Artnotes: A Lively Stepper

 Two Puppets we made in France   Blair Pessemier   Acrylic/canvas12 x 8  30 x 20cm

 View at Casteletto   Laurie Fox Pessemier   Acrylic/canvas   10.5 x 16  27 x 41cm

 From the Castello di Serravalle  Blair Pessemier   Acrylic/canvas  11.5 x 19.5"  30 x 50cm

 ​Fall Fields, Grey Sky   Laurie Fox Pessemier   Acrylic/canvas   12 x 16"  30 x 40cm  

 ​Harika, Back Side   Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas    10 x 19.5  25 x 50cm   225.00

  

Sassi  Blair Pessemier   Acrylic/canvas  12 x 12"  30 x 30cm

Artnotes:  A Lively Stepper

Today (the day I wrote this, 4 September) is Labor Day in America.  The day everyone takes it easy and has a picnic, signifying the end of the summer before going back to work.   All Western cultures seem to have this day, this moment, when we all get back to business.  The French say Bon Rentree and try to preserve their tan as long as possible.  The Italians wish a Buon Rientro, and those who didn’t vacation in the summer, or procrastinated, go now (this is the country of great procrastinators).  Lots of restaurants and small businesses are closed this week.

For me, it is the time to make my fourth quarter plan, getting my projects in before the close of the year.  We’ve got two art shows upcoming, a few guests, and we are working on a new business gig.  We’ll be coordinating art conservation workshops in conjunction with a conservator in the Northeast USA.  Italy is the perfect area for art conservation.  While France might support the arts, it is Italy that has the most old treasures.  So, we’ll buzz around the countryside seeking tumble-down churches and abandoned palazzos, and match-make them with aspiring conservators.

Meanwhile, we had a small painting workshop this week.  We had a wonderful time, even if we were the responsible party.  I painted three pictures on Wednesday; Blair, two.    I have had kind of a hard time getting back into the painting groove.  I think I need a new venue for a bit, like seeing the water lilies, or looking at Harika in a new way.  Being with two enthusiastic painters helps a lot.  When she thanked me for getting her “started”, I felt I should have said the same.

I have everyday plans, too, for the duration of 2017.  If I don’t write everything down, make a list, I don’t do anything.  This writing for example, is my 15-minute-a-day effort; painting is next on the list, which takes longer, and requires more specific inspiration, at least in my case.  I revisit the Art of Slow Travel, my upcoming book;  I learn Italian; I listen to inspiring speeches, or read inspiring articles at least twice a week.   And, oh, yeah, exercise.  

A thousand years ago, when Blair and I lived in Madison Park in Seattle, Washington, a woman named Sue told me I needed a plan.  She was recently sadly divorced and attributed the fall down of her marriage to having no roadmap for the future.  “You just can’t go through life with nothing in mind”, she asserted.  Having been just recently married, I took her words seriously, and have kept us as much on track as possible for the last 37 years.  

It’s not that we stay on our track – only a portion of our dreams come to fruition, and then half of them take twice as long as planned.   But’s it nice to have a dance card, and meet a lively stepper along the way.