Tend to the small fires

Awake in the dark, the screen illuminates my fingers as a cup of coffee balances on the arm of the sofa. Flames of dancing light from my electric fire pretend to lap the air. Kodomotachi by Susumu Yokota plays on my big headphones.

It's Friday morning; the work week is behind me once again. This is a strange way for me to think about time. When one is self-employed (as I have been for much of my life), the work week is never behind you. Time has been bending in on itself, forward and then back. I am somewhere in between - my dreams vivid, the subconscious hard at work.

I didn't "make art" this past Sunday but I reflected on it and discussed these thoughts with my mother. We felt that this counted as a "sunday session." I hope to return to making art this weekend.

Last Sunday, I attended a cultural event, which is perhaps even better than making art, due to the energy exchange that comes from being around like-minded people with a singular focus. 

I was fortunate to see Stewart Copeland (the brilliant drummer of The Police and a gifted composer) speak about his life and work at The Queen's Hall. He was always my favourite member of the band. I still vividly recall the pride I felt as I wore my new Ghost in the Machine Tour t-shirt (a gift from my brothers who had actually seen the tour) to elementary school when I was barely ten. Years later, I wore that same shirt to a Black Flag show in 1986; at fourteen, though, I remember feeling pretty square in it. Needless to say, I left that gig wearing a different band's name. 

Anyway, I loved The Police, and Stewart Copeland was the best, so seeing him tell his stories about it all was a delight. Beyond his obvious talents, he is funny, irreverent, whip smart, and is an expert storyteller. Laughing at his antics as part of an audience of his admirers felt good and warm. 

On Monday, I met up with my good pal, Ever Dundas for a return visit to the secret garden in the city centre. With our hot chocolates, we enjoyed talking about all things music while sitting in the garden on a bench in the sun. It was a lovely outing. Music and friends make the world go round. 

Before I met up with Ever, I popped into Edinburgh Central Library to visit the Art & Design Library housed upstairs. I was short on time, but it was good to peruse a few art books and to just see what they had on offer.

Tuesday was a grey day of rain and remembrance, tears, and smiles.

Wednesday and Thursday were filled with work and meetings, and now here we are.
I am not sure what this weekend and week ahead holds. 

I'll leave you with my cheeky visage just to show off my latest charity shop acquisition (the necklace) because I love it and finding such treasures brings me joy. And we can all use a bit more of that.

Thank you for spending some of your precious time with me. Until next week, keep fighting for good, take care, and stay warm.

Our family tree made of charcoal dust. Interview out now!

Accidental portrait #16
mixed media
20x16" on heavyweight 250gsm linen textured paper. 

The original has sold. 
Prints of this piece are available in my Ko-fi shop: https://ko-fi.com/s/c157f20e2f

Last week I wrote in my studio blog that an interview was imminent, well it was published on Monday night! 

READ

I am very fortunate to have been interviewed by Peter Goodbody for P3DRO, a wonderful music and culture site based in England. A simple interview of 13 questions turned into something much more far-reaching and personal than I expected. I have to say this is one of my most favourite interviews to date. I really enjoyed knowing that it was going to be published on a mostly music-driven site, as music is so important to me and my process. I felt like I could communicate more effusively about the music connection to my art and be more completely myself- it was a more holistic interview. It all came together so well, it felt like a gift. 

I spent Monday night sharing it across social media accounts trying to reach the near and far. If you missed it or haven't read it yet, please do. This one is special to me and it would mean a lot. 

Read it here: https://p3dro.net/2021/03/01/megan-chapman-this-is-our-family-tree-made-of-charcoal-dust/

Thank you, Peter, for your brilliant questions and for this wonderful opportunity. 

Accidental portrait #17
mixed media
20x16" on heavyweight 250gsm linen textured paper. 

The original has sold. 
Prints of this piece are available in my Ko-fi shop: https://ko-fi.com/s/4704f6c20c

In other news, I have updated my ko-fi shop with new descriptions for many of my affordable works on paper. I'm trying to give you more of an experience as you view these works online as if you were talking to me at an open studio event. I hope you will take another look if you haven't visited in a while.

Gutless sketch #5/ Tell me how you really feel print #3
A3 size/11.7x16.5”
200 gsm heavyweight acid-free cartridge paper
2020
Both the original and prints are available in my Ko-fi shop. 
Print: https://ko-fi.com/s/63af21620b

Original: https://ko-fi.com/s/e2aea2ff51

Tomorrow is my birthday. It is the last one in my 40s and it is during lockdown. I am looking forward to taking a walk and speaking with friends and family near and far on the computer. I have a fresh bouquet of daffodils about to bloom in the house and my window boxes are exploding in the same fresh yellow. The Forth wildly crashes on the wee beach across the road. My cat, Theo sits by me looking out the window and I have plenty of tea. I am so very fortunate. 

Okay 49, I am looking at you squarely. I set an intention to live in compassionate simplicity along with forward movement peppered in joy. This sounds good to me.

Thank you for being part of all of this.

