Here's Where I Am At

photo © Nicki Ault

Hi!

It's been awhile. Sorry about that. My hiatus took me by surprise, too.

I think I worked harder than I realized as I got ready for the show at the University Club and two days before that was the Mother's Day Tea at the studio. Just before that my son was home with an injury. And the week after the show went up at the university I was sick, then the next week my son got sick. May was a long month. I honestly felt so worn down that I started to think I was done painting. For good. I had no desire to create, lift a brush, go to the studio or even talk about art. I thought that was it.

To top the whole thing off I got a call on Sunday night of the May long weekend from our tenant (we have a cute little bachelor suite revenue property) who was in a panic. There was water pouring into his home from above and he didn't know what to do. It was 10:00 at night- I stayed with the kids and my husband went down to check it out. As it turned out the owner of the unit above ours was doing some do-it-yourself plumbing and snapped a pipe in the wall. Our place was flooded. Over the next few days the extent of the damage became more and more apparent. A disaster team was called in and within a matter of 48 hours they began gutting our suite. As upsetting and stressful as that was for us, my biggest concern was for our wonderful tenant. What was going to happen to him? How could he live through this mess? What would he do? Well, the answer came soon enough- he had to move and nine days after the disaster, he was gone.

Every now and then things happen that illustrate how quickly things change. You think you are on a certain trajectory and then, wham! the tables are turned. I am still trying to wrap my head around what has happened and the fact that we now have a long road ahead of us, not to mention finding another excellent tenant. 

Thanks for your ear. I promise this page will get back to art soon.

~Nicki