The end of 2024 was somewhat of a cascade of unfortunate events that started in October and did not end until after Christmas. I’ll spare you details except to say they were prolonged and very expensive, involving the house and our sweet kitty Frankie. All is well now, though, thankfully, and after I took almost all of January to recover, I started working on a series of new paintings that I am very excited about. I am also taking an extended break from teaching weekly classes.
Last summer when we were in Alaska we went on an afternoon boat trip around Resurrection Bay, and it was just spectacular! We saw puffins, a momma and baby humpback whale, an orca who swam right underneath us, sea lions, seals, and these majestic fjords up and down the bay. I was awestruck by most everything about this experience, but when we rounded a corner into Spire Cove I thought I had almost entered another world. The rock formations with their own little forest ecosystems on top of each one looked like something out of a fairy tale. They were so beautiful, each one alone and collectively – I don’t even know how many there were. Maybe six? They were at one point in time attached to the land nearby, but time, weather and glacial movement detached them, and humans cannot get to them except by boat. They each had spruce trees, mosses, ferns, and patches of lovely alpine flowers like lupine and seapinks.
I did a little sketch while on the boat, but I did not want to miss a second of taking these spires in. I did a more detailed watercolor when we got back to my brother’s house. I knew that I was going to create paintings inspired by them, and I knew I didn’t want to recreate them in an entirely realistic way, but the idea marinated for the rest of the year until I picked up my brushes in February.
There is an upcoming show in May called Microcosm and it is juried, so I don’t know if my work will be accepted, but I did a whole series of these spires and their environments in miniature. I don’t know why but the idea just intrigued me so much, to try to create a miniature solo show where no piece can be larger than four inches in any direction, and to have my tiny solo show next to a bunch of other artists and their tiny solo shows. Each tiny show is to be accompanied by a larger piece that represents the same theme, so I’ve got two of those going as well.
I will enter one of the larger pieces into the April EXPO show at the Carriage House Gallery, and that show opens on Saturday, April 12. The show is an homage to the Chicago Art Expo, which will be at Navy Pier at the end of April. Each artist is asked to submit a piece we would want to have at the Art Expo. I went to the expo last year, and it was an impressive representation of new work by artists from all over the world. Covering the whole space took several hours and it was exhausting but worth it.
I will be offering a few workshops coming up soon, and I will send out an email to my student list as soon as I have dates and details. If you would like to be added to that list, email me at jackielakely@mac.com.
Paintings in progress and just about ready for submission …
