Been super busy here lately. One day we are scheduling like mad, the next we are back on the trail working our butts off!And then there is art, orders to fill, cleaning to do and general busy work to get things in order. This week the biggest most challenging thing has been the cleaning of 'the office'. This hasn't been done in I dont know how many years!
It was a huge ordeal that was just completed today... a big thanks to James for helping work through all the mess!! Now that the office is cleaned, organized and better maintained working in it will insure a nice calm energy to go along with our heavy work load. This is far better than the frantic energy that it had before, where things were thrown in the best places possible, combating that with our already hectic scheduling!
It will also be a better place of calm for my art which continues with great speed. I am working on a graphite piece (sneak peek can be seen above) as well as finishing up the Yukon Quest poster that was started on last year. It feels great to be finishing up the old while working on the new!!
This is all a great direction for us to head as we continue into this new year. And even though the cold weather has come again (the lowest has been -40) we are still fortunate to only expect it for a little while longer before it breaks into much milder temperatures. It will be perfect for our upcoming dog sled tours we have booked.
And now, part two of my Anchorage adventure with Mary Shields...
PART TWO: Snowstorm...
A snow storm came just as fast as the dark settled in on us. We had to slow way down to be safe on the highway. This was my first time driving in the snow on the Parks Highway but it wasn't as nerve wracking as I thought it would be. There wasn't much traffic and the lights on the cars that traveled with us we could see well and spaced ourselves safely.
I kept thinking of the caribou we had seen so many miles back and wondered if any moose were going to come out for a close encounter with our car. Thankfully all wildlife was waiting out the storm safe in the forest and we were safe on the road.
We got in a bit late to the VanZyles but they welcomed us warmly and showed us to a cozy little loft where we would be staying. Mary had been there many times before but since this was my first visit I could barely focus, there were far too many things to look at! It was a museum with so many wonderful creative pieces of art to look at, and when I was tired of looking at art (which is never!) there were even more pieces of history all around. From snowshoes, to an old mushing harness, to carvings and old posters of races gone by... I was in heaven and so distracted I felt I wasn't being the best guest... I was far too speechless at seeing all the history around me.
And in the kitchen were old photos of Leonhard Seppala and his team, one was even from the Chatanika area! A place I am very familiar with, I felt like I had been there only years ago, and even though the time had changed drastically the land was literally frozen in time. No collection would be complete without photos of Balto and Togo, they were both there.
Jon told us about the research he had done on the Seppala Siberians and how he had brought back some of that same bloodline to his own kennel. It was very interesting information and so wonderful to share a common passion.
Jona heated us up the most wonderful halibut and salmon soup. It was heavenly! As we ate Jon, Jona and Mary talked more as I sat in awe soaking up all the information and marveling at all the history they shared. Later we shared another similar passion, ice cream!! :)
I found out later that Jona has been buying my note cards to secretly help support me as an artist. This was VERY flattering considering I had only met them in person for the first time that day!
After dinner Jon and Jona showed us around the house in more detail. We were brought into his gallery and I was instantly in awe at the paintings that lined the walls, the extras that were stacked along the floor, the Iditarod poster that had just been completed and so many other piece of unique art I just couldn't take in all at once. It was a feast for the eyes and I lingered there in awe just a bit longer as Jon, Jona and Mary toured the next room.
When I could finally pull myself out of his gallery I was shown a white wolf painting he was working on. In it were two wolves, the white one stood out the most. It was beautiful just laying there in the snow by the stream. I was in the presence of a wonderful piece of work being created right before my eyes, a piece of history was in the making and I was fortunate enough to be there at its creation...
Since the evening was already getting so late Mary and I thought it was a good idea to head for bed even though my mind was reeling from so many questions about art, how it was marketed, how it felt to do so much art, how did Jon stay sane giving so much of himself into his work and how did he manage to make a full career out of it... on top of that I was inspired beyond belief, an intensity of inspiration that I had never felt before in my life!
Seeing Jon's work I wanted to create, not tomorrow, not next week, not a month from then but NOW!! Knowing I had to get some sleep I tried to stay calm and stifle that creative energy as long as I could but it was extremely hard to do...
Next time... 'Show Days/Work Days'
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