Covid Week One

There was so much going on I had not really wrapped my head around the reality of it. It started with one last trip to Silverton to meet with a hotel owner on a potential sale and commission. We left knowing it would be the last time getting out, we knew also that it was probably a last time effort on this sale. Even during the overnight in Silverton we felt what was coming. We hit the grocery store on the way back understanding that in Astoria certain resources had already become impossible to get and we hoped Silverton might provide. Coming home it was a flurry of closing studios and figuring out exactly what a Quarantine might look like. Would we still go in to our studios, how would we keep them safe?

Art, Abstract Mixed Media Art, Kirista Trask ARtTrask KiristaApril 17, 2020Covid, paintings, personal growthComment

Seven Wonders of Oregon at Wallow Foundation

To say I love Oregon is an understatement. I genuinely I cannot imagine dying in another state let alone living there. So when Travel Oregon came out with their Seven Wonders of Oregon I couldn't not go. As started to plan the trips that would get me out into some parts of Oregon I had never been I had no idea how integral some of these trips would eventually be. Nor would I imagine the beautiful selection of paintings that would come from these experiences and just how beautiful they would be at Wallow Foundation. I wanted to share with you each of these pieces and how they came to be.

Let Me Tell You a Thing or Two About "Time"

Now that I have some rules about how much social media I consume and a new place to do the work I have to start asking myself the even scarier question which is "what am I doing to sabotage myself and my career". I won't go too far into that as it is it's own blog past entirely. I will say though, that as I clean up my business systems I am learning to look further inside of myself at what other factors might be at play here.

Death is a Place: What My Aunts Passing Has Taught Me About My Art

I realize now that I have finally put that place down on paper, that it inspired me because so much of her best qualities were present there. She was an incredibly talented crafter. She could make almost anything beautiful and during her children's young childhood made incredibly beautiful matching outfits for them. She loved endlessly.

Kirista - 1 Inner Critic - 0

In checking out at IKEA I realized that I had climbed a small mountain that day. The easy road is no longer a viable option because my work is worth it. My business is worth it and more importantly my clients are worth it. I want my artwork to change people's spaces. To make them feel alive and vibrant and I cannot do that with subpar choices. My business, and more importantly my art, have a higher value than that.

Abstract Mixed Media Art, Art Shows, Creative HabitsTrask KiristaMay 9, 2017inner critic, kirista trask, art, mixed mediaComment

New Pillow in The Shop!

Friends I love designing pillows. This last month I got a special request and this was the beautiful design I came up with. I got so excited about this one off that I have decided to offer it for sale in my Etsy shop as a special for the month of May! I love this so much I am already dreaming about what design I will feature in June.

To My Grandmother's Disdain: Using Art to Heal Open Wounds

We have been spending some time on our childhood trying to re awaken our inner child and I knew it was time to come back to the envelope in the drawer. I pulled out those photos yesterday determined to find some goodness in them again. As an artist my work focuses on the topics of queer identity, femininity and recovering lost memories. It was time I took to those photos for contemplation.

I Too Am An Artist: How An Hour In a Grade School Class Changed How I Feel About Art

She’d done it. The tiny little stranger had looked inside my soul and found the words I never could. You see, that has been my problem my whole life. I have a whole lot of feelings going on inside and yet seem completely incapable of adequately expressing myself. It was not until I was almost thirty and I started painting that I finally found a way to express all that I had going on inside. For me I felt like I was suddenly speaking a language people could understand.

Abstract Mixed Media Art, ArtTrask KiristaMarch 21, 2017abstract mixed media art, artComment

I Am All Yours

Two characteristics each of the panelists related to being women in sports. Over and over I heard each panelist speak on these two topics. As an artist struggling to figure out the in-between space in my life it spoke so deeply to my heart that I almost teared up. It reminded me that I am not alone, not as a women, not as a artist, not as someone who is so passionately in love with this crazy career path that I cannot imagine who I would be without it.

Creative Habits, Life, Abstract Mixed Media ArtTrask KiristaMarch 6, 2017women in sports, creative practice, stamina, passion, ThornsComment

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