Just Right

Last year on June 13th I picked up the first load of lumber from Home Depot and drove it out to St. Johns to hand off to my contractor to start building my tiny house. I will officially move into my new space the weekend of June 16th, almost one year exactly from when I dropped that first load of wood off. I love symmetry. Somehow, the timing feels just right.

When I returned from my travels at the end of December in 2016, I imagined being in my own space no later than this June. Even though I thought the house might be completed earlier than this, I am still hitting that original deadline, and that, as well, feels just right. Although it seems like it’s been a long process, only taking one year to build a house actually is quite speedy… at least for me. For those of you that knew me through my last house remodel, one year is lightning quick. 

I am currently picking out towel bars and designing custom couch cushions and ordering special space-saving clothes hangers. There is no end to the wonders of the internet. Just a few weeks ago I had to find a custom metal shower curtain track/hanger that could mount to the ceiling, hung down no longer than 1” and could bend in a radius of less than 3”. Yes, this crazy thing actually exists and I am a happy and satisfied customer. Everything in my house is ridiculously custom. I can’t just amble down to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and pick out what I need. How did anyone build anything before you could search the ENTIRE WORLD online?

I’m so looking forward to sharing the finished project with you! I’ll probably post a poorly filmed and shaky video to youtube after I move in so I can share the tiny house love with all of you.

I actually just arrived in Boise, Idaho to celebrate my friend Tiana’s big 50th birthday with a rafting trip on the middle fork of the Salmon River in Idaho. I’ve just been home for a week after returning from the whirlwind of spending a week in New York attending the large surface art trade show, Surtex. I blogged about my decision to go to Surtex here.

I’ll be honest. I did the very minimum I needed to do to go to Surtex. When I signed up to exhibit at the show at the end of January, I had envisioned myself madly drawing and painting for three and a half months, magnificent pieces spilling, nay, overflowing from my fingertips. This did not happen. AT ALL.  I mentioned in my last post that trying to finish up my house consumed all my time and as a result, I ended up only creating one new series of drawings. Just five new cocktail drawings. That’s it. I was feeling quite anxious about this until my sister pointed out that I had five years of work that no-one had ever seen before. I took a huge breath and realized she was right.

As I started to flip through all the journals that I’ve filled over the past five years, I was surprised by an odd feeling. It wasn’t exactly pride, or satisfaction, or happiness. It was a combo of all three. I have visually documented my life starting from when I walked my first Camino, and it was so good to see these moments and memories nested in pages awash with words and watercolors. Good feels like a plain word, but it was exactly that. Good. 

As I selected the pieces I wanted to display, I found paintings that I had completely forgotten about. Paintings that evoked sweet memories and made me smile. Paintings that I wanted to include in my portfolio. The painting above of Arch Cape is one such piece. My portfolio had a set number of 48 pages and there were many pieces that I had to leave out due to lack of space. This was also surprising. I realized that I have created a rather substantial body of work all captured in the pages of my journals. I headed to Surtex with my portfolio in hand and my head held high.

It would be wonderful if I had some exciting news to share with you post-show, but I don’t. There was much less traffic than I thought there would be, and it felt like the attendees that were there were not interested in visiting new exhibitors. I made some wonderful new friends (artists also exhibiting) and a few good contacts, and time will tell if these contacts will actually end up working or collaborating with me. If they do, then the show could end up being a great investment. I’ll keep you posted. 

So I was just told that it’s time for drinks on the patio to celebrate Tiana’s 50th. We’re off for a rafting adventure on the river on Monday. I plan to immerse myself in the beauty of the river and the company of dear friends. And somehow, the timing feels just right.