1.18.16 [renaissance hotel]

It has been quite an exciting January already. I'm settling in to my new role at the Foundry Art Centre and just wrapped up a very fun exhibition at the Renaissance St. Louis Airport Hotel. Thank you to the Renaissance for featuring me and my work. I would absolutely recommend being a part of this art initiative in Saint Louis; included in this post are details for you to display your work or play your music at the Renaissance Hotel.

inktober

Thanks to Instagram, I was reminded of the annual art-making challenge of Inktober which I have wanted to participate in since I learned about it last year. The goal: complete one ink drawing per day in October. This exercise came at the right time for me; I often get in drawing ruts and instead of fighting through it, I default to lettering and calligraphy. And as much as I love lettering and improving my handwriting skills during that evasion, I neglect drawing and those skills become rusty. And then I fear picking up a pencil or pen because I know the result will be dismal. And believe me, day one of Inktober was just that. Looking back on October, I can see improvement in different areas of my drawing, composition, and abilities, and I can also look back in my sketchbooks and look at all the ways I flopped! Here are my drawings for Inktober 2015:

5.11.15 [write_on, joe's addiction & updates]

Writing 30 letters was harder than I thought. My can-do attitude started fading around the 15th but each time I pushed myself to write a letter, I was met with a feeling of accomplishment that carried me through to the next day.

write_on campaign 2015

I love mail. I love stamps. I love addressing envelopes. I love stationery and papers and all of it. I love mail. So when I heard about the Write_On Campaign to celebrate National Letter-Writing month, you can guarantee my heart skipped a beat.

making something new

When I was in college, during my junior year, my advisor and teacher announced to the class that we each needed to find our "thing." Our trademark style, our claim to the art world; we each needed to develop a manner in which we painted, drew, sculpted or designed that was uniquely our own. I think we all knew that was necessary; I am certain though that it had not truly sunk into my own brain until that moment - and after it had taken root, it birthed a new kind of anxiety within me that was a mixture of terror and determination.

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