Last month I started writing an update, and I couldn’t quite get through it.  Honestly, the past couple months have been pretty hard. I lost my job just before Thanksgiving, and despite constantly applying to new opportunities, I remain unemployed.  I’ve been without work before, but this time I have so much more to lose – not only if I remain unemployed, but also if I have to accept a less flexible job situation than I had in recent years.  I built all of the amazing creative pursuits I have in my life around a remote, flexible position at a great payrate. Worrying that it’ll all come crashing down if I don’t find the diamond in the rough* quickly has drained me almost completely.  Today, though, I sit here writing from perhaps the most hopeful place I’ve been in a while, so perhaps it’s a good time to tell y’all about what’s going on at Fiercely Serene Studios.

January saw the debut of my first solo art show, Crystalline Worlds.  It’s the first time I’ve produced what might be considered a “body of work” and to have a cohesive series of large pieces displayed formally was a great feeling.  Even better was having so many of my friends and family show up for the reception, even on short notice. Currently, I’m lining up a couple more opportunities to show this collection, so if you couldn’t make it to that reception, the party may continue… [Follow my art on Instagram: http://instagram.com/fiercelyserene]

February brought Brite Winter around again, Cleveland’s massive outdoor music festival for which the Ingenuity art team creates large-scale interactive pieces all over the grounds.  I stepped into a leadership role once more and worked with the Ingeneers team to build a winter scrapbook gone awry! I was also able to work with my partner again to build one of the featured installations, repurposing the lighted floor we built for our ZenSoundScapes installation at last September’s IngenuityFest.  It’s always so amazing to see so many people, ideas, and materials come together to make something so unique! [Follow my installations on Instagram: http://instagram.com/fiercelyserene_installations]

Flow has also been progressing, and I was just accepted into Cleveland’s top performing arts group, Fire and Light.  Though I’ve had a good number of performance opportunities so far, being part of F&L will open up some very big doors for me to build, grow, and develop my dancing and performance.  I’m investing more time into building a duo act with Michael to pitch to festivals and other opportunities too! [Follow my dance on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fiercelyserene_flows/]

I’m pursuing so many things right now, it’s both exciting and overwhelming.  I’m still teaching art classes, popping up at craft fairs, continuing my work at Ingenuity, finding ways to work with other local non-profits, booking and running shows at McFarland Manor, supporting Michael in his creative pursuits, always trying to push forward and shape my world to be what I want it to be.  It’s working, even if it’s slow progress with a few setbacks, and I’m going to keep doing what I have to for that life!

See you next month!

* I find it important at this time to express my full support for Blue-Will-Smith-Genie in the live action Aladdin.  Didn’t try to recreate Robin Williams’ legendary performance, but took the same material and made it his own in a very entertaining and delightful way.  Totally unexpected.

Happy New Year!

Well it certainly has been a storied 2020 so far, hasn’t it?  Fortunately, despite the world being (literally) on fire, things in my day to day life have actually been going surprisingly well, allowing me to start my year off with high hopes and ample opportunity!

My biggest news is that I’ve been really finding my audiences as a solo dance performer, and I’m focusing much more of my time on building this side of Fiercely Serene Studios.  I’m more actively pursuing bookings and gigs, and have been putting myself out there to increase my visibility. Primary among my marketing efforts is visual impact, including a professional photo shoot that is upcoming and a sizzle reel video that, thanks to my partner Michael, has already become a very awesome reality!  Check out the new tab on the top menu to find my Performance page and see the full video! You can also find booking information for your events. Even if you may not be looking to book performances, I’d be very grateful if you shared my information with anyone you know who might be!

Also with Michael’s help, I’ve been able to construct a well-ventilated indoor spray paint booth to continue my visual art creation into the new year.  With plastic-coated panels and an innovative fan and duct configuration, I can continue working with this exciting (but fumey) medium even through the winter months.  This has allowed me to work on larger canvases as well as I gear up for my first gallery show in January! Featuring this new series, Crystalline Worlds, the gallery will have my art on display (and for sale) for about four weeks.  I was originally scheduled to have an opening reception on Friday, January 10, however due to a death in the family the reception is currently postponed indefinitely, but stay tuned for updates!

