Topsy Turvy 2020

Hello, friends! I hope this email finds you and your loved ones happy and well—finding ways to enjoy life in a challenging time. Since I haven't emailed since April, I thought I should catch up! As you may have noticed, I've chosen to switch to a new newsletter format. I think this will be easier for me to make and for you to read.

What I've been up to

Like everyone else, I've done a ton of cancelling and re-scheduling this year. A couple of the biggest losses have been the indefinite postponement of all classes that I would have been teaching this year and a cancelled trip to the Florida Keys that my husband, John, and I were planning to take in May to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. But there is good news on both of those fronts.

 

First of all, I have decided to offer 2 make-up workshops to replace the one workshop that was supposed to happen in March. That class would have been a 1-day workshop for 5 students, but I am going to teach it as two 1-day workshops, with only three students on each day. In these two workshops, each student will have their own socially-distanced table for painting. I will be taking as many precautions as I can to help make sure it is a safe environment, including requiring masks when not seated at our places and having myself and students check for symptoms (including temperature) before coming to class. Since not everyone was able to attend the new make-up dates, I do have spots available on both days. There are two spots on Saturday, November 21 and one spot on Sunday, November 22, from 9 am to 4:30 pm (with a 45-minute lunch break) and the tuition is $110. (Smaller class size for the same price as my normal workshops with 5 or 6 students!) If you would like to sign up, you can do so by replying to this email.Thanks!

 

Secondly, our cancelled anniversary trip to see the Everglades and Florida Keys. Well, we initially decided to postpone it until November, but around the time we got to mid-August, we realized that we needed a new plan and started thinking about a trip we could take to somewhere less crowded. Somewhere with lots of wide-open spaces, where we could vacation safely and responsibly. I thought John was crazy when he said, "Let's drive to the Grand Canyon... in two weeks!" I said something like, "No way. We can't do that, and here is my list of reasons why." (I can be a real stick in the mud sometimes. Good thing I have John.) After a bit more thinking, I realized that I was the crazy one to not want to go... but two weeks was not enough time to finish my projects and get everything in order—not to mention planning the trip! So we agreed to go in three weeks, which was still very soon, but far more doable. John is only working part-time, due to Covid, so he was able to do almost all of the planning for the trip, and we ended up having an incredible time, visiting several national parks in Utah and the Grand Canyon in Arizona. It was the best possible trip for the times; wide-open spaces, we found!

 

Pictured at top: "The Windows: Arches National Park", 9 x 13", available for purchase in my Etsy shop.

 

Pictured below: John and me at Zion National Park

New artwork

Northern Cardinals, 8 x 10"

Available on Etsy

Carolina Wrens, 8 x 10"

Available on Etsy

I painted this little chickadee in September, and filmed my process as a demonstration on YouTube for the High Country Watermedia Society Members, who also received a critique session after they panted the chickadee. This is my first real-time demo (as opposed to being time-lapsed). You can watch it on YouTube here. And the painting is available for sale here. It's a free lesson and the next-best thing to attending classes with me in person!

Speaking of the next-best thing...

At the beginning of next year, I'm going to be teaching a Zoom class followed by a critique session for the Sawtooth School for Visual Arts. The class will be on January 19, and the critique will be two weeks later, on February 2. Details will become available on their website, sawtooth.org, by mid-November.

North Carolina Watercolor Exhibition

The Watercolor Society of North Carolina's Annual Exhibition is online this year. Originally scheduled to be at the Halle Cultural Arts Center in Cary, this exhibition features 70 watercolor paintings that were selected by esteemed juror, Soon Warren, from hundreds of entries by North Carolina watercolorists. My painting of the Brooklyn Bridge is among the selected paintings. Since this was my 5th acceptance into a WSNC annual exhibition, I was honored with a silver Signature Member pin. (An artist gets a bronze pin after 3 acceptances.)

 

View the WSNC 2020 Annual Exhibition Online

Thoughts to end with,

I'm not sure what the holidays will look like this year, but I've just started to notice that they're right around the corner. Always looking for ways to enjoy what I have, I'm planning on cherishing the opportunity to have smaller, cozier gatherings with my closest family. I hope you are able to find just the right way to enjoy your own holidays. Thanks so much for reading to the end. I appreciate you more than you know.

 

All my best,

Laura

 

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

 

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Laura D. Poss Watercolors Greensboro, NC, United States

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