2024 in Review & Looking Forward
I would like to say that 2024 was the most amazing year ever, but I think more honestly, it was a year like most —with ups and downs.
For me, a lot of my time this year was spent painting and adjusting to a new schedule. I started the year at my part time job at Arts North Carolina, and working part time at Trader Joe’s. For the spring and summer, I worked at the Gregg Museum of Art & Design at NC State as a marketing associate. When an opportunity to work at the North Carolina Arts Council opened up, I chose to apply. I happily accepted my current position as Social Media & Content Manager at the arts council at the end of the summer. Working full time was a necessary step as my husband is transitioning to a new career in mental health counseling. But all of this transition did make my time painting very precious to me. I found a good habit of painting in the morning before work and on the weekends and made a good body of work during the year.
A big positive to this year was receiving an Artist Support Grant from United Arts Council of Wake County and the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.* Through this grant, I purchased a new plein air easel that will make my plein air work more professional and easier. This easel, The Coulter Easel, is created by an artist which means it is designed with the artist in mind. The simple system can get packed into a backpack for long hikes into the wilderness, or easy movement in a city. I created a short video to show the easel in action and how easy it is to set up and take down.
I am creating a body of work that is looser and more expressive and is based in plein air painting. As this work is created, I will look for a location to hang a show specifically about these paintings. So, part of my grant also paid for a large roll of canvas and supplies to go to this project. Keep up with me through 2025 to see how it develops!
Here are a few other notable moments from 2024:
January: Awarded Artist Support Grant from United Arts Council of Wake County and the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources to support plein air body of work.
March: New pieces at the North Carolina Art Museum Shop for Art in Bloom.
April, May & June: Quiet Spaces exhibition in the Artspace Corridors, Raleigh, NC
September: Participated in the Paint it Orange plein air paintout, Hillsborough, NC
October: Exhibited in Fresh Preview at Artspace, Raleigh, NC
November: Exhibited in Artspace Member Exhibition 12 x 12, Raleigh, NC
December: Participated in Boylan Heights Artwalk and Artspace Artists Holiday Market
Every week: Created and shared a Dose of Inspiration email! I also created my first book inspired by my Dose of Inspiration emails in December.
Thank you for following along on my journey and for reading my emails! I wish you the very best in 2025 and I look forward to sharing more art with you this year!
*Awarded before I applied for my current position at the N.C. Arts Council
