The Studio Is Where the Soul Is

I can live without a home and a bedroom a kitchen and a bathroom, but not without a studio. That is my literal and current truth.

For one month now I have been traveling 2 hours a day, back and forth from Washington Heights where my mother in law lives to East Harlem where my husband and I bought a building 20 years ago. Where our son was born and grew. Where all my most productive years have happened, and all my studios in that time have been.

This is not a tragic story, just something that happens to building owners sometimes. The oldest building's certificate of occupancy does not match the current structure (the building was sold to us with a different description,) so we have to make it match according to the two city agencies involved. A long and expensive process, but unavoidable.

The good news is we are alive and healthy and hopeful that we will be able to make the necessary changes so that our building can be our home again or at least our business again.

The one thing that has made the process bearable is being able to keep my studio space. I will have to pack it too at some point this year, and I am not looking forward to that. But I have no choice.

Among other things, this process has taught me how little I really need. I miss having my own place, but I don't miss having an apartment full of stuff. I am fine with living off a suitcase and suspect that when I am finally able to unpack the 100 boxes we had to pack, there will be a lot of donations taking place. And that is liberating.

But the one thing I cannot live without is my workspace. That is the place where I think, breath, exist at my most real. And when I lose that, I need to have a plan in place because my mind might not be able to take it ;)

So to begin the year strong and to have a reason to move forward, I am spending as long as necessary planning a great year. I am building myself a map that will show me where to go and what to do when I feel lost.

I have been living my dream for so many years that facing the possibility of having to find a "real job" is very scary and frustrating. So by having a plan for art, a survival plan to stay afloat, I hope to be able to save the "job" I have been doing for so long even if I have to take a different road for a while.

While I am not looking forward to taking the bus tomorrow with the snowstorm that is going on outside, I am looking forward to making this a great year for my work. That is my greatest intention and I will be working non-stop to make it my reality.

When I don't have a studio: I can do these tiny abstract paintings made with love, peace and joy to carry close to your heart. This one has amethyst beads and an adjustable leather necklace.

Have you seen my Magical Medallions? See some examples here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10154858033932181.1073741854.689597180&type=1&l=e4156189a8

Song of the Magdalene: Mary Magdalene of the Heart

Mary Magdalene of the Heart, Oil on canvas, 16" x 20", 2010

An ancient Egyptian quote reads: "The Heart is the source of all knowledge." In my paintings, this is the meaning of the heart. Mary Magdalene meditates with her heart, made visible here. We process information with our mind, but we really get to learn it when we distill it in our heart. What good are numbers or facts or theories if we cannot use them for a noble purpose?

Mary Magdalene learned about love, and this knowledge transformed her by letting her shed her old self to become what we call a saint, or an enlightened being through whom love flows directly from the Source. In order for this to happen, her entire being must have had become connected to her heart. The teachings she received were transformed into knowledge at the center of her being, where her purity and innocence remained intact behind all the layers of life she must have carried as a human being, just like each of us.

In the chakra system, the heart chakra is at the center of the chest. It stands for love, acceptance, compassion, forgiveness, renewal, harmony, growth and peace. Mary Magdalene's heart is filled with all of these, and with fire. In the passionate fire of the heart, we patiently simmer all that is good until we create the healthy concoction that sustains us and gives us a clear perception of all that surrounds us. It is the antidote to fear and the elixir of a purposeful life.

Is there any other purpose to life than love? When we light it with the fire of passion, it melts the ice that fear tries hard to keep unthawed.