https://maureenmccarronart.substack.com/p/guardian-above 1 Dashboard Guardian Above And Topaz Below MAUREEN MCCARRON JAN 11, 2025 Share I don’t understand social media algorithms, but since I mentioned my studio sale in preparation for my big move later this year, my website has had 236 views and I have a couple dozen new subscribers as well as 75 new followers here on Substack. I attribute the Substack activity to my friend Kevin Sessums’ including me on his suggestions list, but the website is because I’ve been posting about the sale on Facebook and Instagram. And it has been working. The pieces above and below are among the work that has sold this week. Someone who came over and took a couple of plants has also staked a claim on a few things from my collection of antiques. So it’s begun, the big move preparation. There are plenty of things I need to do first. Taxes for one, and getting the cataract in my other eye taken care of. See the dentist and cardiologist. And maybe start thinking about what to do about my furniture, although I expect to be here through at least September. I’ve done this before. My Manhattan landlord paid me to move out of my rent-stabilized apartment in Soho. I’d lived there for more than thirty years, and he gave me six weeks to vacate. That was a mad scramble, I even tore up decades of journals. I’m not doing that again, I intend to pace myself. And keep posting about my studio sale everywhere I can. Check out my website www.maureenmccarron.com - I’ll make you a deal etc, etc, etc. As Kevin Sessums likes to say - Onward.

Maureen

This week's Substack

If you count the rook and the magpie, this is my 11th corvid. Often, I don’t know, or care, if it’s a raven or a crow although I do get asked all the time which one a piece is, especially at the craft fairs. Lately, I’ve been working with black or white birds with undertones of color. Early into this series, I relied on a bright or intense palette, now I’m interested in something more mythical than color or accuracy. Usually the birds tell me their titles, this is one of the ways I know a painting is done. Sometimes I use names from a list I keep on hand or do a bit of research, but my best work has let me know what it wanted to be called. Kafka waited until it was finished. When I checked online to be sure that the title fit, I came across references to Kafka’s Secret Raven. Several of the quotes were moving but not confirmable. This one was attributed to his diaries. “I don’t believe people exist whose inner plight resembles mine; still, it is possible for me to imagine such people but that the secret raven forever flaps about their heads as it does about mine, even to imagine that is impossible.” Fits, no? Meanwhile, since I am planning a big move this year, I’m having a studio sale in hopes of having less to ship later. Check out my website - www.maureenmccarron.com - and just ignore that cookies message. Let me know what catches your eye. We’ll negotiate. Onward.

This week's blog from my website. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

My last four birds, plus the raven on my table, show a trend of black and/or white, with a lot of color underneath. The burnished gold isn't new, and there were white birds as well as black in the work for my show at The Commons in September, but this is different. The loon was finished before my cataract surgery, the other three were not. Those three are also post-election and reflect my feelings about that. We'll see how this goes, the new year, the new government, the new birds - but in the meantime Tashe Delek, a Tibetan blessing for an auspicious occasion. Good luck everybody, onward.

New Substack

Apparently, finally, I am angry. So far, I’ve been too stunned and exhausted by politics but the Musk thing has nudged me over the edge. I was thinking about Cassandra as I was painting this new bird, but I’ve used that name as a title before and needed to come up with something with fear and reverence involved. Pythia, who as the Oracle of Delphi, channeled prophecies from the god Apollo, felt right. The name even goes with her gauzy shroud. And I bet nobody blew her off as a hysterical worrywart. In other news, since Americans are now going to need an ETA visa to visit England, I took care of that online this week. A bit frustrating with all the nit picky details and time limit but I’m good at this point for two years. Still can’t stay more than six months, however I’m free to come and go as I please. I planned to go again in January, but the potential government shutdown and its impact on the TSA nightmare that is Logan airport made me rethink my agenda. And although the government situation has been resolved, Newcastle is coping with Metro infrastructure issues which keep shutting the system down, so I’m sticking with February for my next visit. I was back at The Crown and Anchor craft fair this weekend. Had my old spot from last year on Saturday but moved to the other side of the room where there was more heat yesterday. More, yes, but still not enough to counteract it being 6 degrees outside. Again, it’s been all about the greeting cards and mugs but the originals I took with me got lots of attention. And speaking of originals, Auggie, my painting at the AMZehnder Gallery in Wellfleet here on Cape Cod sold during the Salon show. Yay! Auggie, the little owl below, is an angry bird too. Interesting.

this week's Substack

Gideon Or The Wary Eye. Having finished the commission and craft fair projects, I’ve noticed the two recent paintings I did for myself, Atticus from a few weeks ago and Gideon, above, are not nearly as angry as expected. Wary and distressed, yes, profoundly so, but definitely not angry. Perhaps I’m still too stunned. I’m also struggling with how differently I see out of my left eye since the surgery. It’s nice to focus on things in the distance, but I can’t see a damn thing with it close up. Not my laptop, phone, a crossword puzzle, and most importantly, my artwork. The right eye, which still has a cataract, is the reverse so my eyes are not doing the same thing at the same time. I’m told they will work together better if I have the right eye done too, but then I will be completely dependent on reading glasses. What if I end up not being able to see well enough to paint? I have worn glasses since I was kid, but I could futz around the house and read or make art without them. Luckily, I have a few weeks before my surgical follow up, so maybe by then I’ll know what to do. Meanwhile, I had a great time at the holiday market at The Commons yesterday. I brought original pieces as well as the usual merchandise, and I think that helped a lot with sales. I’m there again today and hopefully it will be a big success too. Then it’s back to The Crown and Anchor, where I heard they were inside yesterday. Fingers crossed that holds for the next two weekends, it’s far too cold to be outside all day. And changing the subject, I had an encounter with a coyote Thursday afternoon in town. More accurately, it was one of those wolf/coyote/dog hybrid coy-wolf creatures that has chased off the raccoons and foxes I used to see all the time. I still see the occasional bunny, oddly enough since it would seem they would be easier prey, and I hear the coy-wolves howling in packs at night but I’ve never seen one up close. It was big and feral and very wary as it trotted off after staring me down. There’s that word again. Wary. Vigilant, or hyper-vigilant work too. So, not angry, yet. Onward. https://maureenmccarronart.substack.com/p/gideon

This week's blog from my website https://maureenmccarron.com/blog-1/f/yet-another-craft-fair-location

This week's Substack https://maureenmccarronart.substack.com/p/craft-fairs-inside-and-out