start, and the pressure will be off

lead type, sparkbox studio - monica lacey 2011

People warned me it would be hot in Ontario – the heat is so thick and heavy with humidity you can almost grab handfuls of it.  I’m mostly spending my days in my studio, which has a concrete floor and is mercifully cool – I almost need a sweater in here, compared with outdoors where one can barely stand to be clothed. 

A few days ago I had a great morning of yard sales & estate sales around Prince Edward County with Chrissy – although I was limited to purchasing tiny items, on account of traveling by plane (and already having too much stuff with me), I had a great time & got really inspired by all the crazy junk that people have.  If you didn’t already know, you can actually sell your old rusty buckets – people were buying them and other rusty farm gear like hotcakes.  I managed to manifest a fantastic old single-gear cruiser with a basket - it'll be infinitely better for me to bike into town on that than the crazy racing bike with a million gears that I'm not at all used to :)

I’ve been spending a lot of time with the little tabletop letterpress, and just used it to print some of my Artist Trading Cards (for the upcoming trading event at the Confederation Centre in Charlottetown this August).  If there is one thing I can’t bear, it’s wasting paint or ink, so after I print I usually am hunting for things to put ink on or to absorb the last of the ink on the plate or the type.  So the last print from the letterpress wound up on the palm of my hand :).   And then of course I had to do a photo shoot of this.  You just never know where creativity will lead. 

letterpress on skin - monica lacey 2011

I’m slowly getting into a nice routine & learning to be gentle with my artist-self.  It’s not always easy to silence the inner critic, but it certainly is essential.  I’m realizing that showing up every day takes a lot of courage, and that that is the hardest part.  It’s amazing how often inspiration comes me after I’ve already started, and because I started.  

If you've read The Little Prince, you might remember the fox he 'tames' and becomes friends with?  It's a little like that with my art practice - I get a little closer each day and then one day, boom, we're friends again and everything flows & works & feels great.  

sandbanks provincial park - monica lacey 201

Yesterday we all (so me, Cynthia (artist from Shanghai), Jessica (artist from Atlanta), Chrissy & Kyle (owners of SparkBox), and their friend Alex, who owns a restaurant here) took the day off & went to SandBanks beach for the day.  I had some wonderful swims in the waves of Lake Ontario!  So great to get in the water!  However, we all underestimated the power of the sun to overwhelm any amount of sunscreen, so after an amazing day, we all came home with patchy, stripey sunburns.  We nursed them with some aloe & a viewing of Little Miss Sunshine, which I've seen several times, and which never ceases to make me feel more wonderful about life.   :)