This time it's Art!

It's been difficult to cast off the cape I wore for so many years as Marketer, Writer, Business Coach, and all-round Entrepreneur. But, I am shrugging it off in fits and starts as I step down from some of the professional association boards I have been on and eschew marketing project involvements. It's hard to do; I had been hustling work for so many decades that letting go has been akin to scuttling an addiction. Is there a 12-Step Program for those attached to their market-carved identities? Being a marketer and design manager had been so satisfying on so many levels.

But now I am ready for this new challenge. I know that to be true because it feels more like my new vocation has chosen me rather than me choosing it. I mean, why else would anyone choose Art as a career in an economy like this? 

I just find that when I am creating something or producing framed prints from my digital images, hours go by without 

my noticing. In general, I have a much higher spirit level than usual and I look forward to getting back to the studio or to working on new concepts. It is a wonderful way to live.

One of the things that I like about this process the most is how warm and supportive everyone has been as I tell them what I am doing -- business colleagues, other artists, friends and all of my family. Indeed, my family has asked me consistently for decades "When are you going to do your art?" Recently when I told one of my daughters that I was declaring myself an artist, she replied, "Mom. We all knew it. It's like you're gay or something and you think you're coming out." An apt metaphor.

So...this blog will now be dedicated to all things Art: my work and thoughts and processes, plus my role as a Commissioner on the Palo Alto Public Art Commission, sharing the spotlight with fellow artists when I feel like it, and more. I will also post a new image or two from time to time just to share what I am doing, and whatever takes my artist fancy. Comments and feedback would be welcome and fun.