"Everything is Temporary" - this is a saying I've said to myself, to my children, to my husband and family members.  Everything really is just that - temporary.  Thankfully, the rocky times in life, but sadly, the most wonderful moments as well.  

Transitioning seems to be the motto of this summer season.  Life situations are changing for family members;  my art career seems to be on the move as well.  Most of these changes are challenging.  And we tell each other "everything is temporary."

I find myself unloading items that are no longer useful as I transition from my studio with gallery and classroom space, back to my home studio.  The classroom easels have gone to other artists, save my large working easel and my precious first easel, made by my father many years ago.  Many items have sold - artwork, prints, furniture pieces no longer needed.  While doing this transitioning, I realize how many items I have moved with me many, many times, over the past 30 years.  A huge iron antique drafting table - a heavy and cumbersome and somewhat non-functioning thing that I've lugged around with me.  Now gone to a gentleman that will put it to good use.  A standing lamp in the form of a giraffe that was a gift long ago - not really pleasing to the eye, but sentimental and now in the bedroom of an admiring woman.  A red cushy loveseat that was my favorite reading nest, also gone to another one to treasure.  As items leave my grip, I find a sense of unburdening as I assess the things that I really need - a good set of brushes, the quality paints, the traveling easel - to create the art that I desire to create.  Less time in the classroom and more time to paint and hone in my skills are the new goals going forward, along with more time to travel and be with my family 6 hours away. 

We gather, we grow, we unleash.  This "spring cleaning" just in time for fall, will bring on a sense of accomplishment, once the last of the boxes of kept art supplies are unpacked and put in their new designated places.  I pray that this challenging time will result in a new, clearer vision.  It does seem in life that we have to cross the mucky areas to get to the other side, where we can regain solid ground.  To those of you who are faced with blazing new trails, I offer my prayer of strength to you as you strive to reach the other side that awaits you.