This post was edited to adjust my plans and my attitude. I woke up on the wrong side of the bed yesterday. Apologies for my grumbling. I’ll be keeping the light on in this space and spinning my nutty yarns and talking about art making and music and books and movies if you want to stop by. I’d love to hear from you! I have set up a new, less personal insta account to help remind folks this blog is out here.

I have enjoyed sharing stories and photos on Instagram over the years but the times are a’changin’ and I think it is time for me to withdraw-or at least change the way I use the platform. I will be deactivating my private, more personal Instagram account and deleting my new BlueSky account this weekend. I really don’t want to share in that space right now but I don’t know how else to let people know what I am doing so I am compromising. I figure with all that’s going on in the world and with the magnetic pull of social media, my blog is doomed to fail as my way to connect with other folks but I am going to keep trying all the same. The writing, as it probably always should have been, may be just for me now, but I am going to be out here writing and talking about art and life for anyone willing to listen. If you can make the little trek over here now and then, you are welcome to join the conversation. This will be the only place to find me online for a while. I went to the trouble of relearning how to set up a WordPress blog! I am not walking away! Please bookmark this site if you want to keep up with me.

I plan to be in my studio working every day and figuring out how I want or need to share what I am doing there over the next months and years that I expect are going to keep being hard. I really don’t know what being an artist should look like for me right now or what is going to happen in the art world but I am going to keep doing what I do. Art has been my way of contributing and connecting to the world for over 40 years and despite some personal life setbacks and this country going to hell in a hand basket, I’ve been working really hard to get back on my feet. I’m not throwing in the towel now. I am so excited about opening up my new studio and am trying harder to find ways to build community so I am going to keep moving forward with those plans. Part of me feels my process, like my workspace, should be treated as sacred and kept private during this weird time. It feels safer to keep the gates closed, to protect the tender parts. I feel raw, vulnerable and sometimes just plain stupid these days but I know hiding is not the way. The Internet and the real world are both feeling like incredibly toxic and unsafe places so I need to limit my time out here but I will keep focusing on the physical work in my studio and writing and sharing my photos and new short animated pieces in this space because it feels like a healthier way of being and connecting .

I have so much admiration and respect for those of you that know how to gather together groups of like minded creative folk out in the real world. I have never had the knack for that. I am an unapologetically private person. I am also a little socially awkward. I misread signals and misunderstand intentions. It’s usually easier to just stay home in my little Hobbit house. Ha! I am a loving and creative person though and love to connect even if my social skills are lacking. My art and my stories are my offerings.

I thank you all for the support and encouragement you all have given me in online spaces over the years–especially the past three since my husband died. It’s meant so much to me and your comments and likes on Instagram and your attendance at art exhibitions has meant everything and helped me keep pushing forward during the worst period in my life. I am so grateful .

I don’t know how I am going to find out about exhibition opportunities or see the work of other artists I admire or even keep in touch with friends when I step away from Instagram. I guess I’ll figure something out. If I don’t go back to social media for a while and don’t see you around in the real world, I wish you all the best–truly.

If anyone needs to reach me, you can always find me here at the Ghost House Studio blog. Perhaps I will buck up and reactivate my Instagram account later this year but I have been bouncing around like a ping pong ball so much lately, I’m not sure I should. My head is spinning and I expect things will stay weird out in the world for a while so I am going to stay away from the fray for as long as feels right. I believe I need to go underground to see what I can do without the roar of the social internet in my ear. I plan to stay away from Instagram until summer at least–maybe longer but I will be here banging around at the Ghost House if you want to connect.

Take care and be kind and keep fighting for what is right.