I haven’t posted in a long while, primarily because I’ve slowed my art making way down. And I’m happy with that.
As 2022 wound down, I finished the second in my new Portals series. Technically, I finished it on January 1, 2023, but let’s not quibble about dates. 😉
Portals 2: Intuition Hand painted with acrylic paint on commercial fabric, raw edge fused applique, densely machine stitched.
I’m enjoying this new direction I’ve taken with acrylic paint on fabric to create an initial design, then adding my fused applique bits, and finally applying my signature dense machine stitching.
To remind my visitors and viewers, in recent years, I’ve released timelines and deadlines and expectations. I’ve relaxed into my opportunities to create because I’ve let go of the need to be creative all.the.time.
And in the letting go, I find my Light is freed up to better listen to my intuition and follow it where it leads. In this case, it led to this new Portal, a view for you into my intuition. 💖
With joy and ease…
Come back and visit in several months and I’m sure I’ll have a new Portal to share. See you then!
Interested in my art, my writing, my poetry, or learning more about bringing consistent joy and ease into your life? Then let’s talk!
Contact me to schedule: * A virtual coffee * A private (virtual) art show of my art * A commissioning conversation to discuss hiring me to create a textured fiber painting uniquely yours
If you enjoyed this art piece and the essay, and it feels aligned, please share on social media or via email. If you liked it, someone you know will probably like it too!
Portals 1: Cosmos Hand painted with acrylic paint on commercial fabric, raw edge fused applique, densely machine stitched.
This new direction I’m going — painting on fabric, adding my fused applique bits, continuing with my signature dense machine stitching — is really enjoyable. Even if this piece took many months to create.
To be clear, it was the stitching that took a while, not the design. The design piece is always something that comes together in a short period of time for me.
I’m not complaining about how long Cosmos took to finish. I’ve released timelines and deadlines and expectations. I’ve relaxed into my opportunities to create because I’ve let go of the need to be creative all.the.time.
And in the letting go, I find my Light is freed up to better listen to my intuition and follow it where it leads.
With joy and ease…
I’ll continue to create, as it calls me, following this new direction. I think the next Portal will be filled with bright color. I’ll share it as it comes alive.
Interested in my art, my writing, my poetry, or learning more about bringing consistent joy and ease into your life? Then let’s talk!
Contact me to schedule: * A virtual coffee * A private (virtual) art show of my art * A commissioning conversation to discuss hiring me to create a textured fiber painting uniquely yours
If you enjoyed this art piece and the essay, and it feels aligned, please share on social media or via email. If you liked it, someone you know will probably like it too!
I missed a studio update in March but I had a great reason. At the end of February, my partner received a job offer that required relocation from Chicago, Illinois to West Palm Beach, Florida. March was spent preparing for and executing the move. Thankfully, his new employer included payment for this relocation as part of his job offer so we purged and someone else packed, loaded, and shipped. We’ve settled into our new home (renting for a while) and he’s going to work daily. He works in construction, which is an essential business during the corona virus pandemic.
View from the back porch at the old house. Brrr!
View from the back porch at the new house. Yay!
I already worked from home for myself as a Leadership Trainer and Coach, so I just shifted to a new room in a new house. However, the cross country move in the middle of a shelter-in-place pandemic also shifted my thinking about that business. The whole reason I wanted to work for myself was to have the freedom to make more art. And yet, building a business requires a great deal of time. Art making didn’t go up. And that hurt my heart. I’m processing what it is I really want to do with my training and coaching business. In the meantime, I’m upping my creative making time and I’m back in the studio.
When I’m not in the studio working on my latest textured fiber painting and not working on my coaching business, I’m mapping out a plan to build an art business, as opposed to or in addition to, the coaching business (that’s part of what I’m processing). I’ve started writing a novel. I’m developing digital wall art using messages I receive from my meditations. I’m considering creating wall art from my poetry and from famous poets. I may offer embroidered pieces with inspirational statements. I’m absolutely going to create a guided journal to help inspire personal growth. I’m brainstorming a LOT of art ideas and I’m thinking about how and where I want to offer them for sale. I’ll keep you posted here and on social media (if we’re not connected on Facebook or Instagram, let’s fix that, OK?) Links to each are here:
For now, my big project is my latest textured fiber painting, (Feeling) Isolated. The other day, I realized my textured fiber painting Feeling series has been built off the empathy hits I get from the Global Human Collective when it’s time to choose a feeling for the next piece. For example, I made Grief in the first couple months of this year; a feeling that was sitting deep inside the Collective and which has risen to prominence during these #quarantimes. Now I’m making Isolated (which is a pretty obvious connection 😊).
