Writing to share this summer I had the privilege to extend beyond my home studio in Austin and spend three weeks in West Texas. Vaccinated and curious about what life means after a year wrapped in worry and fixated on digital screens to keep myself company, this summer I dedicated myself to the social experiment of conviviality in 2021.
While I laid out my studio at WRONG Marfa for the month of August, I was super drawn to the color 𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘰. It shows up a lot in the little Tex-Mex border town, but it’s also a physical manifestation of how raw and squishy I’ve been feeling on the inside.
The painted floors of the WRONG Marfa studio space.
The vibrating halo around the heartache of these past few months has been colored bright by knowing that I am not alone and living a small town life was a wonderful reminder of the importance of community and quiet time to reflect. During my time in Marfa, I tried to remind myself to perform less as the artist others might want me to be and to just be the artist that I am at this moment.
Artists are ever changing by nature prompted to adapt by our creative force and nothing has induced this adaptation with more ferocity than the last year and a half. For me it has taken quiet solitude in nature to realign myself with the current reality of what being a creative, cultural producer actually means for me at this moment. I made a healthy amount of work that is now on view at WRONG until the end of September 2021, if you find yourself in the area. If Marfa is not in the cards for you anytime soon, I’ll be adding the new work to my inventory with Uprise Art in the coming months.
A self portrait against the wall of my studio space in Marfa. I made it a point to pin up found images that illustrated the West Texas flora and fauna.
Some of my favorite things were long drives in the Trans-Pecos region, picnics and very easy hikes in Big Bend, BBQ, outdoor showers, meeting new friends & catching up with old ones, stargazing, sleeping in, uninterrupted hours in the studio, record digging for Tejano éxitos, farmer’s markets, fancy cocktails, seeing a javelina in the wild, smelling wet creosote after the rain, and being with my partner and pup on isolated trails talking about birds and bugs we found along the way.
Studio wall covered in found images with a few records I found while in West Texas.
My partner and my pup.
Big Bend National Park.
Little by little, we are all re-entering the world soft and cautious like a butterfly on its first time out of its cocoon. Como siempre, the gratitude I feel to be alive and working goes deep. Thank you to my creative community far and wide for inspiring me to be brave & strong and above all, always imagining. Take it one step at a time, friends.
Inside the WRONG Marfa storefront.
And if you ever find yourself in Marfa, Texas, don’t miss the opportunity to support small businesses like @miramarfa, @marfabookco at @shopfreda, @marfabrands, @cactusliquors, @marfaartsupply and more. Travelers help keep the heart of their town beating, so throw a little coin in their cash registers, folks.
The sweet exit sign from the Fort Davis State Park.