Life gets busy, especially when you own your own business and have a small child. Making time for art can be a struggle, but it helps to have a collaborator! I am glad I know Mary England, my artist/blogger friend who is always working on new, collaborative, creative work, so I can make art by way of collaboration.

Recently Mary organized a Puzzle Art Project, inviting 36 different artists from around the world to make art on their assigned blank puzzle piece. We all created something special on our puzzle pieces and returned them to Mary, who assembled the puzzle and affixed it to an abandoned building in Baltimore to bring a little beauty and joy to the area.

Here is the puzzle piece I submitted:

I used this puzzle project to finally experiment with some dried flowers I had and decoupage, a technique I had never really tried before. I had been saving some dead flowers for a while but didn't know what kind of project I should use them for. Luckily the puzzle piece afforded me a manageable blank canvas to attempt something new.

Here is a picture of the assembled puzzle and the work installed at the space:

Pretty awesome! The other artists and I all felt very good about working together and making such a successful piece. All the credit goes to Mary for coming up with the idea and getting us together on this. 

For more information on the project and to order a puzzle of our puzzle (so cool), check out Mary's blog directly: http://uncustomary.org/puzzle-art-project/.

My friend Mary and I have been accepted to create an art exhibition at the Top of the World Observation Level Gallery at the World Trade Center in Baltimore!  

In this exhibition, World Views: What's Your View?, we will collect and install at least 200 pieces of mail art from around the world. The goal is to inspire both the art makers and the art viewers to be curious, reflective, and aware of their own and other people's views, all while enjoying the view of Baltimore. 

We are now accepting submissions for mail art that we can incorporate in our show. Click here to view our call for mail art. Please submit work by January 24, 2015, or January 31 at the very latest, and spread the word to your contacts around the world! The exhibition will be on view February 6-March 29, 2015.

If you don't know what mail art is, feel free to browse Mary's blog, or take a look at some of the examples below:

I was recently asked by my artist/blogger friend Mary to contribute to her blog on the topic of dealing with negativity. I, like many of the other contributors, found myself thinking about this topic long after I responded to Mary's questions, particularly when it comes to artists.

A cartoon popped up on my Facebook not long ago about how it costs nothing to encourage an artist. I liked it because it shows how much artists care about their work, and also how dismissive people can be towards it. It is amazing that while creating art is such a pure form of self-expression, people feel more entitled to question and criticize your artistic endeavors than if you sold your soul to big oil. 

While by and large I have been lucky to have a supportive family when it comes to art, often it does feel like artists face a lot of subtle and not so subtle negativity from a wide variety of people, including friends, relatives, other artists, and ourselves. It can be hard to understand how we think, why we make the type of art we do, and what we are even doing this for. While the artwork we make is certainly tangible, the rewards are often not. Artists travel a tough road, and sometimes a "you're either with me, or against me" attitude can take hold. I have tried to figure out why some common questions and comments from people I know can irk me so much, such as:

"How will you sell this?"
"Why are you getting so stressed over your art? I thought this was just for fun."
"I don't see what your ultimate goal is."

The people who say these types of things may be trying to understand my thought process or motivation for working on a particular project or making a career move, but sometimes it feels like negativity, as if they are questioning my decisions, expect me to have all the answers, or don't see a way for me to succeed. Just imagine if I went to your place of work and start asking you, "How do you make money this way? Why do you work so hard at this, I don't see the point. What future do you imagine having here?" People rarely say these things out loud, unless they're talking to artists!

One thing I know: there is no clear or singular way to succeed as an artist. Building a satisfying career in art is harder than working a 9-5 job, and just as hard, if not harder, than building your own business. Sometimes you can sell your work, sometimes you can teach a workshop. Sometimes you can blog and make money that way, sometimes you win prize money. Sometimes you're just so unique and brilliant like Andy Warhol or Banksy that people end up throwing money at you just for being you. Sometimes it just takes a while to figure things out.

There are times when I feel down and lost about being an artist, but I learned a few years ago never to count myself out. I definitely don't have all the answers right now as to where I'll be in the future, but I am always searching, always reflecting back on my successes and failures, and thinking ahead to what I can do next. 

So the next time you talk to an artist, be mindful of ways to encourage them, listen carefully to them, and try to avoid questions that might hint of asking them to justify their lifestyle. Artists question themselves a lot already, so hearing some positive words can make a big difference.

Somehow this summer I've found myself collaborating with artist friends in more than one group projects with an environmental theme. I have always considered myself a bit of an environmentalist and included nature in my abstract works, but this year it's been nice to work with others to make some statements about man's relationship with nature.

First, I came across a fun opportunity to do a performance art piece in a pool for DC's SynchroSwim event. We had a blast making costumes and putting on a show! See my SynchroSwim webpage and my friend Mary's blog post for more.

Then, last Friday I went to my friend Michael's house to work on some puppets of dead sea animals. He went to Ocean City this Labor Day weekend with the puppets to raise awareness about Obama's approval to use sonic cannons in the Atlantic coast, a practice that uses extreme sound to search for oil that can kill, deafen, or otherwise impair animals, particularly dolphins and whales that rely on sound for survival and communication. I was unfamiliar with the issue but reading about it definitely raised my concerns.

I'm hoping Michael will have some pictures from his time at Ocean City with the finished puppets, but here are some pictures from when we were working on them:

Being a part of this project reminded me that art doesn't have to a solitary, complex, or exclusive endeavor. Team up with your friends and find your own audience!

If you're on this site, you probably know I am an artist, but I also work at a nonprofit, Maryland New Directions (MND). At MND, we help low-income adults make positive changes in their lives through employment. I first began working there 3 years ago, looking for a decent full-time job where 1) I could make a difference 2) stay in Baltimore and 3) still make my art. It has been a good fit over the years, and I am proud to say the job has held up to my expectations.

I believe everyone deserves the chance to earn a comfortable living and enjoy what they do. That is what most people want, myself included. At this organization, I have witnessed many individuals gain not only jobs, but confidence, self-esteem, happiness, and security. Our clients sing our praises and share their success stories with us every day. I am extremely proud to work here, as I love this city and want to be a part of the positive change in our communities. About 25% of Baltimore City residents live in poverty. That is not good enough for us as staff, and we work very hard to help break the cycle of joblessness and poverty.

Since starting work here, I have learned a ton about nonprofits and what it takes to run them. Our job-readiness services are free to those in need, but it does take blood, sweat, tears, and ultimately funding to have a lasting impact on the lives of others. Part of my job is to make sure we have enough funding to keep our organization running, and this year we have launched a campaign inviting people from the community to give to our cause. Just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a village to change a village.

Please donate to this campaign. Your gift will help others discover their talents and interests and earn income for themselves.