Building off of last year’s successful entry into the world of public art, I’m pleased to say that it looks like I will be continuing to build my role at local arts festivals and events such as Brite Winter and Ingenuity Cleveland!  I may also be assisting these groups and other amazing local non-profits in the coming year with administrative tasks, data entry, grant writing, and marketing. You’ll definitely see more coming from McFarland Manor in 2020, and we’re also looking to build the local listening website ListenCLE into a city-wide source for great tunes.  Additionally, I’ll be meeting soon with the leaders of Artists In Recovery (AIR216) and the Rollin Buckeyez Foundation in the coming weeks to see how I can help these other non-profits grow and serve larger portions of the community with their wonderful missions.

All in all, I’m feeling pretty good about starting a new year!  Be sure to follow my social media accounts to see my latest adventures and artwork, and hopefully I’ll see you at any of the events I have coming up – check Facebook for the most up-to-date calendar!

I have so much to say!

This year has been bonkers.  Had you asked me 12 months ago what I thought my life would be like right now, I would have painted a wildly different (and much more boring) picture than what has actually occurred.  At so many points along the way, I would have liked to update this blog and the rest of the site to reflect what’s been happening, but I struggle with the ability to get some of the more grindy stuff done around the big projects.  Hopefully, going forward I can change that by approaching posts as more of a monthly newsletter format than as a regularly updated blog. Sound good? Let’s get started with the December Update then, which will basically be looking back at the entire year.

Biggest thing to address right now is the addition of flow dance performance to my resume and offerings through Fiercely Serene.  I’ve had the opportunity this year to not only return to some of the dance things I’ve dabbled in back in the past, but to pick up quite a few new props and skills to grow an entertaining act.  Already I’ve been on some pretty cool stages all over the country, including Wizard World comic conventions and events not only here in Cleveland but also in cities like Chicago, Austin, Columbus, and more!  I’m also performing regularly at local open mic nights and craft fairs, adding some visual excitement where I can. I’m hoping to build my act and start seeking more private event opportunities in the near future – so let me know if you have a company party or child’s birthday (or whatever) that could benefit from a unique dance act, and send over any referrals you may have!

My art life has been taking all kinds of crazy turns this year too.  I’m still working with galaxy art and pour paint, but I added additional “flow” arts to my repertoire: alcohol inks and spray paint!  The alcohol ink work I’ve done has mostly centered around performative art, featuring an overhead projector to display my ink work while I accompany live music.  I do one piece per song, and try to encapsulate some aspect of the music while I work, whether it’s applying techniques to the beat, using colors to reflect what’s happening in the song, or actually creating a concrete image related to the lyrics.  With spray paint, I’ve been focusing on speed painting, using quick application techniques to create space scenes and landscapes right before your eyes! I’m also working with spray paint on canvas for my first ever gallery show in January. Keep an eye on my Facebook pages for announcements about that!

I’ve continued teaching art classes too, finding a wonderful “home base” at Cleveland Candle Company in Ohio City.  My class offerings include traditional paint and sips, pour painting workshops, alcohol ink coasters, dream catchers, and more.  I’ve led classes as large as 50 people (a really sweet mother-daughter duo painting for Mother’s Day) and as small as one person, and everyone has walked out with something special!  Private events have gone very well too, along with public “walk up” workshops at craft fairs.  My repertoire of paintings continues to expand and I’m already working on some new pieces for next month!

