Tag: red

Decisions, Decisions

Posted on by omordah1

After being home due to Covid19 safety issues at my place of work, for some time, I now find myself searching for work, at an age when I should be planning my retirement. I won’t go back to my previous job as even in the best of times, it is a dangerous, mentally and physically exhausting job. I continued to work at my art, upping the game as much as possible in order to somehow make a living at what I know I am very good at, and love.

“The Maine Event”

Contrary to all of the hype, although it seems that the art world is thriving, I would say it is just the opposite. Inundated with kitschy and an anything is art attitude (which honestly who can say?), it is harder and harder for people to dig through the logjam to find the truly good, or even what they would like to own. But we artists carry on, as it’s in our blood, and do whatever it takes to get our work “out there”. Aside from trying to survive, we truly want people to enjoy our work. We want it to be seen.

The job market is very tough right now, also contrary to what is said. The one good side effect is that some employers are starting to understand that they have to offer a fair wage. I live in a small town where the jobs are either medical, retail/restaurant, or college with a few office related options. For two of those they require specific qualifications, for retail you have to have low self esteem or massive desperation, and for office jobs, mostly luck and to be quick. I managed to find one that appealed to me, as I am also a writer. But it is only part time, and seems that it will mostly be filing. Oh and just minimum wage, and no benefits. I find out tomorrow if they are interested in me, but am I interested in them? Yes it would allow me more time for my family and art, but it really isn’t enough pay, as well as the filing aspect along with being in a very tiny office with two other people.

“RUN!”

While trying to decide what to do in regard to the office job, if offered, I did the usual pros and cons thing, which includes the fact that I am the major bread winner in my household. I also did the asking the universe what I should do, thing. The office position should seem perfect, but something just doesn’t feel right about it. And that’s not good. It could just be normal hesitation due to having been out of work for so long. But I don’t think so.

Then the universe did something, I received a request to do a commission. It’s still at the very early stage of price negotiation etc. But having it pop up like that when it has also been a while for that, makes me hesitate even more about the office gig. Some might say, “a bird in the hand” and all that, and “do both” (which even five years ago was no big deal…) but something tells me to trust in myself, and do what feels right, and not get into a situation where I’m trying to do it all, for minimum wage. I guess another night to sleep on it might help.

“Macro Dream”

Thanks for reading my art life ramblings. Stay well!

If you are interested in commissioning a one of a kind art piece to treasure, please contact me. You can DM me here on WordPress. Or DM me on my Instagram page ( which I tend to be on more often) at, instagram.com/susanm.l.mooreartist . You can also purchase my art on Etsy at etsy.com/shop/omordah

I would love to hear from you!

Day Tripping: Discovering Obscure Art Exhibits, Curiosities, and “Getting Out Of Dodge”.

Posted on by omordah1

My Dad used to joke when my mother was in a slump, that all he had to do was “shake the car keys over her head, and she’d be ready to go”. I guess I must have inherited some of that from my mother. It may have to do with some innate need. But whatever it is, as an artist and “creative” (to use a recently popular term), it is also necessary to recharge and get a fresh perspective. And sometimes it’s just nice to “get out of Dodge” as my son says.

An economical, and often more convenient way to accomplish this, is to go on day trips. This is a personal favorite, as it gives me that new perspective, without breaking the bank, but also without all the trappings that go along with a longer trip. I come home refreshed and hopefully a little inspired.

Recently on one such day trip, we headed out to a small village about an hour away from us called Cherry Valley. After an online search we had found an announcement about a “Sculpture Trail” there.

After a pleasant drive over hill and dale, we arrived in the pretty little village of Cherry Valley. We normally visit there about once a year. There are some neat places there to visit, but first we wanted to check out the trail. We spotted it almost immediately upon entering the village. We both thought the same thing, “This is really small” Heheh. (We soon realized that this was just part of the “trail”, and later discovered other pieces throughout the village.) The above photo shows an archway built for the “trail”, so we were in the right place, and the arch was beautiful. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a photo of the placard with the artist’s name. But if you’re in the area, I hope you get a chance to check it out. It runs through October 8th 2019.

I particularly liked this piece titled; “Eventual Artifact” by Devra Freelander and Gracelee Lawrence. ( At the top there is a hand holding a smart phone.) What will future generations think of the things we will leave behind?

This piece is by Marc-Anthony Polizzi. It kind of reminds me of skyscrapers rising over the landscape.

This small piece had no placard, and is also located in the same small garden area adjacent to the Cherry Branch Gallery.

The two pieces above, are located on the lawn of a local bank. I really liked the concentric circles on the one on the right, and the shadows created from the one on the left.

This piece titled “Red Waterfall” was on the lawn of the Post Office. It has a bit of a “steampunk vibe”.

There is also a gallery that had some very intriguing sculptures in the windows, but sadly were closed when we were there. But I did get some photos through the windows of these beautiful pieces.

The above objects were found in a local antique store. As my daughter says these skulls/skeletons “have a very oddity-esk feel to them.” We also stopped at a cute building housing a used book store that is like the Tardis, bigger on the inside, heheh.

I definitely got a “different perspective”, seeing all of these fantastic works of art, and talking with the people working there. And we got back in time for me to do a little painting of my own, some figurative abstract. I hope you’ve enjoyed this little “day trip” and get a chance to head out on some of your own. Thanks for stopping by. See you next time!