Reconnecting

I don’t think I have to tell anyone that it has been a challenging past few months. It has been the strangest and craziest year of my entire life. This time last year, I was in the midst of putting my house back together, after a sudden and painful divorce, to get it sold. The house sold in December. I was living in my converted 6’x8′ cargo trailer and was parked on friend’s property. I was enduring storm after storm and finally decided to move to an apartment at the beginning of January, 2020.

As I settled in, I started hearing whispers of a possible pandemic called COVID-19. This was in January and the US was not publicly announcing any news on the subject. I was getting my information from the international scientists I follow. I started gathering supplies in January and was all set by the time the panic buying started here.

It has been such a strange year! Needless to say, between deep, personal healing and a worldwide pandemic, I have been a bit distracted from my work. It is time to get back to it. I have even more reason to return to my work and art practice as I reclaim my life, I am hoping to buy a house and start on the next adventure in my life. This journey will include drawing and painting as well as house renovation and permaculture gardening. It is a way of life I am reaching for.

Today, amidst filling out paperwork and readying financial statements, I began my daily sketch practice again. I am rusty. My favorite place to draw from life, the Oregon Zoo, is still closed as COVID cases here in my state of Oregon are climbing again. I miss seeing my favorite Cheetah sisters. Instead, I am sketching from Explore.org’s live Bear Cams. When I can’t get out to sketch the actual animals, the live cams are the next best thing. I enjoyed sketching the brown bears of Katmai National Park this morning. I must admit though, my sketching felt clunky and awkward to me.

I have heard it said many times that art is like working out. If you don’t work out everyday, or nearly so, you lose your conditioning. I have certainly lost my conditioning! It will return though. I have been studying a bit here and there these past months but it is most definitely time to reconnect to a solid practice.

I have started a new blog to chronicle my search for a new start, a new home, and, a new life. I am both excited and nervous. There are so many changes, not only in my own life, but in the world. I have already faced a lot of challenges in this new journey and a possible pending setback. I will find a way to keep moving forward. I have a lot of work to do and a lot of changes on this site are coming.

My new blog is at RedTwillCottage.com. It will mainly be focused on the home and garden side of things. Eventually, these two sites might merge but for now, please do check it out if you are interested! It will be a very busy week next week. In the meantime, Happy 4th of July weekend to those in the U.S.A. and please do take care!

-Renee