With all of the mayhem going on I’ve decided its best to wait on loft ownership. I’ve entered back into sticks and bricks life, establishing community in a rental. With everything going on in the world, or should I say the United States, right now it seems smartest to not spend a dime, keep saving and turn my focus to building community and making art. I did not come to that decision in any kind of logical, rational way. It was as most of my better decisions, a little voice within guiding me step by step.
You see on the day I made all of my big moves I literally woke up chatting with one of my cousins in Alberta, Canada. I was making my plan to finally live in Canada, honoring my Canadian citizenship, that had been gifted to me so many years ago.
Anyhow, a friend had been telling me how her brother, a very established artist, had moved back from New York and gotten into an art studio on the Central East Side of Portland. She thought it would be such a good idea for me. Her brother has shown his work worldwide and actually was represented by someone in town who is one of the who is who of the art world. It is common to feel like a fraud as an artist and I found myself back there, along with feeling poor, so I laughed at her everytime she mentioned it. So instead she tricked me into visiting ADX studios by telling me she wanted me to meet her brother and see his show. Of course I said yes.
Once we arrived she started showing me available studios and had the owner/curator/representation telling me the details of each space. I laughed and said I was a bad bet for commitment since only this morning I was planning my escape to Canada. The landlady’s response was even though the lease was a year, she would allow me to give two months notice and leave with no penalties. I thought that was a little intriguing. But then I came up with another excuse… it’s too expensive. She said I could share it. I was surprised at how excited my artist friends from my open studio were to say yes and jump at the chance. It dawned on me that I had access to a tool of resistance, making art. And that I needed to stay in the fight. So I stayed. We were in! A community of over 90 artists, working together, meeting together supporting eachother. It is a very diverse group from woodworkers , to performing artists, to architects, painters, and more. The space we ended up with is a lovely space in the loft with a glimpse of the outside world natural light via the adjoining studio. I’m excited to dive back into painting as a real commitment again with a dedicated space. I’m plodding along on my current theme, which will be better named down the road, but is all about raising funds to help the environment. If Dumpy deystroys the environment nothing else will matter. We have to take care of this place we call home. The more I learn about environmental issues, the more I want to paint and finish this series as well as change my own day to day practices. I’m not perfect, but I know there is a lot we can do and get it right still.
At the same time, I knew it was time to get my own space to call home, big enough to ditch my storage unit. After intentionally looking long and hard, I wasn’t coming up with much. Everything in Portland is overpriced and nothing was very impressive. It made me miss the freedom of my small trailer space. At least there it was beautiful and there was no trash outside, or people sleeping in my front yard. And if I didn’t like something, I could get up and go.
It was the end of the day and I decided to check out one more apartment building. It was a big coorporate kind of place where you are supposed to schedule appointments for viewings. The last corporte apartment I looked at, I had scheduled a viewing and the landlords never showed up for the showing, so here I wasn’t expecting much. The front office person you could tell was tired. Her demeanor spoke of putting up with a lot of stuff on her job. She explained I needed an appointment. I’m not sure what I said but all of a sudden she said she could show me a couple of places. I can’t explain it but I walked in and it just felt like home. So I figured, I’d figure out the expenses and make it work.
Both Dudley and I love it here and have found so many things about it that we didn’t even realize we’d like. I have ten foot ceilings, and hardwood floors. I can put in ceiling fans and avoid having to use AC, and we are over a New Season’s grocery store. Literally nobody lives below me. It is so quiet. My view looks out at a quiet block of old homes as we are in a neighborhood surrounded by several old Portland neighborhoods with beautiful homes in them. I got a one bedroom because everybody was going for studios and they couldn’t rent one bedrooms so they offered them at a better deal, which I suppose could catch up to me one day and bite me in the behind. But for now we are loving it. The layout is perfect. I had to buy a few things but were able to find quality furniture pieces we love at very inexpensive prices. And the cool thing is there is so much around me, I could literally go carless from here. I step out on the street and their are buses that will take me to the doorstep of most of the places I like to go and more. And someday I’ll be riding that electric bike as this is one of the best walkable, bikeable cities.
Today, I got bold and went to a building social making some new neighbor friends. I’m the old lady in the bunch, but that’s ok. Many times in life I have been the young gal befriended by the older lady, so I guess I can pay that forward. Right now, with all of the chaos and hate, it feels good to get to know people in new circles, and to get closer to people in the circles I’m already in, bonding together, and standing up, even in small ways to an America going in the wrong direction. It feels good to have joined an art community where I will be able to resist through my art. It feels good to have some roots, doing something counter to what my fears make me want to do. It feels good not to run, to stand my ground and fight in my own kind of way. I’ll still have time in my life to enjoy that Canadian citizenship. For now I need to be here fighting to build something better especially for our Canadian friends and neighbors.
Tiny Adventures of Elisa MG 