Isolated – Canvas (c) Hilary Clark
Isolated – Mono Print (c) Hilary Clark
Isolated – Progress (c) Hilary Clark
Watch this space for news about my art business decisions, updates on new work, and musings on living a creative life.
Next up: I’ll continue work on Isolated. Full reveal expected in May. And I’ll continue to brainstorm and create other offerings.
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Info about my Feelings series: I interpret my random abstract doodles as emotions. The guiding point is the outer boundary of the doodle. The boundary evokes the feeling and is based on the empathetic connection I feel to the Global Human Collective. From there, I contemplate how to bring that particular feeling alive in fiber to reflect the emotion most prevalent within the Collective at the time the feeling is chosen.
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My art is my work and the majority is for sale. Please visit my Gallery to view the items for sale. If you’re interested in purchasing any of my creations, please contact me via this site.
When I began creating my Feelings series, I always knew I would need to make Grief. Not necessarily because I would be feeling grief but rather, because it’s an emotion we all experience at some point. It’s a feeling of raw pain and anguish in the early days, weeks, and months of a loss, eventually edging back into the corners of the heart, yet occasionally rising in waves of sadness at unexpected moments even years later.
Grief drowns us. It swallows us down and we let it. We fight our way to the surface to bargain with our Divinity before sinking again into despair, hiding ourselves away, hoping if we hide long enough, it won’t be true. Eventually, we float, accepting the truth but still never knowing when another wave will come along and swamp us with our loss.
When I opened my design journal to the next doodle for my series, I knew it was time. This is Grief, as I imagine it would look if feelings had color and shape and texture.
If you are grieving, this piece is for you. You are seen and you are loved and the one you’ve lost is always with you.
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Constructive criticism and comments are always welcome. Please share your thoughts!
Detail view: Grief ~ February 2020 ~ 35″ x 24-1/2″ ~ $2500
Detail view: Grief ~ February 2020 ~ 35″ x 24-1/2″ ~ $2500
Detail view: Grief ~ February 2020 ~ 35″ x 24-1/2″ ~ $2500
Detail view: Grief ~ February 2020 ~ 35″ x 24-1/2″ ~ $2500
Next up: I’m taking a short hiatus from creating any new work — big changes underway in our household (all good!!). Once things have settled back down, I’ll be back in late April or early May to continue work on my Feelings series.
Info about my Feelings series: I interpret my random abstract doodles as emotions. The guiding point is the outer boundary of the doodle. The boundary evokes the feeling. From there, I contemplate how to bring that particular feeling alive in fiber.
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My art and my work go hand in hand. I’m a Leadership Development Trainer & Coach, helping stressed, frantic, frazzled professionals shift from crisis mode to working in harmony so they can learn how to become the leaders they were born to be. If you’re interested in leadership development training and coaching, please join me over at Harmony Coaching.
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The majority of my work is for sale. Please visit my Gallery for available work.
I’m going to start the year with a post summarizing the textured fiber paintings I made in 2019. But before I get to that, I’m currently working on my first piece for 2020 – (Feeling) Grief. I knew I’d need to create Grief at some point; I guess that time is now. Here are a few progress photos:
(Feeling) Grief – the template for the canvas
The canvas
The final design, photographed in black and white to show contrast.
Come back next month to see the completed work!
In 2019, I made 6 textured fiber paintings, which was my goal. Feelings ran the spectrum from Woe to Dynamism. (If you’re interested, I have the same goal this year. Considering the amount of stitching I do on these pieces, 6 seems reasonable as I don’t make art full time.) I’ve included photos below, with links to each piece’s article if you’d like a bit more information about a piece. All of this work is for sale. If you’re interested, please visit my Gallery page or contact me through this website.
Next up: I’ll continue work on Grief. Full reveal expected in February.
~
Info about my Feelings series: I interpret my random abstract doodles as emotions. The guiding point is the outer boundary of the doodle. The boundary evokes the feeling. From there, I contemplate how to bring that particular feeling alive in fiber.
~
My art and my work go hand in hand. I’m a Leadership Development Trainer & Coach, working with stressed, frantic, frazzled professionals who struggle to lead, experience self-sabotage, have difficulty communicating, and can’t break through persistent red tape. What they want is to innovate, achieve consistent results, and come together as a team, so their employers call on me for leadership development training and coaching. I’m an expert at shedding the stress, designing solutions, and building cohesive, consistent high-achieving teams. My clients go from crisis mode to working in harmony, saving time, money, and energy, finally getting their shit together. If you’re interested in leadership development training and coaching, please join me over at Harmony Coaching.
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The majority of my work is for sale. Please visit my Gallery for available work.
Hilary Clark Studios 