Renewal is my second Summer-Started series. The first was Transitions. As with Transitions, I chose a theme and focused on that theme every time I did any sort of work on it.
Renewal began in spring 2022 with a series of lemon yellow and cerulean blue pieces. And I let them sit for what felt like forever while I navigated a lot of strangeness in my life.
In early August, I set up my studio table for painting, stamping, and dyeing. I’d already tried several solid dye experiments that failed to give me what I wanted, struggled with several attempts at other starts that felt only marginally successful, and had one painful ice dye session that gave me some beautiful small pieces but left my back hurting quite bad for almost two weeks. I needed some change. The Folk suggested the theme of Renewal.
Through the fall, I worked on the parts for the series amid more chaos than I’d anticipated. I navigated grief, fear, anger, depression, exhaustion, anxiety, and so many twists and turns I lost count well before things settled out.
I let myself rest. Renewal. It’s what I asked for, and it’s what I got. This series focuses on the renewing part, because it is wise to leave the pain and suffering behind when you truly want renewal.
