Earth & Memory | 2024 Abstract Landscape Collection
At the end of 2022, after having said yes to too many things, I ended up in a state of creative burnout. My initial reaction to this state was a feeling of “burn it all down”, but because that wasn't really an option (or a true desire—I'll be an artist by choice until my dying days), I decided instead to pull way back.
Firstly, I pared back to client projects (with only my favorite, repeat clients) and licensing opportunities that kept enough income coming into keep the ship on course while still allowing myself to rest and recuperate. No marketing. No in-person events. No self-imposed deadlines.
The second, and arguably most helpful, piece of the puzzle was actively removing myself from social media; an act of self preservation but also one of defiance. I felt myself too drawn to the comparisons so present in the digital world. I was scrolling my phone when I could have been doing literally anything else and being present in my own life felt so hard with all the distractions available at every swipe turn.
I wanted to challenge myself to step away, but still find a way to connect with people in the real world as well as find creativity slowly again in the ways of "yore" and “yesteryear”.
Basically, I was trying my best to live like it was 1992.
I installed an app on my phone that blocked Instagram and showed me my actual number of attempts to open the app per day (horrifying), called and texted friends instead of liking their posts, turned off all notifications on my phone, and set my ringer to vibrate.
Did I miss a lot? Sure. But did I miss anything that I couldn't live without? Nope.
Instead, I found myself outside, playing with my family, taking walks, meeting friends for coffee, joining new local groups, reading books, learning a foreign language, and generally feeling happier.
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I did a lot of sitting with nature in one way or another and finding that my childhood memories of certain places was overlapping with new experiences with my family taking place in front of my eyes. ⠀
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It was in these moments of overlap that I felt ready express myself creatively again. I craved the feeling of a brush in my hand and the feeling of paint swirling on the palette. I wanted to create pieces that took those small shared moments and sense of place and translate them to canvas.
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I did a lot of sitting with nature in one way or another and finding that my childhood memories of certain places was overlapping with new experiences with my family taking place in front of my eyes. ⠀
⠀
It was in these moments of overlap that I felt ready express myself creatively again. I craved the feeling of a brush in my hand and the feeling of paint swirling on the palette. I wanted to create pieces that took those small shared moments and sense of place and translate them to canvas.
And, as always, I wanted to be able to share them with you.
So with that in mind, I slowly created a collection of 11 imagined landscapes, loosely based on real places, but expressing that overlap of emotion and memory that I felt so strongly this past year. Because I spent so much time without my phone, I also didn't photograph places, so the shapes and forms in this collection come from my memory and my experiences in the moment: a biting wind, a dense fog, the feeling of sun on the skin after weeks of rain, the sound of the sea crashing against stone…
This collection is called Earth & Memory and I'm so excited to share it with you.
I hope it brings a sense of calm into your world. I hope the colors and textures can bring forth a long forgotten memory from your childhood or inspire a visit to a place where you can create a new one.
I hope that if if resonates with you, and a piece comes into your space, it can spark a moment of joy in your everyday life.
Warmly,
Kayla