Art Grove Newsletter - LFE Mar 2024

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A Letter from the Editor
Our new puppy is teaching me to celebrate the baby steps in the artistic process. This month in Art Grove Newsletter we investigate luck and the artist's direct actions to gain its favor.

By Betsy Podsiadlo | 3/1/24

Dear Art Grove Community,

As winter finally seems to be on its way out, at least in our neck of the woods here in Richmond, Virginia, I write to you in celebration. You see, Tom and I have added a new member to the Art Grove Family since our last newsletter!

Introducing Otter Jakob-Podsiadlo, our nearly 8 month old black lab/hound mix we adopted in early February from the Southside SPCA. Otter has brought so much new energy into our lives and our small apartment, and while we did not anticipate adopting such a young dog, I have come to know that he is exactly the dog we need.

Naturally, upon the somewhat unexpected adoption of this adorable creature, we realized we weren’t fully prepared. We wandered the aisles of PetSmart picking things out for our newly adopted dog, loaded him in the car, and headed home where Tom distracted him outside with a brief walk and I maddashed to the apartment, cleaning and dog-proofing as fast as I could muster. It was all a bit of a blur.

But suddenly we were home! We had a new puppy and while he was mostly mild mannered, we knew we must begin very regimented training with him. Now I promise you this whole letter isn’t just an update about our new dog (because I could just talk about how adorable and goofy he is for a few hours, no problem) but it is about how this big lifestyle change affected both my life and Tom’s as we adopted this new routine.

Suddenly mornings weren’t lazy, they required both Tom and I to be up and at ‘em, Tom en route to work and me taking the dog out, feeding and walking him. Tom and I discussed our methods of training this dog. What words would we teach him? What warrants a treat and what doesn’t? What boundaries would we enforce with this dog? We decided that consistency and patience were key, after all he’s just a baby!

It wasn’t until a few days in, where he began to make little strides with learning to walk on a leash and live on a loud, busy city block that I began to really get excited with his progress.

”Wow!” I thought, “this is DAY 3 and our dog is already making great strides with the leash! He is such a good dog.”

Soon after, a moment of clarity came to me in the form of a question: Why don’t we extend ourselves the same excitement when it comes to the slowness of our own processes? I can’t recall the exact instances in my learning and development as a musician and composer where I felt the progress happening in real time, much less cheered for it. I’m trying to allow myself to take a magnifying glass to the tiny moments of growth throughout my days and weeks. I’m hoping to acknowledge and celebrate the mundanely radical act of showing up for myself and my art.

As I enter this new chapter of my life, with a new puppy and a freshly devoted life to full-time artistry, I want to set an intention.

May I carefully notice the subtle instances of my own growth

May I rejoice in the act of taking part

May I speak of my work with kindness

May I share love with the world around me

I hope we all find new ways to celebrate the small things this spring, and I look forward to hearing about the growth we’re noticing in ourselves and in one another.

This month in Art Grove Newsletter we took on a theme fitting for March, luck, (of the Irish or otherwise.) Luck may be a lady, but she’s also the scourge of artists everywhere. When submitting our work for the approval of others is regular business, it’s hard to feel like there’s more at play than luck when it comes to the success of an artistic career.

[So often in creative industries there are situations where we fully allow our fate to be dictated by the chance that someone will pick us out of a crowd. Relinquishing our own active role in the life of our artistic output on a regular basis leaves us feeling like we don’t own our craft, that we have no say as to whether or not our art exists.]

We spoke with Terrell, a Richmond based candid and street photographer, to learn about his journey in refining his craft. Sophie Carpenter shared her experience in new growth founded in building relationships. We received expert advice from award winning soprano, Yohji Daquio, on success in vocal competitions.

Throughout these articles we discover time and time again that luck isn’t random. Through thoughtful relationship building, consistent communication, and diligent work we can create opportunities for ourselves to “get lucky.” We hold the power to enable luck in our artistic lives and beyond, through the kindness we pay ourselves and others. This is magic, in my opinion.

Artists hold the power to shape art, but they also have the power to shape their destiny.

This month we introduce a new section designed with that idea in mind featuring various engagements for artists called “Opportunities for Artists.” If you have an opportunity you’d like to see featured in next month’s Opportunities for Artists, send us an email at artgrovenewsletter@gmail.com.

We’re also continuing to work on developing our instagram close friends story to include more community specific activities and questionnaires, so DM us on instagram to be added to our list!

We’re taking baby steps here and Art Grove, and we’re loving it. Hope you do too.