August 2023 Updates
Let's get intimate. Let's get personal.
The Artist’s Memo
Apologies for the delay! I was way too busy being beautiful at the beach.
Since there aren’t many updates for this month, I wanted to take a moment to get real about how good things have been recently. And really, I think it’s because I don’t have many updates on the professional end of things. This year I spent a lot of time bearing my whole chest for the world and making public a lot of deeply personal experiences, but I should have devoted some more of my time post-surgery to healing mentally. Finishing thyroid treatment for now and switching brain meds has got me feeling like I am waking up in Disney World every single day. Finally! Something is giving. And who knew, being mentally clear actually makes it easier to have the big epiphanies you’ve been seeking for all of the projects that started to get stale.
You might be wondering about the art thing. What is he thinking? Well, reader, you might suspect that I am back in the studio sketching out huge colorful portraits of my naked body littered with graffiti and trash. The real answer is, I will do that eventually! I had every intention to work on sketches at home while I was undergoing radio iodine treatment, however, it is a bit hard to draw when you are not allowed to touch anything for X number of days thanks to the millicuries of radioactive material you happen to be sweating out.
I had some ideas for a different kind of portrait project and have been waiting and trying to execute them for just about a year now. Of course, having a catastrophic health scare can derail a lot of those plans; I was thinking much more about trying to channel those experiences into my paintings. I can maybe give you more details about my vision next month since I’m already so behind track on this, but I can leave you with some of my works in progress.
I do have two orders of business for you all. See below!
Gallery Aferro Summer Show Artist Talks
Your last chance to view my work in “Visceral Bodies” is August 12th, which is a mere two days away! For the occasion, Gallery Aferro is hosting an artist talk in which I will be participating alongside a handful of the other incredibly talented people featured in the exhibition. Ask me any questions you want, as personal as you want. These are raw bodies of work, and in turn I will be raw with you too.
So, remember to mark your calendar if you are not doing anything this weekend. The artist talk is August 12th at Gallery Aferro from 3pm to 4pm! See the flyer above for the details and the other artists who will be there.
Follow the AAR Instagram Account!
In addition to everything else on my plate, this coming season I will be taking charge as the first-ever Social Media Chair for the Art Association of Rutherford! AAR was such a valuable resource to me when I discovered the group last year at Rutherford’s Pride Fest, which was right after I graduated with my BFA and settled in back home in New Jersey. They host monthly meetings on the second Thursday of every month (except July and August) with workshops from local arts professionals, sponsor dozens of vendor fairs and group exhibitions each year (that are usually free for members to register for), award scholarships for high schoolers looking to pursue BFA degrees, and make home for hobbyists and career artists alike outside of the bureaucracy of larger cities’ art scenes and organizations.
If you are local, consider registering as a member for this year, or encourage your friends to join. Launching our new Instagram account (yes, in the year 2023!) is just one step we’re taking to draw in a younger, more diverse crowd and ensure the longevity of this 50+ year old organization! Registration forms are due on September 14th, which is the same day as our first meeting of the 2023-24 season, at 55 Kip Center in Rutherford at 7:30pm. Or, you can watch from afar and follow our posts. With everything that’s been going on with me recently I will admit that I have not done a good job updating the feed, but as we ramp up for this year’s events, there will certainly be more to come.