We have been delivered a new day.

As Springtime blossoms all around

Smile and greet it without hesitancy.

Do not shy in the face of beauty

Behold it with great reverence.

Give thanks for the chance

To see with fresh eyes

The petal laden path of invitation and promise.

Striving to improve with each step.

Ever forward, with care.

Sending virtual hugs.

Stay Safe and Be Well,

xoxo

~Erica

I am thrilled to announce my new collection “ Presence”

Shop the collection here

This project has been in the making for several months, but ultimately it is the product of a year.  A year that has taught me more than any other.  The title of this new collection is the one word summation of my lessons.

Presence marks the importance of living for the simple moments in each day.  Presence is the spirit of those who have come before us, walk with us now and the see the gifts held in the future.  It is the embers of hope in our hearts capable of sparking love and peace wherever we go.  My greatest gift of the past year has been the presence shared with my daughter.  This year spent cloistered in the house with her has been the most beautiful moment of my life.  For the first time we were slowed down in a way that we began to really see and appreciate one another.  We have lifted and strengthened each other in ways I never thought possible.  I wanted to reflect that with some of the promotional photos for this collection.  She spent a great deal of time working with me to model the pieces and help bring this project full circle.

This collection however started out on the opposite note.  The initial inspiration was absence.  The first pieces were born from my longing to return to “normal” life.  My family used to spend a lot of time traveling to museums and galleries.  Just before the shutdown we had purchased our yearly reciprocal museum membership and had plans for many visits up and down the east coast. We have spent countless hours together wandering through displays of art and artifacts, and I greatly miss it.  This collection started out as an ode to the centuries of paintings,  the ancient antiquities and the grand halls that house it all.  That is why there is a heavy influence in this collection of “ancient glass” influenced pieces, the inclusion of painted canvases and lots of architectural elements. 

As I worked on the first pieces and sat in much thoughtful contemplation on the collection, I began to make a different connection. Instead, these pieces were actually about the presence of spirit rather than my selfish sense of loss. The world has gone through ups and downs far greater that anything we have in the the past year, and yet life prevails.  The beauty of artistic expression that remains is a testament to great faith, strength and perseverance even in the face of difficult times.  I realized that I was not creating pieces so much as to fill the absence of art in my life, but because of the amazing gifts right in front of me - the people that are closest to my heart, the spirit of love that moves through us, the unending muse of nature’s canvas that surrounds us at every turn, and this beautiful community that shows up with their presence even when we cannot meet in person.   

This year has shown me that when we are not so busy being distracted by the world and all of its flashy ways, we can see and appreciate the abundance already at hand.  To see and appreciate the connections that truly matter.  I am in no way tying to be insensitive to the unfathomable heartache, loss and struggle that has happened - much of which hits close to home.  Rather I am choosing to look at this time with immense gratitude, for out of the darkness shone a brilliant light and my heart wants nothing more than to reflect it.

So this is where I am at now.  Each of these pieces have been created with the intention of infinite love and light.  They tell their story through the muse of artifacts left behind from thousands of years of human existence.  With all the struggles and rejoicements, there remains a golden thread throughout history that we are just as much a part of today.  Let’s shine the light together. 

Stay Safe & Be Well

Sending my love to you all.

XOXO

Erica

I have been radio silent for a few months on the blog.  I have not even posted on my Facebook or Instagram in weeks.  I needed to hibernate a little, take a breath and refill my well of creativity.  There is something to be said about pulling away for a bit.  I think we often blindly step into the highway of social media and not realize that our energies can get caught up and swept away in the seemingly simple act of content creation and consumption.  It sometimes feels like a full time job keeping the ball in the air and not lose the momentum of the audience and algorithm.  I find it builds to a point that it takes its toll on my creative flow.  When that happens - poof - I make myself scarce.

With the relief that vanishing brings, the ideas, designs and the renewed interest in continuing  on the artist’s path washes over me.  This past month I have taken the opportunity to simply dream.  I resisted the urge to jump into the studio and act upon any first thoughts.  By nature, I am a person who adores the physical process.  It was a challenge to not put my hands to work right away.  As a maker I often get trapped in the "time is money"  mentality -that if I am not physically producing, I am wasting valuable time.  Instead of rushing, I rested my mind and body and set the goal to reset.  It was pure joy letting the shapes and concepts marinate for a while.   I turned off the tech and brought out the old sketchbook to collect the words and images that danced in my mind which are typically beaten back by the urgency of "keeping up".  Time moved slowly as I would close my eyes and look inward and simply listen.  From these quiet moments, a whole new collection was born.  I will introduce it in the near future.  I want to wait until I have a full body of work produced before I formally announce it.  The final product is not the focus of today's blog post.   Today is about highlighting the importance of the pause. 

My month of dreaming was also spent looking at how I will continue the business moving forward.  2020 flipped all of my goals and aspirations for the business on it’s head and left me scrambling with a perpetual “make it work” moment.  This year is looking to be just as unpredictable when it comes to the art shows.  That kind of uncharted future harbors a great amount of stress, leading to creative drain.  I can’t do another year with the anxiety and mental weight of constant questions like “will the art shows happen, will they not?  If they do happen, how - as one person- can I possibly handle keeping people socially distanced in a tent , and even if I succeed, will enough people even get to see me and would I be able to make enough sales to cover the cost of the event? Etc, etc etc.  There are a million logistical questions and problems to solve that ate away at my time and energy last year.  

My answer for 2021?  Exhale and let it go.  I am planning on operating 100% through the website this year and put all of my efforts into making the online shopping experience the best and fullest it can be.  Just typing this proclamation feels like a boulder has lifted off my shoulders!   I know this is a huge bummer to many - and who knows, I can’t see into the future, maybe an opportunity or two could happen at some point, but I’m not going to plan on it.  I need to move forward in the one direction I have some control over and that is the online store.    

My past month was well spent learning the importance of turning off my auto-pilot, landing the plane, taking the much needed time to ground myself in the important parts of life and only after that was complete could I create a new flight plan in hopes of soaring to new heights through this next chapter of life.

With renewed energy, I am very excited to be back at it.  Thank you for being part of my journey ❤️

Sending hugs

XOXO

Erica