Keeping an Open Mind

Today is my first day back in the studio after a house-hunting trip to Virginia.  I am happy to report that we found almost exactly what we were looking for in a house - including a fabulous studio space for me.

My mind is spinning about how I will organize it and make it my own.  It give me new motivation for the clean-up/pack-up process, daunting as that is.

I titled this post "Keeping an Open Mind" because this house was not even on our list of homes we wanted to see when we went down there.  My husband had done a great deal of on-line searching and based on that this house was way down on our list.  But we learned that pictures can only convey so much.  It turned out that the house we'd all-but-decided-on from the pictures, was actually a dump--in need of much more work than we were up for.   But to our surprise, we just fell in love with this one.

That theme of an Open Mind applies to so much for me these days.  I keep thinking of that related to my piece for Threads of Resistance and in my personal life.  When my husband first mentioned that we should move away from Lowell to a place with a lower cost of living, every fiber in me screamed NO.  I've really grown to love Lowell over the years that we've lived here and couldn't imagine leaving.  Slowly, slowly though I came to realize that reducing expenses at this stage in our lives made sense.  Once I allowed myself to entertain the idea of moving, I realized that new doors and opportunities would open up if I let them.

Happily, with just a little work, I was able to identify a new art connection as well as a new house this weekend.  It all happened because I asked for directions. We stopped in a traditional art gallery in downtown Williamsburg to look around and get a sense of the art scene.  I got chatting with the owner, and asked her how to find another gallery that I'd seen listed. I thought it was just up the street - the Williamsburg Contemporary Art Center.  It turned out that the gallery had moved and was temporarily closed.  But as luck would have it, the President of the Board of the WCAC was working the desk of the gallery we were in.  To make a long story short, she and I really hit it off and it seems like a good fit for me.  I just have to decide how quickly I want to get involved and begin showing my work there.  (Did you hear my big sigh of relief!!)

So at this point, even though it is still overwhelming to think about all that needs to be done to get from here to there, it is reassuring to know that we've put some stakes in the ground down there.  I am glad to know exactly where we will live.  And I am pleased to know that I will go there with some art connections already in place.  Meanwhile, I'll keep packing and cleaning...
Ann