Our New Year's Wish for You - Dare to Make Mistakes!

Visitors pushing the boundaries of their comfort zones at Trio's Drawn Together workshop, December 2016.  Photo © Tammy Christel.

By Jennifer L. Hoffman

New Year's Eve is always an opportunity for reflection and anticipation.  As 2016 draws to its official close, I wanted to share something wonderful I recently stumbled across.  Below is an excerpt from writer Neil Gaiman's blog - his New Year's Eve musing from 5 years ago (mistakes intended!) - and it is just what we wish for you:

I hope that in this yearto come, you make mistakes.
Because if you are makingmistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things,learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing yourworld. You're doing things you've never done before, and moreimportantly, you're Doing Something.
So that's my wish for you,and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Makeglorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before. Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worrythat it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art,or love, or work or family or life.
Whatever it is you'rescared of doing, Do it.
Make your mistakes, nextyear and forever.

-Neil Gaiman, 12/31/2011

When I was in elementary school, I took piano lessons for a number of years with a nearby musician.  I would go to her house each week and play the piece I was supposed to have learned the week before.  Because I was a timid and self-conscious child, I would play very quietly, especially the sections that I hadn't practiced enough or didn't know well.  One day, as I was bashfully plunking out notes, my teacher stopped me and said, "If you're going to make a mistake, make it a big one!"  While I never became a great pianist, I did learn an important life lesson that's stuck with me to this day.  You can't learn if you're afraid of mistakes!  Or, put another way, the only real mistake in life is not making any mistakes. 

As artists, we know intimately the difficulty and rewards of pushing our boundaries, trying something new, failing, and trying again!  So, on the eve of another New Year, we wish for you the gifts of imperfection, of bravery, of getting out of your comfort zone.  We wish for you laughter, and love, and connection, and beauty.  And most of all, we wish for you whatever little things bring you joy.

And thank you for all your encouraging support through our own mistakes and triumphs!

Happy 2017~

Jen, Bill, and Kathryn

The Trio: Jen, Bill, & Kathryn, wishing you all the best in 2017! Photo ©Kelsey Herbert.

Art and Motherhood

Professional Artist Mom - Is it a Myth or Can It Be Done?

My daughter, stuck in the car while I paint a nocturne.

Laura Alma-Tadema.  Rosa Bonheur.  Georgia O’Keeffe.  Frida Kahlo.  Mary Cassatt.  Cecelia Beaux.  Anna Hyatt Huntington.  Joan Mitchell.  

More than likely, you have heard many of those names.  What do they all have in common?  They are all female artists of the last 150 years who reached the highest echelons of artistic acclaim.  And none of them had children.

There is a commonly-held belief within the art community that to be a serious artist, one must devote oneself entirely to that pursuit.  Art can be an all-consuming profession – more of a calling than a job.  It can be difficult to maintain a relationship or a marriage when one is absorbed by the artistic impulse, not to mention raising children.  It is not an accident that there are many more men at the top levels of artistic success than there are women, and it has nothing to do with talent or commitment.  Many women put aside art (or other careers) to raise their children.  In the process, they lose ground and visibility in the art world (of course, there are men who fall into this category as well).  And while family roles have converged quite a bit in the 21^st Century, women still tend to be the primary caregivers in a home (See this graphic from the Pew Research Center which summarizes this trend: http://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/201/06/FT_16.06.14_fathersDay_time_use.png). 

If that’s true, then am I being a dreamer to try to meet the demands of a professional art career while raising a daughter?  I don’t think I am.

Pursuing any career while raising children is a challenging undertaking.  Children require a lot of attention, love, guidance, and patience.  They get sick and share their germs.  They get hurt, grumpy, uncooperative.  They have temper tantrums and make big messes.  They need their noses blown, their diapers changed, their knees bandaged, their dinners made.  They need rides to and from their after-school activities, help with homework, fears reassured.  Whenever my schedule is the most tight, the least flexible, it is inevitable that there will be a missed bus, a sudden fever, or a sleepless night.  When things are running smoothly, there are still so many moving parts to our schedules that often, there is no chance I can get in the studio.  When I do get in the studio, it is often only for a few hours, and all the stopping and starting can make a painting take extra time to finish.  Oh yeah – and kids are EXPENSIVE.

But the flip side is this:

Inspecting a big Glover's silkmoth in the back yard.

Things we take for granted as adults are astonishing for children.  Spending time with my daughter is a chance to see the world anew.  Taking the same walk day after day can result in a continuous source of discovery and delight.  We get down on the ground and look under bushes and beneath rocks at a bug’s eye view.  We climb up cliffs and imagine we can fly.  We go dragon hunting and pet caterpillars, skip stones and sing to each other.

Children are inspiring in their level of curiosity and their capacity for creative thinking.  We as adults can get stuck in "the box," but kids don't even know there is a box.  Anything is possible in their minds when they are small.  Later, the magical thinking fades a bit, but the creativity comes out in lots of  other ways.  I have found it remarkable and surprising to watch how my daughter's uniqueness matures and changes as she grows.  

As the child of an artist, she is growing up immersed in the arts.  She’s been in galleries and museums since she was born.  She started coming to Galleries West with me when she was 8 weeks old (thanks to my beloved friends Bill & Debbie Bunch and Scott Nickell, who owned the gallery and who became like a second family for my daughter).  At the age of three, she was noticing the paintings on the walls of houses in television ads!  Here she is in Galleries West in front of one of my old still life paintings – she used to kiss the flowers through the glass:

How do babies' legs bend like that??

I get to share my passion for art in such a personal way.  Not all artists’ children are enthusiastic about making art themselves, but my daughter has relished drawing (and more recently, painting) since she was a tiny person.  We talk constantly about light, value, shadow, edges, color.  I love to hear her aesthetic observations, and it’s a special delight to watch her develop her own passions. Painting in plein air with her is extra fun.

I am inspired by my daughter in the visual sense, as well.  She has found herself the subject of drawings and paintings over the years, and I am certain there will be many more.

There are other ways I benefit directly.  I have a built in sidekick for art events, a great helper in the gallery and studio, and she has a fantastic eye for critiques.  She even likes to help carry gear when we paint outside!

L to R: A tiny sherpa, the 'red carpet' at the NMWA Western Visions show last year, mopping up at Trio.

A couple words of advice for any other young artists thinking about taking this path.  If you decide to be a career artist and a parent, accept that your productivity may be sporadic, but your inspiration will increase!  Accept that you will need help - from a spouse, a friend, family, or babysitters.  I know I couldn't meet many of my deadlines without my husband being able to take over the childcare on some weekends or picking up our daughter after swim practice when I'm finishing up a commission.  Accept that some deadlines will just not be achievable - but remember there will always be more!  And embrace the distractions.  It's only a brief time that I get to be this involved in my daughter's life, and it is such a wonderful experience.  I choose to look at this time of my life not as a sacrifice but as a choice (and I remind myself of that choice when things get really hectic).  Getting to be a mom and an artist is a great adventure, and I would never choose another path.

-Jennifer L. Hoffman
  Behind the Brushes, October 2016
  www.triofineart.com