Next week will be the opening reception of my next series, Slump. I'm definitely excited to get this work out because I've been sitting on the idea for a while. Because of the subject matter, I anticipate that this will be a relatively short series. Like my Hemorrhage series from last year, the Slump series is deeply personal. I've been experiencing a great amount of burnout from it, to be honest. But I just deal with it because it's a part of the process. I suppose the details about all of that will be for a different blog post.Slump is about the anti-climaxes, the turning points in life that are marked by the lower periods one faces. When people are in an upswing, or when we only see people in good moments, it's so easy to assume that things were always that way or will continue on that trend. We hardly ever see or think about what must have come before, or if there is currently anything deeper going on behind the scenes. I explore this idea by sharing pieces from my own slumps in life. Each painting from the series is paired with an excerpt from my journals, during raw moments of tremendous anguish and insecurity. By offering up this level of transparency, my goal is to put a spotlight on the fact that we all have things that we work through in our own way. Perhaps it's all the same. I also intend for this series to serve as a reminder that the slumps are temporary. In a way, slumps are opportunities for growth, and we can't reach or appreciate the upswings without them. I think it's important to remember that it's not just the positive and more obvious occurrences that push us forward, it's also the lower points. We shouldn't so easily dismiss them or hide them, as those are some of the moments that helped mold who we are today. With this series I am exposing a piece of what that is for me.The full series will be posted next week, so stay tuned for that! For those in the Reno area, join me for the opening reception on June 4th at Neapolitan Gallery. The show will be up for the month of June, so be sure to stop through at some point if you miss the reception!