I will be honest, retirement is NOT working out for me.
What I thought was going to be my "new normal"—backing totally away from my art business—was really only a time of deep rest.
Grieving has no set structure.
The death of our three parents in such a short amount of time (April - Jan) sent me reeling without me even knowing it.
I did my best to push through the process while caring for them all. I took my sketch pad or my traveling watercolor set and kept on working through down times between Hospice visits, medication administering, and keeping up with farm chores.
So much happened so quickly from my Mom and her cancer treatments, then on to my Father-in-law's Hospice time, then my Mother-in-law moving in with us and caring for her through dementia....all the while trying my best to be creative and productive as a Surface Designer.
Needless to say, what I thought was production was really just keeping busy.
Yes, the artwork was still coming together and being sent out to my agent at the time, but it was not my best work. And unfortunately, I let my agent go - thinking it was our relationship, when it was my mental health I was struggling with. I walked away from what should have only been a time of rest...
So here I am...relearning the trends, blowing the dust from my watercolor brushes and once again building a licensing portfolio to submit to and hopefully place with a wonderful agent who will be the perfect fit for me.
I'll be sharing updates and sneak peeks along with scenes from our farm life here on the mountain on this new blog space.
Be sure to also find me on Instagram where I share more frequently.
until next time~
xoxo
Jenn