The weather was incredible this weekend in Northern Virginia. Several art & food events were going on nearby, which made it hard to decide what to do with our down time. In the end, my husband and I opted to stay away from the big tents & crowds. Instead, we hopped into our pickup truck and headed for the nearest back road.
Fauquier County’s country roads are picturesque—twisting around hills that are dotted with black cows, frolicking calves, and grape vines stretching along wire fences.
We slowly made our way over to The Plains, a very tiny neighboring town. There are just a handful of shops on the Main St., but they are fantastic. I was eager to visit Forlano’s Market—a restaurant known for its use of local meats and cheeses. And I also wanted to visit Peyton’s Place, a home décor boutique that has a Euro-country/shabby chic flair. (It feels like it could be someone’s vacation home--with sultry French music playing, crinkled linen curtains hang from ceiling-high rods, fancy candles & soaps scent the air, and overhead-fans create a soft breeze... If no one had been around, I think I could have curled into one of the cozy chairs and taken a nap!)
Our next stop turned out to be the highlight of our day--a vistit with the owners of Live an Artful Life, the town’s new art gallery. The walls featured paintings of nearby farms and vistas all painted by local artist & gallery owner, Tom Neel. He had somehow managed to capture the radiant sunrises, dark dappled ponds, vibrant green hills, and country roads that are so, so familiar to us. So we fell in love with his work immediately!
As we admired the paintings, the gallery's co-owner Linda Neel told us that the gallery had only opened for business the day before & that they will hold their first formal artist reception on May 2.
Then she explained that the artwork was her husband’s, and pointed to him on the other side of the room. Wow—a chance to meet the artist and ask a few questions before the crowds arrived! (I think the art podcasts that I listen to must be influencing me, because I started asking him questions that I’m used to hearing on the CraftCast by Alison Lee).
In addition to asking him where each scene actually was on our road map, I had one burning question that I've been asking other artist lately--how do you deal with working solo all the time? Lately, I’ve been struggling with being lonely in my home studio. It's the kind of loneliness that leaves me on edge all the time and feeling somewhat hesitant to get to work... (FYI--I just found an article with some suggested remedies for home studio blues.)
He told me that loneliness is something that artists work through over time and that many artists are also prone to feeling “down” when they are between projects--he called that “rendering” time. But he asked what working environment I was coming from. When I said I’d worked in an office with lots of coworkers, he said that it could still be the “shock” of leaving an office environment.
Hmmmm… that’s for sure! No one comes around at lunchtime to chat with me or tell me how their weekend went. And I can’t look over someone else’s shoulder to get energized or to learn a new trick. He reassured me that it's something I will grow beyond. I hope so, and I look forward to upcoming Art League classes & the Art & Soul Hampton workshops that will allow me to work alongside other people, again.
Wow, what a wonderful weekend journey. It seems to me that everytime I wander off of Rt. 29, I am amazed by what I discover. Today—artisan foods, artsy home decor, and encouragement from an outstanding artist--I feel so blessed to live right here, right now! Can't wait 'til next weekend!
