Wednesday, April 19, 2017

SCENES FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE: MOVING TO TOWN

Oops! Did it again!  Seems when life gets busy, blogging gets lost. 
The trick, I'm told, is to have a reason for blogging and a routine for getting it done. And this time I'm determined to get it done on a reasonable (pun, pun) basis. I am conquering both REASON and ROUTINE.  Really!
REASON 
YOU, you the reader, you the viewer, you the artist, are the reason for both my blog AND my website.My Reason for wanting to blog (and invite you to my website,) is that I want to share my visions. That's what we do when we create....whether it's art in any of its numerous forms, or blogs, or websites.  Sharing our vision is what we do and why we do it all!

My big move last year was actually Moving to Town. I've stated before: Art, Nature and Yoga are INTRICATELY INTERTWINED in all I do. They make my dreams come true!  They took me to art school, they moved me to NH, and now they have MOVED ME TO TOWN! 

The intertwining process is actually quite simple. I became an artist because I loved nature, but I came to love nature more as I painted it because I saw more, which then made me want to see even more...mountain tops, panoramas, up close bugs, leaves, moss and lichens., etc. Breathing, then mindful breathing, stretching and meditating became a natural part of hiking, climbing mountains, paddling kayaks. And these inevitably moved me into deeper yogic concepts of non-violence, contentment, moderation..all of it!
Mt Madison and Madison Spring Hut  (as seen from Airline Trail)  Pastel  12' X 18'
The very act of painting becomes a way to further appreciate what  you are painting because you have to look more closely, notice more. When I paint the trees, I am the trees, when I paint the trails I am hiking them again. My quest? How to share this?
Three on the Ridge     (Crawford Trail between Mitzpah and Lakes Huts)


Hiking with others, introducing my kids and Grandkids to the AMC Huts, (an annual trip now), volunteering for AMC 

Gallery sign at 8 Elm St., Freedom, NH

(Appalachian Mountain Club). We share what we  love, so I definitely have a reason for blogging, for websites, for showing and telling.  

Routine 
Routine is the second trick to "getting it done." I should know about routines...It's how you keep up a yoga practice, become a good runner, lose weight. Set a time and/or an intention, make a plan, and just do it. Sometimes you can skip the plan, or make it up as you go. If I had a routine that was working, moving to town messed with it big time. But MOVING TO TOWN was big time...big time dream come true. 

EXPLANATION: On my first trip to find a NH home, before my official house hunting trip, I drove into the little Village of Freedom, parked in front of the Village Store and walked across the street to admire a big white barn with a gallery sign at the corner of the driveway, and an old cape house, circa  1822. Dream come true, but it wasn't for sale, nor did I have the money. 

Art, nature and yoga all played their part in the next few years. Nature drew me into the mountains, my art became good enough to gain me an invitation to join a co-op gallery where I took my turn sitting and finding out how many people wanted to be artists but didn't have the nerve or the confidence  to try!  and a few people in Freedom were looking for a yoga teacher to teach in Town Hall. I started two yoga classes. Then the property went up for sale, Sept 2015. It took almost a year before "things worked out" but the move-in took place June 7, 2016.

Old houses can have a lot that needs doing, and the Gallery had been a summer only operation. Rehabbing to include a proper studio and winterizing will probably take another 6 months from now, but the plan is evolving into more than a gallery for local artists. I'm seeing it as a busy place for "ART and SPIRIT." For the local artists, but also for yoga classes and yogic exploration! maybe even yoga dance and definitely for art classes and workshops. PLUS I'll finally teach those classes I've been wanting to teach:  "Explore your creativity." "You ARE an artist!" "Find your artistic Roots"! I'm even thinking of a one week "New Horizons: Art Camp for Adults"! Maybe several sessions.
E-mail me if you are interested! Seriously, let me know! barbaramcevoy@me.com
Freedom Gallery
for Art and Spirit

Do I have a routine yet? Not exactly...next week I will start a diet I've been considering, and begin semi-regular blogging. I changed the home page on my website. Check it out, especially if you love the White Mountains. Expect a new home page every two weeks! 

Since MOVING TO TOWN, I have been painting almost regularly, teaching 3 yoga classes a week,  catching up with the gardening (snow shoveling during the winter) and walking Harry the Dog fairly regularly, getting my 10,000 steps in daily, so I'm closer to routine than any time since I moved to New Hampshire. 

Excuse the overlong blog, but it's my promise to me and for those interested it's a glimpse of what's to come, why and a peek into the how!  (remember? art, nature, yoga!)
If you are visiting the eastern side of our state, stop in for a visit, 8 Elm Street, Freedom, "Next to the Church." Give me a chance to share my vision in person.