I’ve decided to be more amazing this year! In this season I look forward to starting new projects, creating new opportunities for students and my followers. I’m not sure when the art festivals will be coming back so I am aiming for more of an online presence….
Wow, It took the C virus to really appreciate my students. It took the Corona Virus to really make me feel the joy of teaching. I can’t explain it very well but I think it might have something to do with connecting with people who love to create and be a part of something in real time, in real person. There is a lot to be said about this. I am naturally an introvert. And when the whole shut down happened I thought, I got this. I can to this. It’s what I do! But it wasn’t that easy. I found…
During this down time I have been able to get a lot done, as we all have. But all this free time to ourselves is beginning to grow old and monotonous. I don’t want to go down the corona/ economy/ get back to work road. I just want to let you all know I am eager to share all the new work I have been creating. This stay – at – home season has allowed me to create some more elaborate work and that is always exciting to me. So the “Tale of Three Benches” is about these amazing mosaic…
Strange are these days. I have been self quarantining but that is normal for me because I am an introvert by nature. No big deal. But I actually feel bad for those whose lives are abruptly edited. I do not like that at all because it’s not fair. But fair or not, it’s not forever. It’s difficult to stay put when someone tells you to stay put. I want to do the opposite, (It’s the rebel in me). Now it feels weird when I go out, like I’m going to be questioned at the grocery store or the post office. …
Today was an amazing day, weather wise. We wont talk about the “plandemic” news. But it was a moist day with sporadic soft rain here and there. The smell of the desert was nurturing. The cloud covering set a mood. My plants loved it. And I could have stayed in my garden all day but alas…. This week I am getting ready for the Tucson Museum of Art Spring Artisan Market. Starts the Friday the 13th, ends Sunday the 15th. 10-5 each day. It’s on the street folks. Open air festival. No need to worry. I have hand sanitizer….
I wanted to savor this moment and reflect on the past few months…that all began in late fall. A project. A custom order that is finally being sent off this week. The project between two very busy parties, me and the client. Honestly, I have never had a small custom order last as long as this did. Through my busiest time of the year, we worked together bit by bit to see it completed. (Remind me never to take a mural order again in October). So I wanted to document and share the process from beginning to (my) end. It…
I know it is still spring but Tucson is an exception. However, the wicked triple digits have been staying off for a longer pleasant spring. I have been thoroughly enjoying the gardening/ wild flowering/ cactus blooming season in my tiny back yard. I am surrounding myself with nature while I work on mosaic tile projects… (to be shown soon. Bees, hummers, butterflies, families of Finches and Verdins have a safe haven right here. The littlest joys bring inspiration to my art creations. And I just have to say, Congratulations to my daughter, Shauna and her partner, Ryan, for giving birth…
October being just a few days away, I would like to remind folks that October 6, next Saturday is my last mosaic workshop for the season. It’s been such fun helping my students design, glue and grout! Boom! They were done and leaving with a really beautiful tile mosaic wall piece they could hang in their house or give as a gift. I loved watching their excitement when everything started to come together… They all said, and I quote, ” I am so glad I took this class.” Ya see, I make all the tile up in advance. From cactus…
Pretty hot indeed. But the garden doesn’t mind it. I started a “monsoon garden” last week and everything is coming up nice and robust. I had to hang a shade cloth over it though, so the little sprouts wouldn’t get burned. It’s been 109 degrees here in Tucson.. ..I know, yuk! I have the screen over the seedlings because Cats you know. The middle photo is my herb garden. The basil loves the heat. And then a shot of my shade cloth because I’m so proud I got it to hang so high and tight. These days are so…
“He is doing a new thing” (in me) That is my inspiration for this season. Isaiah 43:19. The other day a friend mentioned on Facebook that she was selling her house and had to put away all her art supplies for a while. I shutter at the thought. But it got me thinking about how we get used to having many things at our fingertips but then there is a shift and we have limited resources. We can get frustrated, stomp our feet, curse the air, and ask ‘why me, ‘why now?’. But eventually the disrupt forces us to think…
Robin Chlad Designs 