Domesticity

Domesticity /ˌdōmeˈstisədē/
noun
home or family life.
the quality or state of being domestic or domesticated
domestic activities or life
domesticities plural : domestic affairs

What Once Was Yours
PanPastel and Graphite on paper, 20" x 24.75", 2022
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This work was exhibited at the Art on Paper Fair in New York in 2022.

Individuals place importance upon certain objects, and as time passes, this importance can create tokens that one day becomes relics of the past. Though, as an object's lifetime extends beyond that of the human who created it, what happens to the meaning it once held? Reincarnated without leaving their vessel, relics live life again and again, some holding onto their past stronger than others. We can actually feel this kind of history while walking ancient coble-stone streets, gazing upon the hand tools used to create old masterpieces, or by wearing a lace dress once beloved by our grandmother. Dates allow us to mark history, whereas objects actually allow history to be felt.

What relics do keep around you in your life?

A Night Out
Graphite and PanPastel on paper, 20 1/8” x 27 5/8", 2022
This work was included in the American Art Collector Jan/Feb 2023 issue “Drawing Us To See”, exhibited at the SF Art Fair in 2022, will be published in the Manifest Gallery's 15th International Drawing Annual in 2023.

Sometimes we find ourselves stuck at home, spending our precious time doing things simply because “they need to get done”. Cleaning dishes, washing laundry, sweeping tumbleweeds of the dog’s seemingly endless hair… etc. As we muscle through these mundane necessities, occasionally we get to steal a moment to escape elsewhere; linger in a daydream; take a few deep breaths and a mental reprieve. I tend to enjoy getting dressed up to go nowhere and getting lost in a song, a painting, or simply a window.

Where do you go, while you are in?

April
Graphite and PanPastel on paper, 20 1/8” x 27 5/8", 2022
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This is a replica of the painting included in the drawing, “A Night Out”.
The work was exhibited at the SF Art Fair in 2022.

Sometimes our inner world is simply a reflection of the external environment we choose to live in. The nature that exists in the surrounding areas of our homes can create an anchoring place to visit. In quieting the mind and absorbing the landscape around us, we can, at times, access moments of peace from our typically fast-paced internal dialogue. 
This landscape is from Nicasio, CA, just one hour north of San Francisco. This location serves as a place of peace for the artist, and many other individuals from the surrounding areas. 

What landscape near you do you access when desiring inner quietness?

Domesticity, No. 1
Graphite and PanPastel on paper, 16" x 28", 202
This work was a Finalist in the 16th ARC Salon and ModPortrait 2021, received an Honorable Mention in Artist’s Network Strokes of Genius 14, exhibited at the MEAM (European Museum of Modern Art) in Barcelona, Spain, and is included on the Polaris Collection of the Lunar Codex on the Moon.

Domesticity is not a static thing. Homelife is something to work at as an individual, and if you share a space, as a partner. It can become so easy to lean far into one’s developed comfort zones, cultural (or self-proclaimed) roles in the household, or what we feel our lives could or “should” look like. It is a balancing act. Interdependence versus codependence. Active choices versus habits. Boundaries are good to be pushed, as that’s where growth happens - comforts are good to lean into when you need to rest, to mourn, or to simply soak in some of the space you’ve worked so hard to create.

What does your domestic life look like today?