When the Shenanigans are Over

      Shenanigans |SHəˈnanəgənz| 
pl.noun informal 
secret or dishonest activity or maneuvering: “widespread financial shenanigans had ruined the fortunes of many.”
• silly or high-spirited behavior; mischief.
ORIGIN mid 19th cent.: of unknown origin.
        There will come a time when said shenanigans are over and our lives  will return to some version of normal. So what, until then, do we do?

          This past year and a half, as you may already know, I have been immersed in a body of work called “Of the Woods”. It has been quite an exercise of patient endurance for me, to come up with a series of new pieces and get them completed, photographed, and professionally framed. It’s been like planting seeds in ground that would produce fruit eventually, but its artwork instead of food. And because I had made the decision to give it a year and a  half,  I had a timeline and therefore a structure. 

 

        Now there appears to be a need for a new timeline for those seeds to grow. Because my shows are getting cancelled at an alarming rate, due to the shenanigans, I am facing the reality that one year is now likely going to be two or more. I figure, I’m already in the mode of doing artwork that nobody will see or be able to buy for a while. So what’s another year?!
        This is some pretty crazy shenanigans. 
         So here’s my new “blank slate”. It’s not a clean white canvas; more like a rich brown, filled with nutrients and earthworms, just asking for seedlings to be planted.

          See that pole shed in the background? That’s where my peaceful country art studio is. And yes, all that artwork,  framed and ready for all the shenanigans to be over. 

          Now don’t get me wrong. I am still showing up at the studio regular hours. Still making mixed media collage and Parts of Art jewelry. Still expecting to do some shows later this summer and fall. But once the Indiana soil is warm enough, and until the shenanigans are over, this is where you’ll find me.