Slowly Slowly into Summer

Although much of our lives are in a limbo of uncertainty, there is no denying the miracle of this spring in Kansas. I write these words comfortably, in a house with open windows and doors, birds chirping wildly outside and the sun shining after record rainfall. Solidly into June we are... I find the summers in Kansas brutal and they have changed me from an outdoor person to indoors from June-August. I lived the first quarters of my life in either the dry heat of Colorado or the temperate temperatures of the Pacific Northwest and not even 18 years in Lawrence has made the humid heat normal. Enough of the whinging Liza! I wanted to start the post off with a gratitude and this is it ... Thank the heavens for the cool weather and the reprieve - it has not gone unnoticed.

It has been a busy 2025, up until about 7 weeks ago. I have had some amazing opportunities and collaboration and would like to share some photos with you.

Probably the most exciting project was working with a local Drag Queen Vantas to prepare a costume for his showcase at the Lied Center here in Lawrence. We worked for several months on parts for a tear-away costume inspired by Joan of Arc and Norse Valkyries. We made several prototypes and the quality and cohesion of the final piece was frankly, a surprise to me (he never lost faith!) Made from poster board, card board and lots of duct tape, we managed to pull off an epic 3 part costume and the performance was out of the world. It may not be clear from the pictures, however the costume contained a tear-away armor front, a 3-d lit from within detachable heart and articulated 12 foot wings.

I loved every minute of this collaboration and hope for more in the future!

Around the same time, I was working with another Drag Queen, Deja Brooks, on a giant fascinator for co-hosting the annual fundraiser at the Lawrence Public Library. Doesn't she look Fabulous?!

It was a great evening and much moolah was raised for the Library's Digital Media Collection.

Over this last year or so, my focus has been on my classes I teach out of the Art Emergency studio space and other locations. This has been incredibly rewarding and so far the feedback has been very positive. I keep the prices modest and make the projects accessible and interesting. Please click www.mackomics.com/classes to check out all the offerings and please tell your friends!

I recently concluded a Fairy Tale Forest class with the assistance of Professional Storyteller Priscilla Howe. She attended the class, facilitated conversations about fairy tales, and told us variations on seminal stories she has collected from all over the world. It was rewarding and exciting and I look forward to more collaborations in the future. Here are some photos of the fabulous work from my students.

I have also taught a few times at the Two Hands Paperie store in Boulder, Colorado and it is a great time to see friends and family under the regal flatirons. I'll be there again in September with the Fairy Tale Forest class and then teaching Embroidery on Postcards online in November. Colorado friends, watch their website for my fall classes.

This August, I will be on a residency at Mission Street Arts in Jemez Springs, New Mexico. I have arranged to teach a couple of classes in Santa Fe and am looking for help - word-of-mouth marketing to fill seats in these two popular classes. Do you have friends or family who would like to take a relaxed, enjoyable and successful class from moi?

They are as follows:

The Fairy Tale Forest class is being taught through the fabulous art store in Santa Fe Artisan Santa Fe and the link takes you to the classes calendar for sign up.

The second class will be the ever popular Embroidery on Postcards which will be held at the Neptune Event Space across Canyon Road from EditionONE Gallery. This will be a small class of just 10 people in a spectacular setting. Please tell friends and family in the Santa Fe/Albuquerque area about these one day opportunities and help me to fill these classes. Here is the link to sign up for this class: www.mackomics.com/classes Be sure to click on the Santa Fe version of this class!

This year has not all been work and no play, I've attended some really fun events like the Lawrence Art Center 2025 Art Auction and caught the Big Wave at the Nelson Atkins in KC.

Photo by Jeff Burkhead

Since about November of last year, I've been reading books about fairy tale analysis and preparing for my big solo show at the Phoenix Underground coming up in July (Fairy Tale Forest). I have big dreams of teaching myself to paint trees; covering the walls with an illustrated forest and populating the interior with fairy tale figures and familiar objects.

I was making some great progress until about 7 weeks ago. I got sick with a cold, and then got a little better and then I got Covid, and then got a little better and then got a tick-borne infection and many prescriptions later, I'm slowly crawling out of the invalid state. I don't know if I have long Covid but the recovery trajectory is a very shallow slope. Mostly I'm getting my sorry self to work and then sleeping or resting in the evenings and then resting all weekend to be strong enough to go through the work week again. Because of this, I made the difficult decision to postpone my July show and the people at the Phoenix were so kind, so caring and so understanding. The show is postponed for a year. I'm writing this because all of my Fairy Tale Forest Students have been invited to show their beautiful gothic window fairy tale forest pieces in this show.

Please keep them safe and happy until next year and we will get them all together at last.

So... Slowly Slowly into Summer is my reality. Accepting and existing in such a slow state with incremental progress and extreme fatigue is such a mental challenge. Thankfully, often, I'm able to remember to be mindful and reign in the judgements and expectations and even self recriminations that seem to flourish. It is not easy being idle. I normally live a very busy life by choice and never seem to be able to do as many projects as I am inspired to. I very much feel the inexorable downward pull of age and the fear of not living the artistic life I was prevented from doing for so long. I am grateful to the friends who check on me and remind me that this will pass and I will be able to start creating again. I appreciated you if you've made it this far and I look forward to getting out and seeing you at a Final Friday or teaching or showing again in the future.

If you've enjoyed a class with me in the past, please help sustain my artistic life by sharing these opportunities with your friends and family and Happy Spring/Summer 2025 to you!