Artists are people. They eat drink, void, sleep like the rest. No matter how talented, how much genius, the artist experiences pain, frustration, depression, perhaps more than the average person. So how is it they create beauty in the face of all that life throws in their path? You rarely hear about failure, start-overs, abandoned attempts, but believe me, they're there!
This piece has been on and off the table since December. I have never struggled so hard to get something right. The first attempt went well for a while, until I lost my nerve. Something in my head or my eye decided that it wasn't up to par. Things got muddied by overworking, by overthinking. I started over, finding myself frequently stopping. The complicated subject made my eyes ache. I kept losing my place. A Deadline passed and new one made.
Then the news. My husband of 35 years has cancer. Adenocarcinoma. All stop. Priorities invert and explode. A fight begins that eclipses my ego and my little artistic endeavor seems almost ridiculous.. If this piece ever becomes something, it will be about a journey taken in the middle of an Ohio winter.