From This Moment Forward

                                                

                                             Catch Breath by Thea Clark

                                                         Photography by Larry Sanders

Well hello. The last few weeks have offered some happy distractions from posting. This month has ushered in  New Beginnings, perhaps most importantly Presidential. I felt a huge sigh of relief during the inauguration, as if I'd been holding my breath for eight years. That moment gave me new insight into my piece Catch Breath. Jeweler Iris Eichenberg, spoke about her creative process at the Museum of Art and Design. Because of the nature of her work, it is easy to assume she plans her work based on her driving ideas. She revealed that her approach is really more spontaneous. She continues to decipher a piece well after it is finished. 

A new beginning has occurred at the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey   as the result of a change in leadership. It is in a period of flux  (apt jewelers' metaphor) since new leadership is not yet in place, however the change in the air is palpable. I for one have a rush of ideas to put forth, not only for my own new workshops, but for the school as a whole. The road blocks have been cleared and input can flow again. There must be other instructors feeling the fresh energy too.

This week I go to a meeting of the New Jersey State Council of the Arts, my first, actively working to broaden my sense of community. Perhaps I'm motivated by my responsibility within the New Jersey Metal Arts Guild, or maybe it is about the desire to give back, and so exploring options of how to do that through art. Certainly, it is the continuation of a personal re-emergence.

So 2009 may be a wild ride, but I am thrilled to be on it.