Counting Down to 2012



Image from the Internet


2 weeks from today 2011 will come to an end.

It is a bittersweet time of year.

Sorry to say good bye, and be another year older, but hopeful for the future.

To stop myself from getting caught up in “I should’s,” with a long list of resolutions, and more pressure, for the coming year I have found that reviewing what I have achieved in the past year helps me move forward into the new year in a more positive and productive way.

It sort of seems silly, possibly arrogant, to make a list of achievements. However, if done with a tender heart and no ego involved, it becomes an objective way to see how 2011 played out. It enables me to see that I did accomplish many things. Maybe not all that I had hoped for.  But that’s what the New Year is for, right?

Maybe you do the same? Maybe it is a new concept for you?

Either way, if you do it, let us know how it goes, okay?

May your list be long!

 
I am too exhausted to write.

Sorry.

But while I catch my breath and rest my feet I've got a few images to share with you of the C. Emerson Fine Arts booth.

Thank you, Lori, for bringing my work.  I am honored.


C. Emerson Fine Arts
Kim Anderson, Lee Basford, Clayton Chandler,
Dirk Dzimirsky, Rocky Grimes, Kyle Hughes-Odgers,
Justin Nelson, Danile Mrgan, Kim Radatz



C. Emerson Fine Arts
Kim Anderson, Lee Basford, Clayton Chandler,
Dirk Dzimirsky, Rocky Grimes, Kyle Hughes-Odgers,
Justin Nelson, Danile Mrgan, Kim Radatz



C. Emerson Fine Arts
Kim Radatz

No, as in no more for now.

Until the next time, may you be filled with creativity!

Abstract Thinking



Or maybe better said, sometimes you just have to punt.

I came to Miami for Art Basel.

I scoured the catalogs and brochures.

I made detailed notes.

I planned day by day.

Then I started my day by visiting with a friend.

And then I blew off the list.

I love lists, but it just felt right to drop everything and visit the Miami I knew while I lived here.

I moved to Miami from New York in 1977 and left for Tampa in 1998. A lot of years to do a lot of things.

I worked here. I was educated here. I met and married my husband here. I helped raise my step-children here. Essentially, I grew up here. Not as in years, though, naturally that happened too, but in maturity. I owe much to Miami.

So, today I visited the places I where I had lived, where I worked, the colleges I attended, and some of the people I met along the way.

Bittersweet.  And wonderful.

Tomorrow will be a killer day catching up with all of the “should’s” from today.

But sometimes it is more important to LIVE life than it is to do the stuff we “should” do.

I’m glad I did.

I know the emotions that I experienced today will come out in my work.

I can’t wait to see what it will be.

If I am able, I will post some work that I have seen tomorrow night.

Until the next time, may all be well with you.

 

Image from Internet



Are You Good at Saying NO?



Letters to My Lover, I said No, No, No

©Kim Radatz, 2011

I hope you are better at it than I.  I suck at it!

But 10 days of unexpected down time has forced me to rethink how I spend my energy from day to day.

I fell down the stairs 7 years ago. Graceful, I am not. As I was airborne I made a conscious effort to protect my spine from a direct hit. Quick thinker, thankfully, I am. It worked, though I did suffer some permanent damage. Multiple herniated disks top that list. Which periodically rear their ugly heads and force me to stop everything.

Hence the rethinking.

I know my priorities. I make lists. I remind myself. But inevitably I say "yes" to things that take more out of me than I gain in return. This has to stop.

I don’t expect to change completely overnight, but hopefully I will remember to take care of myself and my needs first. How can I help other people when I need help getting out of bed?

I'll keep you posted on how that goes. :)

I did manage to make more envelopes for my Letters to My Lover series which will be in the SCOPE show in Miami next week. Nothing like a motivator such as that! :)

Here are a few that I’d like to share with you:

Letters to My Lover
©Kim Radatz, 2011



Letters to My Lover
©Kim Radatz, 2011



Letters to My Lover
©Kim Radatz, 2011

And now I am going to go get ready for the holiday tomorrow. Down time will have to wait.

Happy Thanksgiving to you, my friend! May your heart be full of love and may many blessings come your way!

Miami, Here I Come- SCOPE It Out!

2 weeks from today I’ll be driving to Miami to participate in the SCOPE show during the chaos in Miami known as Art Basel.

I am very excited. A little scared too.

I’m honored that Lori Johns of C. Emerson Fine Art invited me to participate. It is reassuring to know that people believe in my work.

And it is a going home of sorts as I lived in Miami most of my adult life.

But the scary part?

Well, it’s always a little unnerving to show work, especially since this is such a world renowned show. Akin to running naked, as I have mentioned before.

Also, I will be seeing people, specifically former teachers and fellow classmates, most of whom I haven’t seen since leaving Miami.

I graduated from Miami-Dade Community College with my AA. Then Florida Internatioanl University with my BFA. And finally the University of Miami with my MFA. Which took me 16 years to complete. Longer than average, but I needed that time to grow as an artist.

And grow, I have.

So I shall relish the tingling going on in the pit of my stomach and forge ahead.

I’ll hope the show is a huge success for all of us.

And I’ll enjoy spending time with old friends and making new memories with them.

This time though, it’ll be the new, more confident artist that you know. Instead of the rather shy, insecure one that left way back when.  And that, my friends, can only be a good thing!

On that happy note, I shall sign off.

I'm happy to be back and apologize for the long absence!

Until the next time, may you have a creative day!

Edit, Organize, Edit, Organize



Packed and ready to go to Florida.


Sorry for my long absence, but in the midst of packing up my tiny Minnesota studio to head south, a family friend lost his son to suicide. I watched my friend’s son grow from a little boy into a man and his suicide took the wind right out of my sails. I allowed myself some down time from the “shoulds” and savored the last few days in Minnesota and the trip home to Florida, as well.

And now, one week after leaving Minnesota, I am almost done getting my home-base studio in order. I tweak each year to edit down to the bare essentials and this year is no different.

Edit, organize, edit, organize.

So, unpacking takes a bit longer than packing. Both in the studio and in the house.

I feel a garage sale coming on. :)

Which has been our practice the last few years. Keep the stuff we edit out of the landfill and let somebody else put the items to good use.

But for now, it is back to sorting and editing for me. I’ll be settled in soon and back on track. In the mean time, I’ll keep working in my head and when the time is right I’ll be producing again.

Until the next time, may your days be creative!

Do You Donate Your Art?



T-Shirt design by he said tee shed
 at http://www.hesaidteeshed.com/

I saw the above on Facebook this past week and it reminded me of a conversation I had with a friend earlier this year.

She has a “No Donations” policy. Period. And here is why.

• The work we donate is always first rate as our names are attached to it.
• We work just as hard on the free work as the work we will sell.
• If there is no return on the investment, why spend all of that time and energy on it?

I donate art because of guilt. Or because I believe in the cause. And because somebody has asked me to do so, and I’m fairly obedient (though my husband might disagree. :)

So, I am wondering, why do you donate your art?

And if you don’t donate your art, why not?

I know I’d love to hear the ins and outs of your decision, and I bet others will too.

Thanks much, and may your day be a creative one.