To the Overwhelming Nature of Art

Since getting back home, life has been a blur of movement. I’ve been building my photography portfolio from the trip to Italy, starting new classes, teaching art to a homeschooled teenager, and getting my own kids settled back into school.

It’s been a lot.

Some days I feel massively overwhelmed by everything happening at once. I have to pause, say a prayer, and remind my Type A self that I don’t need to ace every class, be a perfect mom or teacher, have a clean home, or write the perfect blog (especially since, let’s be honest—no one’s grading or probably even reading it).

When I first started this blog, I wasn’t really sure what it was supposed to be. Was it an artist’s journal? A behind-the-scenes look at trying to make art while raising kids? A place to sort through the messy parts of being both?

I still don’t fully know.

But maybe that’s the point. Like any work of art, this space keeps changing as I do. The more I work, the more I realize that art—and life—are both experiments in process. You keep pushing, layering, scraping things back, starting again. You discover something about your materials and about yourself.

Art really is a thankless thing sometimes. You wonder if any of it matters. If what you’re making is worth it. But then again, isn’t that how growth usually feels? Whether it’s parenting, studying, or just trying to be a decent human being—it’s rarely neat, and almost never certain. There is an element of faith that the things we learn will lead us to our destination (our destiny!).

Maybe this blog doesn’t need to have a single purpose. Maybe it’s just about documenting the in-between: the exhaustion and the small wins, the art that keeps me grounded, and the chaos that keeps me humble.

So, I’ll keep showing up. Keep pushing forward. Even if no one’s reading.

Because that is where the real art happens. In perseverance and discipline. Until then, here is some work from the last month of classes and my final photo portfolio from Italy!

Sincerely,

Rebekah

Portfolio Image 1, View from our convent hotel window, Venice

Portfolio Image 2, Jenna standing in the sun, Florence

Portfolio Image 3, Courtyard full of statues, Rome

Portfolio Image 4, Street in Florence

Portfolio Image 5, Kaitlin in strange light while waiting for a meal, Lucca

Portfolio Image 6, Self Portrait in mirror through a window, Lucca

Portfolio Image 7, Eric resting against pillar during a lecture, Rome

Portfolio Image 8, Confessional, Florence

Portfolio Image 9, Cristian in contemplation, Florence

Portfolio image 10, Venice at Night

Portfolio image 11, A taste of Florence

Portfolio Image 12, Sunset with red filter, Florence

Portfolio Image 13, Groceries, Padua

Portfolio Image 14, Tourists, Cinque Terre

Portfolio image 15, Self Portrait in wig store window, Florence

Portfolio Image 16, Bathers, Cinque Terre

Portfolio image 17, Jenna-pigeons-and a sunrise, Venice

Portfolio image 18, Stranger bathed in orange light, Florence

Portfolio image 19, Stranger changing, Venice

Portfolio image 20, Reflection at night, Venice

In class drawing of still life, charcoal

In class painting of a painting

In class drawing, a wooded landscape-pen, inkwash, sharpie

In class self portrait-graphite

Double exposer work from darkroom freshly flattened

Double exposure print- 35mm on fiber paper

Double exposure print-35mm on fiber paper