Hopeful

Here is my most recent linocut print. It's a 12" x 12" print on light blue Italian paper with an acrylic painted base titled hopeful. It was hopefully going to be the piece that earned me a permanent spot in the Torpedo factory. But no, not this year.

Last week a friend asked me if my artwork had changed since having a baby. My immediate response was an enthusiastic yes. Now I'm trying to figure out how and why. While it's surely too soon to say... I can see that I'm open to more chaos in my work. Happy chaos. More wind. And lot's of it. I see that what I once thought was too child like and immature can be playful and serious forms and marks. I wonder if some of that influence comes from painting more too. As William Christenberry (who was one heck of a influential instructor on me) used to say - melissa, this sheet is sheer chaos - Well Bill, yes it is. I like it, do you?