The awkward beauty of what comes next

I've been in a mood, aka a dark place. It's only this morning after cutting my fringe/bangs, putting on too much lipstick for working at home & the studio and drinking two cups of mint green tea, meditating, taking a mint scented shower and taking an "art selfie" while listening to one of my favourite/favorite old Siouxie and the Banshee's albums on headphones at full blast that I thought perhaps I could write my blog and feel a little better.

Whew... so your perpetual art cheerleader has dark days and weeks too, but you knew that. Truly with the world on fire and drowning at the same time, threats of nuclear war, and with 45 at the helm in America and May here in the UK, it's no wonder. Who isn't bummed out right now?

Regardless, I got to the studio and I worked through it and each time I did, I felt better. I worked on two "accidental" portraits for a commission. I also worked on two large 80x80cm/31x31" canvases, and I sold two more brooches and added three new ones to my wearable art collection. I have listed them in my Etsy shop. I even tended to some gallery business and social media programming. I also tried out 2 new recipes (not art related I know, but cooking is just another way I express my creativity). I also showed up for my Tuesday Studio Video Visit Video, a bit late but I made it. If you missed it on Facebook, you can see it here.



See this is why I keep a blog, when I read all of that, I feel much better and I know I haven't completely given up. I may have cried while doing the above-listed things and spent too much time zoning out in front of my computer while feeling too incapacitated to reach out to friends and family but damn if I wasn't productive.

As I was writing this, I received notification that my very first Distillation Series print, "The awkward beauty of what comes next" (pictured below) has sold from my Etsy shop and will be headed to The States! That's wonderful news! I was so excited about that series and those prints and felt a bit bummed out that they fell flat after their launch. Everything works in its own time. Thanks as always, patrons!

My old go to phrase on this blog was often, "Everyday we paint is a victory" in recent times this has often been replaced with "Keep fighting" and to me they mean pretty much the same thing. Keep working, keep showing up, on the good days, the bad days, and every plain old day in between. Sometimes you will be okay and pleased and sometimes you won't and that's okay too.

We are all in this together. The world needs you, your art, and your vision. Let's keep fighting. To those in the path of Irma, please stay safe. x

Moving at a certain velocity

Well, yesterday marked the first Friday in my studio blog's history that I didn't post something while not on some pre-arranged hiatus. Is this the beginning of the end? Is this the Saturday blog now? You can rest assured I sat in front of my computer logged into blogger, waiting to write something, anything- yesterday but nothing came to me. I have a pretty good idea why. In my opinion my blog has lost something, it has been here but it hasn't been the in-depth, inspired blog of the past. This saddens me really, as this blog was one my favorite things, but it appears to be one of the first and obvious victims of my lack of balance.

This lack of balance stems from many things and many of them good and happy things. Rediscovering my love of photography and posting an image everyday on blipfoto has taken some of my focus away from my painting and has been an additional and very rewarding way to express myself and has put me in touch with a new community. Moving into my studio outside my house and being heavily involved in the artist community of the Fayetteville Underground has taken a lot of energy and stamina. I love the community there, but it has taken a lot out of me to learn how to deal with ten or more personalities, and go to all the organizational meetings to get this all off the ground. Keeping the peace, trying to play all sides, and all the while maintaining a studio practice is a harder than I thought it would be.

But, while it has been a busy and scattered time, I have been productive. I had to take stock of all this on Monday. I was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed that I wasn't doing enough, as I don't have a exhibition on the horizon any time soon and sometimes I can lose my way when I don't. So, I went to the studio early (before my peers- when all is quiet) and I wrote what I had done in the last 8 weeks or so.

"Just in the past 8 weeks, I have sold 7 canvas paintings and 14 small works on paper.
I was in a group show at the ddp gallery.
I moved into a new studio.
I have painted 6 new paintings and have 8 new paintings in progress.
I have painted 20 new works on paper.
I have checked in with all my away Arkansas galleries in person- and now have work in Texas.
I keep exploring my passion for photography every day on blip.
I have a whole new multi media project that I am excited about in the works and I am learning new things, had the guts to ask Swedish musician Af Bellinde to perhaps collaborate.
I went to Atlanta and Kansas City and fed my need for new art and music and culture.
All this while going to all sorts of meetings and helping to make The Fayetteville Underground (fifteen artist's studios and four galleries) a successful place."

So, I missed yesterday's blog, and some past entries haven't been as rich as they were before. I can see why, and ultimately it is no big deal. Ideally, I could manage it all, you would still be getting the quality you deserve here, my house would also be super organized and lovely, my dog would not feel neglected by me, I would be the picture of complete health and all my relationships would be in tip top working order. But I am not that skilled at managing it all, and my expectations for myself are unrealistic.

So, I suggest that you too, slow down and take stock of what you are doing, it is sometimes hard for us to see how hard we are working, especially when we are always moving at a certain velocity through this life, through our art, our career. You may be surprised at what all you have accomplished and what you are capable of. Trying to find balance in this life is a worthy pursuit, but if you are not able; don't beat yourself up either. Know that you are doing the best you can do, and that everyone in your life is doing the best they can do as well.

I am awake- it's morning. I am listening to the most beautiful music in the dark of 3 a.m. and this is my life. It's a wonderful life.

Thank you.

PS. If you happen to live in Manchester England, Steven Heaton's Dreams in a changing landscape opens today! Good luck Steven!