Zen SoundScapes & Syncretism (IngenuityFest 2019: Dreamscapes)

And of course, one of the most unexpected changes to my world was joining Ingenuity Cleveland this year.  Walking into the Hamilton Collaborative in the first week of January set the tone for the rest of 2019: I entered a massive warehouse full of incredible large-scale artwork and interactive exhibits that were hand-crafted by a small group of local creatives, and was immediately accepted into the cadre.  I worked on a huge train installation, an escape room game to go with it, some undersea decor, and a mock airplane exhibit as part of my role as Assistant Art Director for Brite Winter music festival in February to kick off my involvement with Cleveland’s public art scene. This was closely followed by my first original creation (the Dream Gate) for the Dreamers Bal along with some other group pieces, then culminated in a featured room at IngenuityFest: Dreamscapes including the Zen SoundScapes interactive musical garden I made with my partner.  I also created some large pieces for some other events around town, including Rooms to Let, Literary Lots, and FireFish Festival.  The ride hasn’t stopped there, either. We’re currently gearing up to build for next year’s Brite Winter, and have plenty of ideas for the future too!

On top of all the creative excitement, I also got to spend two weeks backpacking through Europe, arranged and hosted a backyard music and arts festival that was attended by over 400 people, went to dozens of amazing sporting events (mostly soccer, including the women’s World Cup), saw myriad live performances of all types, explored major cities, and so much more.  I honestly can’t believe how much we managed to pack into just one year! And of course, there are so many exciting plans in the works for 2020 already… I can’t wait to keep moving ahead!

Stay tuned for more updates, at least monthly, but also I’m going to try to post major happenings at more relevant times.  Keep an eye on this page for some renovations and updates as I focus on marketing myself a little more broadly going forward; 2019 was a great foundation year but 2020 is going to be MY TIME!

The past year-and-change has been full of discovery for me as an artist, but also for me as a person.  Naturally, the two are closely tied together!  So much of the changes that have come about in my life can be attributed, really, to one simple thing: finding my flow.

This first came in the form of fluid acrylic painting.  I started developing some experience with the medium and various techniques for creating stunning abstract pieces in bright, vibrant colors, but I learned something so very crucial along the way.  With fluid art, you have little to no control past a certain point.  You can choose your colors and the method of application, but the very nature of fluid art is that it moves.  And sometimes, it moves a lot more than you expected!  Some pieces, immediately after pouring, I absolutely loved – only to find the next morning that slight tilting on the drying surface or odd pigmentation had “ruined” my piece!  Of course, the opposite would happen too, with me sleeping on a piece I hated and waking to find it had become one of my favorites.

A very important lesson arose from this imperfect practice.  I truly had to learn to go with the flow.  It sounds silly and cliche, but never before in my life had I truly understood what it meant until I dove deep into the art of fluid painting.  It’s an adage that applies not only to my paints but to the rest of my life as well, and being better able to embrace the idea of going with the flow has definitely made some very positive changes in my world.

I adapted my newfound love of abstract fluid art into alcohol inks shortly thereafter, and began actually performing on live stages with alcohol ink.  Using an overhead projector and clear transparency paper, I started with a rule of “one piece per song” and have since created hundreds of unique and colorful images, all done alongside live musicians.  Performing like this gave me another opportunity to practice “going with the flow” as I now only had 3-4 minutes per piece to make something cool happen.  Unexpectedly difficult!  But time and again, I take a deep breath and plunge into the next piece, playing quickly and developing habits not only in the inks but in life as well.

More recently, my longing to get back into some of the dance-fitness world has led me to picking up yet another kind of flow art: the movement kind!  Though I’d dabbled before, I decided it was time to really learn how to manipulate various kinds of props and become more comfortable with my body once again.  I’ve taken quite quickly to silk fan veils, and am drilling my poi spinning daily as well.  Hoops are on the way, and I might even make myself a levi-wand when I have a few minutes to try.  Lessons learned in this fluid medium are all about letting go of self-consciousness, of worrying about how you look or whether your moves are “any good”; instead you move with whatever, well, moves you!  And sometimes you have a fun toy in your hands while you do it!

From all of these fluid practices, I’m experiencing a level of happiness and confidence in my life I haven’t previously known.  It’s amazing what a hobby or two can do for you, especially when you let yourself become immersed in the methods and open your heart to the results!  I look forward to expanding ALL of my flow practices in the coming months, and am excited to see what further opportunities and life lessons come!

How do YOU find your flow?  Tell me all about it!