Look Up and Connect!

My art career is pretty divided between the mixed media world and the world of art licensing.  Sometimes those worlds overlap and sometimes they collide as they did on Monday at the Surface and Textile Design show in New York.  And sometimes there's a cosmic collision between my professional life and my personal life -- and that happened Monday too.  (It's all just LIFE, after all!)

Meet my reps - Laurie High and Parker Fulton of Creative Connection Inc.  I met them at the Licensing show in 1996, and signed with them a couple of years later.  They have stuck with me through thick and thin, through my adventures into different styles and media - always encouraging me to be true to myself. I am forever loyal and grateful to them.

On Monday I got to share Surtex with Patti Sokol, a friend I made while taking a class with MaryBeth Shaw, Pam Carriker, Andrew Borloz and Michelle Ward at The Ink Pad.  She just designed her own line of stamps (also available at The Ink Pad!) and is exploring the world of licensing her beautiful pattern designs.

It was fun to walk around the show with her and talk about what made us each stop and look.  There is SO MUCH amazing art at these trade shows and sometimes it's hard to take it all in.  So when something makes you stop -- it's worth considering why.  It was so interesting that Patti and I had very different tastes and sensibilities.

I also got to visit with Donna Downy, who was at Surtex for the first time.  Her work is so beautiful! It should be on products everywhere!

The night before Surtex, Freddie (hubby) and I had watched the movie "Her."  Have you seen it?  It's about a man and a world that connect more with computer personas (operating systems) than with the flesh-and-blood people around them.  This is something that is happening more and more in our world -- even as I went to Surtex Monday morning, I noticed that most of the people waiting for the train had their heads in their phones -- people didn't make eye contact and smile, or say good morning.

You can miss a lot in life if you don't connect, make eye contact, smile, say hello, look up ...


After Patti and I walked around a bit, we parted and I went by myself to get some lunch.  I sat down at a table with another woman who was leafing through her Surtex brochure.  I asked if she'd mind sharing the table, and she looked up and nodded.  I was about to take out my phone, to check all those urgent FB messages that just scream to be looked at, when I remembered "Her" and this video.  I put my phone back in my bag and asked her whether she was attending or exhibiting, and we struck up a conversation.  It turned out that we had so much in common -- both born in Brooklyn, NY, both yogis, similar backgrounds, etc.  AND - it turns out that she owns and runs a card and poster company, and has been looking for an artists who does Jewish themed art.  She asked me to have my rep send her tear sheets of my work!  All of this would not have happened had I buried my head in my phone.

As I walked away from her, reflecting on the importance of making contact, I saw a woman I had noticed two previous times during the day.  She was wearing a black caftan, a huge black hat, and black sunglasses and looked very dramatic.  I stopped her and said this was the third time I had noticed her, and since third time is a charm, I wanted to take the moment to tell her how fantastic she looked.  That I loved her outfit and what she was projecting.  She looked stunned, and then actually started to cry.  She told me that her boyfriend had left her the night before, she was wearing the sunglasses to hide her puffy eyes, she was feeling terribly about herself, and that my words meant more than I could ever imagine.

Connecting is what we humans are meant to do.  It feels good.  It is important, gratifying, a good deed, a mitzvah. So reach out and touch someone - not just through cyberspace -- there are people all around you.  All it takes is "hello."

----

Many artists and art lovers connected across the globe inspired by #bringbackourgirls and the right of girls everywhere to be educated without fear.  The 72 hour auction exceeded my wildest goals and dreams!  Thank you to everyone who participated.  The light in my heart reaches out and touches the light in yours.  xoxo

Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can.