Please Press Pause Exhibition

October 12, 2019 - January 25, 2020
Opening Reception Friday, October 18, 6-9:00pm
Art for the People Gallery, 1711 S. 1st St. Austin, TX

I'm beyond passionate to share this new body of work that's been 9 months in the making - not just to show my latest art explorations, but moreover to spread its message of gratitude. I hope and expect the inward reflection experienced at this show to shift the perceptions and perspectives of everyone who walks through the door. 

What is Please Press Pause about?
We’ve all felt it at some point - you experience a moment, a stage, or season of life you wish you could just freeze in time. For me, it was recently while I still have kids who believe in Santa, parents who are active, a body that is able to keep up with the physical demands I place on it, a marriage that still savors “us time”, having the freedom and passion to create artwork… I wanted to press the pause button and continue living in this phase – before health faded, before loved ones passed, before wrinkles further took hold, before my kids lost their innocence… Our reasons to pause may vary between us, but the intensity from feeling the literal passage of time is the same – and since time won’t pause, our mindsets must. This exhibit asks viewers to confront their own current “pause” wish list, really sink into it, and articulate the specifics, either to themselves or on an interactive communal piece.

Every piece in this exhibit has 2 vertical rectangles – a nod to the pause symbol – some more obvious than others. Housed on the back of each original artwork is a blank card for the buyer to fill out their own personal gratitude list. The untitled artwork is then titled according to the month/day/year of its purchase, representing a marker for that person’s pause of reflection. As artworks are generally hung for a span of years, the art itself will serve as a daily visual reminder of pause while their list will become a time capsule of sorts, to be revisited years down the road when parts of the list have inevitably expired. Please Press Pause is a reminder to us all to savor the present and observe our lives through a lens of gratitude.

Between the time this exhibit was conceived to present, a sibling has been diagnosed with Stage 4 Non-Hodgkins lymphoma and a grandparent has slipped deeply into dementia, further illustrating the importance of relishing in all things good. A portion of sales from “Please Press Pause” will be donated to Brushes With Cancer, an organization that pairs cancer fighters & survivors with artists to create art inspired by their journey (http://www.twistoutcancer.org/brushes-with-cancer) Thank you for your support.

All original artwork in the Please Press Pause Exhibit is available for purchase through Art for the People Gallery, either by calling 512-761-4708 or in person at 1711 S. 1st Street. Here is a sampling from the exhibit: