Grown Up Life - Settling into Marshall, NC
I’ve found gainful employment as a store artist at Greenlife, a local grocer owned by Whole Foods Market. My position is a fun mix of graphic design, data entry, and illustration. I get paid to draw fruit and veggies with chalk markers! This is a huge relief. Until now, I feel as if I’ve been floating along the summer months and watching my funds slowly deplete(and I’ve gone through them faster than I expected). Finding out that I can(probably) care for myself has been the most significant learning experience this year. I suppose I realized it was there, that it may have been the most crucial goal beneath everything else, but coming face to face with it is much different. That isn’t to imply I was anyone else responsibility before, but this is the first time in quite a while that I’ve been on my own. I guess I am a grown-up despite still feeling like a little girl. I’ve learned so much so far, and not just about drawing and art. I’ve had to figure out what I need versus what I want. More meaningful than that, I’ve learned to mostly be satisfied with less wants. I’ve learned to take pleasure in being more self-sufficient. I want to need less. I need to want less. I’ve made some progress. I think. Maybe.
The summer slowed my posing jobs down, but I expect to start picking up evening work sitting for drawing groups again. Sitting for drawing groups has been a good way to meet other artists and discover what else this town offers. I suspect it has a lot, but again, I’m finding that at my core I am an introvert. Working, at Greenlife or sitting, will help tug me out of myself a bit. Whether I am reclusive or not, living near Asheville keeps me in contact with out-of-town friends. It’s a destination and I’m lucky that friends and family come through the area regularly.
As much as I babbled above about simplifying my life and trying to want less, I’ve been nesting quite a lot. Perhaps it’s the changing seasons, starting a new job, or the decision to winter in Marshall, but I can’t deny the urge to make my room on the hill as homelike as possible. It is primitive. I feel like the chickens in our yard, scratching, clucking, and pushing straw and leaves around into a pleasing scene.
I have set up a desk before my bedroom window and plan on treating this as a sacred place to draw. I’m patching and painting the walls and unpacking my still-life objects of bones, bottles, and superstitious toys. I may only have a room, but I’m making it mine. It’s all I need for the time being. I started a new Moleskine and plan on filling it from front to back. I actually have two. One is larger and full of watercolor paper. In that one, shown on my table easel, I collage with paper and paint(sometimes glitter!) in an abstract way to discover pleasing compositions and colors without the burden of subject. It also allows me to play with texture in a way I avoid on canvas. I’m unsure if these exercises inform my painting choices, but it’s fun and freeing.
I love how the flowers seem to bloom with color coordination here. A month ago, it was all orange and yellow. Now it’s purple and fuchsia. Prickly thistle along the roads, butterfly bush, petunias, morning glories, passionflower, and more. I’ll be bloodying my hands, hacking at flowers to dry for my still-life setups and to keep me company during the winter.
The sun is setting earlier. The air is growing colder. The changing of seasons is an exciting time. It makes me fidgety. I feel like I’m supposed to be burying acorns. I’ll miss the lush summer but am eager for sweaters, cinnamon, and crispy leaves. It’s harvest time. I am ready for hot tea, heavy blankets, and ghost stories. Western North Carolina is bound to be lovely during autumn. The leaves are turning. The trees are slowly discarding their garments and will soon be gritty bones.
I sound silly, but Halloween is coming. I’m allowed to sound spooky.