The annual date of April 15th can drudge up a variety of thoughts, feelings and emotions for many. It is the national, "pay your taxes day." And for some that just makes us crazy, especially if you're a creative right brained sort of person. - Luckily I am a middle of the road left-brained artist. I am a creative, yet I desire to be extremely organized and efficient. I was able to be so very efficient this year, that I already submitted my taxes and even had a week to go!
For this artist, however, April 15, 2015 brings up a new date. It is a date that I will be closing my studio at 2590 W. 2nd Avenue in Denver, CO. It was a lovely space, it was open and it was grand. Almost 2000 square feet of creative space for all my grandiose ideas. I rented this space for the past 2 years, and what a beauty of a space it was. Anyone that walked into it was in awe, of the high ceilings, the opening garage doors and the wonderful vibe I had going there. I even hosted a few fundraisers and small concerts in the space. But alas, as what happens to most of the artists I know that are at the mercy of their landlord, mine is re-locating and therefore so must I.
Change.
The only consistent in life is that change happens. Over the last 15 years of making art in Denver, I have moved my studio at least 8 times that I can recall. I had 2 different spaces in an old school building that was eventually plowed to the ground to make a parking lot (just like the Joni Mitchell song), 2 spaces in the old Zook building in downtown Denver that was sold to make upscale urban apartments, 2 difference spaces on Inca Street, one space in the basement of a yoga studio in the famous Santa Fe Arts District, and then the masterpiece warehouse at 2590 W. 2nd Avenue in Denver. That's a lot of moving for sure.
So instead of packing everything up and moving again, for the meantime, I'm just going to pack up and store my large pieces and work small scale in my home until I can decide what my next greatest space will be. And even though I stressed about this decision at first, I am totally at peace with it now, because I know a new space will arise when the time is right that will be a perfect fit for what I need.
I actually am looking forward to challenging myself by working on smaller scale pieces and journals that I can sell online on eBay
http://www.ebay.com/usr/lauriemavesart or via my ETSY page
https://www.etsy.com/shop/LaurieMavesARTsy . I will still be taking commissions, as well as working on my pieces for the grand exhibition I am having with Erica Jane Huntzinger at the Frank Juarez gallery in Wisconsin later this year, but I will not have to manage a ginormous studio space and that comes with a bit of relief.
So in a week it will be time to Fliegen - the German word for "FLY." And who knows where I will land next, but I know I must embrace the view along the way.
"Fliegen" Circle Painting from 2014. 24"x24" mixed media on masonite. all rights reserved by the artist. The original available for purchase.
