one year in montreal

september 21

A year ago today, I moved to Montreal. I felt the most free I had ever felt. I had no job, no plans, and, besides my partner, I knew exactly one person in the entire city (love you, Ceci!!). After a year in the city, I’ve met wonderful people through French classes, gyms, uber rides, mutual friends, and art. We survived the long, dark winter to enjoy the summer of Montrealers’ dreams.

So, what’s new? After my show a month ago, I spontaneously deleted the Instagram app. It’s no original gen z story, but my life and mental health mysteriously improved without it! shocking! It was an impulsive decision that proved useful to rewire my habits. At the time, I felt spread too thin… I needed to retreat from the outside world and focus on my own life.

Yesterday, while flipping through The Artist Way, by Julia Cameron, I underlined this sentence:

“We ourselves are the substance we withdraw to, not from, as we pull our overextended and misplaced creative energy back into our core.”

Going into this fall, I’m intending to make more space for myself. My creative ideas blossom from having time to write and think. When I am too busy, running from task to task, nothing meaningful comes to me when I stand in front of the canvas.

In the studio I’ve been working on building larger canvases… 3x4’, 3x3’, etc… and the latest update is that @robertowoodworks built me a beautiful work table for my space. As my mom knows, it has always been my dream to have a large table to cover with my projects that I don’t have to clean it up for dinner ;)

In other news, I’ll be joining the Open Doors event at Ateliers3333, my studio building. I’ll have my studio open for visitors Opening Night Friday, 9/30 5-8PM & Saturday, 10/1 10AM-4PM. See you there!

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