Well, my word for the year is perspective, chosen just before the year went haywire. The first seven months have all been a struggle to keep some sort of perspective while many things have been spiraling out of control. It was supposed to be the year of opportunity. A chance to take some chances in my art and go farther in depth with what I already do. That was the plan. I had a plan for new stores to visit, new mediums to play with, more process videos.... you get the picture. Well, as we all know, plans go awry. In a nutshell, I've ended up with two surgeries, March and May, and then the cherry on top was an unexpected hospital stay in early July. It's been a roller coaster of miscommunication, delay, bodily rebellion, and then unexpected medical consequences.
So here I sit in mid-July wondering what happened to the first almost seven months of the year. I'm still on medication, but I am starting to feel like my old self again and am regaining energy. Just in time to go on my first teaching trip of the year to Stampaway. I've been going to Stampaway since 1996 and have been teaching since the late 90s. It's always a good time and I love seeing all the familiar faces. I have three classes this year. Flow has been sold out since early June.
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| FLOW-Stampaway 2018 |
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| BIRDS OF FEATHER-Stampaway 2018 |
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| WITH ONE WORD Stampaway 2018 |
I did manage to keep my hands busy during my recuperations this spring. I joined #the100dayproject on Instagram for the first time and did 100 days of Citrasolv projects. You can find them with some description on my hashtag here: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/the100dayprojectcurrycitrasolv/
We fit in some agility trials with Angus, a trip to the Caribbean with Jim and Sam on her break, and a baseball game right before I had to go in for the second surgery. Just two weeks after that surgery in ate May, we attended Sam's White Coat Ceremony in Marion, VA. Then the wheels came off again.
Once I knew that it was going to be an extended hospital stay as opposed to the overnight visit that was advertised by the surgical nurse, my dear husband risked life and limb and headed into my studio to cut Yupo and pack my paints and additives. The risk was great as I've not been up to cleaning or organizing in there for months. He's a keeper.
I had quite a few days of unadulterated painting time. I was infused with a new creative energy and had to make the most of the few supplies I had. Many of the paintings below were done on my hospital tray while IV antibiotics were being infused. The nurses were in and out and wanted to know all about the inks I was using. I think I was a novelty.
So, onward and upward is my mantra these days. I hope to be a little more diligent with my blogging, but if you're on social media, I do keep that updated. Follow me on FBK, Twitter and IG @ Nancy Curry Art if you don't already. Always check stories on IG, as I do a lot of process peeks there and hope to do some IGTV soon. There are some special announcements upcoming about my art, but if I told you now, I'd have to kill you.
