is on the art.  I may even roll up the rugs to expose the hardwood floors and  give an even cleaner look.  I recently installed  low voltage halogen track lighting in the main room and it makes the colors in the art look wonderful.  It all takes a bit of work but that's part of the fun.

I had two different postcards done.  I used this image on the one shown above because it is a combination of both painting and printmaking.  The other features a musical work. Below is the flip side.

I would love your comments on how you feel about Open Studios.