October 9, 2017

Controlled Chaos

The last month has pretty much been controlled chaos. I felt in control of my days, but I had to peddle furiously to get through them.

But rather than get all stressed and apologetic about missing a few weeks of blogging, I’ll just catch you up on why – and I’m guessing the artists out there will identify with my efforts.

I started the month of September trying to finish three new drawings (including the one below) for inclusion in my exhibit for the final 2017 Gallery Walk Sept. 15. The point of Gallery Walk, sponsored by Tippecanoe Arts Federation, is to encourage the public to visit stores and businesses in downtown Lafayette who had opened their doors to various art exhibits on three Friday nights in spring, summer and fall. I had already exhibited at the first two, and had ideas for some new drawings for the final Walk.

In the Real World, damselflies often lay eggs in or near water, and they can sense whether water is “clean” or not. Frogs are a common predator of damselfly nymphs as they grow. In the Absurd World, a large, ugly frog is gatekeeper to the pond selected by damselflies, who can sense a bad vibe and are not sure they want to pay the price to enter the pond.

Exhibiting at Merlin’s Beard for all three Walks did take some of the stress off setting up, but the real bonus was the great food and a TON of board games to distract us during exhibit down time. I’m not going to tell you what game Soo, BJ and I played each Gallery Walk, because it was seriously elementary (Checkers is difficult compared to this game), but we added our own layer of strategy and competition to keep it interesting. We also threw in a T-shirt drawing, and two lucky winners took home one of my Apis Mellifera T-shirts. The third winner took home a Merlin’s Beard shirt.

Following Gallery Walk, I got back to pondering the direction of my Instagram account @karensabsurdart. I have to think about these things and understand them – so, tell me again, why is Instagram important? – or it makes me crazy.

I know. Many people just throw a ton of pictures out there daily or weekly without much thought. And that’s OK for them. But after 30 years in journalism, crafting stories and finding just the right photography and/or art, it goes against my grain to post without at least some reason. Am I only showcasing art? Am I posting more personal pictures? Am I doing a mix? If so, do I want snippets of my personal life plastered on Instagram?

I had no clue what I was doing when Soo started the account up a few months ago and took charge of nudging me to find pictures and text to post. I’m still flying a bit blind, but I do understand it more today and am ready to take more control.

Instagram, for my business, is a place to create an artist’s identity rather than to just sell a product. Through displaying your art and including glimpses of your business and personal identities, I feel that it helps those interested in your art to get to know you and want to learn more on your website or on Facebook.

Ahh, Facebook Facebook Facebook…

Struggling with this behemoth is on my list after conquering Instagram. Right now I don’t trust that there’s a reason for Facebook, so I’ve been slow to learn its ways, and it fights me back every time I try to accomplish something as simple as answering a message from a family member. The problem is that I see Facebook as a place where I am forced to do things that I already am accomplishing elsewhere. Like communications (email and texting); photos (Instagram); and researching and gathering information (Google).

I don’t see the NEED for Facebook, and it requires time I don’t have, so I’ve been digging in my heels.

My mother has always told me I’m stubborn, and she enjoys relating stories about this trait. Apparently when I was three, she tried to wash my hair in the kitchen sink. I did NOT want my hair washed and instead of obediently bending over the sink like the daughter Mom wished she had, I locked my knees as she tried to tip me over while I was standing on a chair. Eventually she won, as 3-year-olds don’t have much stamina, and I’m guessing Facebook will eventually win, too, adding more scars to my psyche.

In the meantime, I continue to draw. I’m currently working on a series of new pop culture drawings illustrated through the world of insects – primarily bees, but not limited to that. I’m not sure how many I can get done, but at least some will be featured with other favorites in an upcoming exhibit during the month of December at the West Lafayette Public Library.

And finally, the chaos of last month culminated in the first week of October with a week of sorting tax papers to meet the IRS extended deadline. I was trying to soften the burden by working from a comfortable chair in front of the TV, but ended up with an annoyed cat who couldn’t decide whether it was more fun to jump into the sorting bags and stir them up or park himself in my lap for some attention that I didn’t have time to give.

But I’m a trooper, and I did get to the accountant’s on time, and petted Cornelius. I’m sure it wasn’t enough and that he’s planning revenge. Hard to say – he always looks annoyed.