Pulling It In Close

The Road to Mastery

Unconscious incompetence

Conscious incompetence

Conscious competence

Unconscious competence

-anonymous

Right now I have several bodies of work in progress as you probably know if you've been following my blog for a bit. I want to pursue them, but only have so much time in a day, yes?? I'm determined and a bit sleep deprived as even when I'm not in the studio, my head is. Even when I'm supposed to be sleeping, it's a twilight sleep that allows for the images to encroach.

I'm extremely grateful for this state. I've never been so excited about my work as I am now and never felt quite as capable to pursue my bigger ideas. Now, not only do I feel capable, but I feel ready and determined. I'm not going to settle. I'm doing what I need to do to make the work. That means giving up some sleep, it means not being stopped by what I don't have or getting exactly what I need in some cases. Going the extra mile or miles. There are things in my life that I'm not willing to sacrifice, especially this time of year, so the choice is less sleep for now.

All this kind of reminds me of a silly realization I'd had in the studio a few years ago; I have my pastels on a large tray that sits atop a 2'x4' table. I had this table pushed up against one wall of the studio for years thus requiring me to take about two steps to reach from the palette to my easel. One day, for no particular reason, I walked into my studio and pulled the table right up next to the easel, so I didn't have to take those steps!! DUH!!!! Well right now, I'm pulling EVERYTHING in close and getting to the work.

I've been greatly influenced by my husbands work and have begun to collaborate with him on many pieces. His work is abstract and has multiple layers of acrylic, drawing and collage elements. I've studied his work and use of tools/ techniques and begun to apply these lessons to figurative works. I love the line that he uses and the depth that he's able to achieve in the layering. Stayed tuned for some of our collaborations!

"Right Back Where" Mike Baggetta

"Let Me Try Again" Mike Baggetta

"Stuck in the Middle" Mike Baggetta