this is november

monica lacey 2009

Winter.  Blargh.  Nothing to do but keep busy until there's enough snow to get out and play in it.  I've been keeping busy listening to mixtapes by DJ pals, enjoying fun DIY projects, and building some sliding barn doors for my studio.  I've also been successful in keeping a pledge I made to myself about a month ago:  to dance every week, one way or another.  It is working wonders in helping me to feel great about life on a continuous basis - I highly recommend it!

I recently found out I was successful in a proposal I submitted to create an artwork for the PEI Sesquicentennial Art Program, which is commissioning 23 artists to produce work for a collection celebrating the 150 year anniversary of the Charlottetown Conference.  It's a great commission and I am excited to get started.

Last weekend I spoke at an entrepreneurship forum hosted by the Falls Brook Centre and it was a great chance to speak about my work and talk with other folks running their own business or wanting to start one.

Currently I'm working on those barn doors (wait till you see them!), putting together a profile for Saatchi Online, a submission for Gallery Connexion, and for the PEI Art Bank. Lots to do! What dreary grey day?  I didn't even notice.

My inspirations du jour are taking many different forms:

Tattoo designs

Performance/interactive art

Fairytale photography

Self-directed education

devour the harvest

when she got there the cupboards were bare - monica lacey 2013

I'm just discovering the work of Anna Williams, a brilliant photographer, whose super-interesting project, The Voracity, drew me to her. It explores themes of hunger, consumption, and beauty in a gorgeously-laid out online magazine-type-thing. It has me feeling excited again about photography, which seems to happen to me when the leaves fall and the temperature drops - something about the quiet of winter makes me want to notice small things, small changes, the light.

It's also the time to gather the harvest and integrate the stores - lately I've been integrating skills I wasn't sure I'd use again into my daily life/work, and I'm delighted by the fulfilling sensation of wholeness. For instance, I worked for many years in the film industry, but have been out of the game since about 2001. Last week I got asked to work on a music video shoot for the band English Words, under the direction of the filmmaking genius that is Millefiore Clarkes. Today I'll be working on the shoot for a short infofilm for the Holland College Green Machine. Coming back to this work has been just like riding a bicycle - and I hadn't even realized how much I missed it - the teamwork on set can be so magical and satisfying.

I've also been dancing more, and it feels wonderful - something I spent the first half of my life absorbed in, and something I've found endlessly interesting. And slowly there are starting to be more opportunities on PEI for viewing contemporary dance work!  The 605 collective is coming -  I've seen perform and they are great:  http://www.harbourfronttheatre.com/newanimal.html

This time of year really is special - a chance to assess, collect, integrate, and focus for the long snows ahead.  [It's a great time for discovering weird new things, like this site. ]