a bit spooked...

in spite of trying to keep my distance from my sweetie for the past couple days, i ended up catching his cold anyway, my efforts thwarted by the much needed good-night kiss. today, i woke up with a head full of snot. that, paired with yet another grey, dismal day, means i'm staying in my footie pajamas and taking it easy. maybe all my late nights in the studio and celebrations of the past week or so have caught up with me too. no more clos du bois for this girl.

i also made the very sad realization today that the art-world has been hit pretty hard by the recession we find ourselves in. lots of galleries closing their doors, guys. LOTS. and word on the street is that a whole slew more are planning on not renewing their leases. i'll admit i'm a bit scared... not necessarily for myself but for the community at large. as it is (and has been for as long as i can remember), art programs are always the thing that gets cut first in hard economic times (or not). even in a healthy economy, art appreciation and funding is tragically low. i'm nervous about what might be in store for art and artists now. it makes me sad. really, really sad. i can't imagine living a life not dominated by art - in all it's forms. without painting and poetry and music and design... what a dismal existence that would be! i can't even comprehend it! all i know is that until we ride this hard, daunting wave to the end, i'll be throwing EVERY SINGLE EXTRA DOLLAR at the emerging artists i love. every single red pathetic cent. it's important to me that artists continue to do their work and not let money get in the way of what they're trying to accomplish.

but the silver-lining... hopefully... is that maybe we'll begin to see a certain little cliche take hold: necessity is the mother of invention. maybe artists everywhere will really turn it up a notch and start coming up with some really thoughtful and innovative ideas and uses for common materials... myself included. this is definitely a situation where the most dedicated will rise to the top... or at least weather the storm.

speaking for myself solely - i will always make art. there will never come a day that i don't do this. the day i die is the day i don't pick up my brush. but knowing the frailty of the artist ego, i'm saddened by the prospect of others becoming so discouraged that they give up. please don't give up, guys. go underground for a bit and recuperate but keep going. please. if i could, i'd buy art from everybody. i'd be the world's biggest philanthropist and art patron. but i can't.

all this to say, i'll be lowering my prices a bit this week while i continue to re-curate the items i stock. it'll take a few days but by week's end i'll have some sale prices up at the shop. it's important to take an honest look at what the world's financial situation is at present and respond accordingly. it's important for me to offer affordable art and "affordability" is relative to the the times. i'm trying to take note of that fact and respond ethically to it. i've never thought that art is solely for the wealthy. i grew up very, very poor. painfully so. and it was art that was the biggest, brightest, most cherished thing i had in my life. i think artists have a duty to remember things like that, to think of the hardships others are facing, and to try to be a comfort.