October Recap
November 2, 2023
I’m starting something new on the blog—monthly “recaps” of highlights from the previous month. I hope these more personal posts give you extra insight into life as an artist!
Art
October was a full and busy month. I had a photo shoot with my photographer at the beginning of the month, and then we co-hosted an art show and open studio at her downtown photography studio just one week later—turning it into an art gallery for the weekend.
The studio was in a historic, brick building on the main street of our little city, with creamy white walls, lofty ceilings, and tons of natural light flooding in through the street-front windows. With cozy seating and homey touches throughout, it was the perfect space to share my new paintings.
At the open studio, I debuted my latest collection, New Beginnings, and had the pleasure of meeting so many new collectors. Several paintings found homes, which is always such an honor!
I also started working with a local home retailer, Lampadas Living, which now has several of my paintings available in their showroom. The Lampadas aesthetic—neutral and transitional with colorful art—is the perfect fit for my work, and I’m ecstatic to be working with them.
Writing
I wrote two essays this month—one on how hiking my first 14er helped me overcome some personal challenges, and another on chasing the perfect home. I published both on a new, writer-focused platform that I’m exploring, and I hope to share more long-form writing there soon!
My novel (which so many of you have asked about) has stalled a bit, but rest assured I’ll be returning to working on it very soon. (In case me writing a novel is new to you—it’s a character-driven, literary romance novel about defying expectation and finding yourself, following an independent young actress who visits her hometown for the first time in nearly a decade.) Interested in following along with the process? Get novel-specific updates here.
Personal
October is by far my favorite month of the year. So wouldn’t you know that I jam-packed it with all kinds of festive, fall activities. :) For instance:
I visited friends in Birmingham and spent the night cooking the most decadent dinner—grilled oysters, skirt steak, butternut squash gnocchi, onion tarte, and lemon posset (delish!)
I went to the most epic Halloween party, dressed to the nines as Wednesday Addams
I finished second in a tennis tournament raising funds for breast cancer screenings for low-income families
I attended my very first house concert, featuring Celtic music by The East Coasters in the most beautiful and authentic mid-century split-level
I soaked up a lot of great art at the Kentuck Festival of the Arts
I hiked Cloudland Canyon in North Georgia during peak leaf season, taking a random weekday off to enjoy some peak leaf color and fall weather with my husband
What’s on your bucket list this fall? Leave a comment below—I’d love to know!
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