If you look at a photo of me in my studio at the end of 2019, you see me in my PJs, crazy hair, and a sold out studio. Tired and happy. Here I am today, at the end of 2020 and beginning of 2021. Happier.
Not many things went the way I wanted in 2020. However, a year of scares and endless worries for so many in the world, made my heart softer and kinder.
Not many things went the way I wanted in 2020. However, a year of scares and endless worries for so many in the world, made my heart softer and kinder.
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In the midst of creating and teaching and attending countless events, I rushed through so many things. A great life with many important moments gone unnoticed. Then, in a day I lost all of my teaching opportunities and hundreds of cancelled classes followed. Craft festivals got cancelled. Covid-19 turned gatherings into nightmares. Shops and art galleries closed their doors. Losses and changes in my personal life ensued. This makes one pause and realize that self love can’t be tied to achievements when the world stops and there is no where to go to “achieve.” My heart hardened for a bit; a reasonable reaction to the shocks of the year.
But one of my strongest values is to keep my heart soft no matter what life brings my way. Oh my, it’s so easy to board up and close our minds and bodies in self defense. I am a believer in that life is always on my side. I adore being alive and 2020 showed me many things I would never have seen before.
As days passed, my clients reached out. I got hand written notes about my designs’ impact on their lives. Turns out a scarf filled with positive messages indeed makes one feel good. I got cash in an envelope with a note: for my favorite artist. I cried. I sat down in my home studio and I painted and designed new textiles. They are filled with more hope than ever before. Huge art and craft fairs turned into small driveway-type of gatherings and I had interesting masked-up conversations with my fellow creators.
Zoom facilitated teaching and learning from the comfort of our homes. I met so many lovely humans through the computer screen. We created together and there was laughter and crying too. I did private art classes and families and work teams came together across states for a few moments of pause and sharing. While I could mostly only see people’s heads, I could tell art has made an impact. Complete strangers shared deeply and with much compassion for each other.
My artworks deepened in meaning: I aim to capture life’s beauty in my abstracts and this year I went beyond scraping the surface. Online shows became the new norm and my paintings reached new collectors. The art community went from competition to asking how can we remain strong by supporting each other?
You know how on the plane they tell you to put the oxygen mask on first? Well, 2020 made me actually do it. I paused - after being forced to do so - and I started actively taking care of my mental and physical health. It’s not always a pretty journey but healing (and an occasional hot foot bath) is at the core of love and being able to be there for others.
When I dropped off shipments at the post office, I would feel so much gratitude for being able to do what I love. Upon logging into a workshop, I could be there for my students in a more meaningful way. And in my studio, I created with more openness. My finding: fear is overrated and curiosity about the world inside and outside of us rocks. So, here I am today. Vulnerable. Yet, courageous. And definitely, happier.
Please know that anything you purchase from me - be it a scarf, a ticket to an art class, a painting - is filled with joy, deeply felt and explored from many angles. Five years ago, it started as a cute idea; I would name my company RADOST, the Czech word for joy. Today, it’s the pillar of my creative practice that arrives at your doorstep wrapped in a pretty magenta tissue paper. In this note, I wish to convey a deep THANK YOU for coming along and your kind support of my work. Stay safe.
But one of my strongest values is to keep my heart soft no matter what life brings my way. Oh my, it’s so easy to board up and close our minds and bodies in self defense. I am a believer in that life is always on my side. I adore being alive and 2020 showed me many things I would never have seen before.
As days passed, my clients reached out. I got hand written notes about my designs’ impact on their lives. Turns out a scarf filled with positive messages indeed makes one feel good. I got cash in an envelope with a note: for my favorite artist. I cried. I sat down in my home studio and I painted and designed new textiles. They are filled with more hope than ever before. Huge art and craft fairs turned into small driveway-type of gatherings and I had interesting masked-up conversations with my fellow creators.
Zoom facilitated teaching and learning from the comfort of our homes. I met so many lovely humans through the computer screen. We created together and there was laughter and crying too. I did private art classes and families and work teams came together across states for a few moments of pause and sharing. While I could mostly only see people’s heads, I could tell art has made an impact. Complete strangers shared deeply and with much compassion for each other.
My artworks deepened in meaning: I aim to capture life’s beauty in my abstracts and this year I went beyond scraping the surface. Online shows became the new norm and my paintings reached new collectors. The art community went from competition to asking how can we remain strong by supporting each other?
You know how on the plane they tell you to put the oxygen mask on first? Well, 2020 made me actually do it. I paused - after being forced to do so - and I started actively taking care of my mental and physical health. It’s not always a pretty journey but healing (and an occasional hot foot bath) is at the core of love and being able to be there for others.
When I dropped off shipments at the post office, I would feel so much gratitude for being able to do what I love. Upon logging into a workshop, I could be there for my students in a more meaningful way. And in my studio, I created with more openness. My finding: fear is overrated and curiosity about the world inside and outside of us rocks. So, here I am today. Vulnerable. Yet, courageous. And definitely, happier.
Please know that anything you purchase from me - be it a scarf, a ticket to an art class, a painting - is filled with joy, deeply felt and explored from many angles. Five years ago, it started as a cute idea; I would name my company RADOST, the Czech word for joy. Today, it’s the pillar of my creative practice that arrives at your doorstep wrapped in a pretty magenta tissue paper. In this note, I wish to convey a deep THANK YOU for coming along and your kind support of my work. Stay safe.