It Takes a Lot of Stuff to Get to Now

MG King Designs Studio Entry

When I moved into Studio Channel Islands Art Center as an Artist in Residence last summer I was coming out of a long sabbatical.  I am finishing a divorce and moving to the studios was the first step into a life on my own. 

The last five years or so were very hard for me.  I was sad a lot.  At a certain point I cried every time I talked.  I'm sure it got awkward to be around me for a while.

I did develop some coping skills that will help me out the rest of my life though.  I learned how to breathe with yoga and how to practice meditation.  I drove around in my car a lot finding new places to explore. I call that running away from home and I highly recommend it.

I went to the California wine country; "off the grid" in the high Sierras where I lived in luxury with a bunch of painters; Montana to stay on a dude ranch and literally fatten up when I couldn't stop loosing weight (more painting); Carlsbad where I learned about primordial sound meditation and ayervedic healing and  Santa Barbara over and over again because it's there and it's beautiful.  I didn't stress myself out about accomplishing anything.  I just kept moving forward learning how to be satisfied with being in the now.  Life sends lessons we'd better learn.  Mine was actually to enjoy my life and be grateful.  

I painted throughout all of this even though I felt unsuccessful.  I felt like I'd lost my ability to paint.  I wasn't satisfied with anything I did.  My painting friends told me to paint through it to become a better painter.  Numerous others encouraged me to paint through it to heal myself.  Both scared me to death. What if I never became a better painter and worse yet, doesn't healing mean you have to let go of the past?  What if I couldn't do that?

During this same time frame my children were growing up and moving away from home.  It was apparent to me that I needed to consider a full-time job rather than work as a painter part-time.  I tried a number of things.  I wrote some freelance news articles, did some event planning, tried being in a fashion show, etc, etc. In doing all of this I discovered painting was the one constant in all of this "stuff."  Maybe it was time to take that seriously.  Gulp.

So I got my portfolio together and brushed off my (actually very current and solid) resume and applied to Studio Channel Islands Art Center.  I was thrilled to be accepted as an Artist in Residence.  This was the beginning of whatever comes next.

All I know is I have to keep painting.  That's how I managed to get here.