Instagram story viewer> @bethmclaughlin25> Tagged

Beth C. McLaughlin

@bethmclaughlin25

1.1K

followers

2600

following

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Four days in Emerald Bay with @nac_weareocean — bunking with two amazing roommates and surrounded by people who understand the weight of the journey without needing an explanation.

There is something so healing about being able to slow down, be present, and simply enjoy being alive. To laugh, connect, try new things, wake up for the sunrise, dance under the moonlight, and look up at a sky full of stars reminded me just how much beauty there is in life, and how important it is to make space for it.

Now, I want to pay it forward. ⏩

If you’re able, please consider donating to Camp WAO through the link on this post so more young cancer fighters can experience the healing power of this community, nature, and adventure. If you can’t donate, sharing this post means just as much. 🫶

A glimpse of the magic through our disposable fujis + Mara’s lens 📸

3

11

Camp WAO (We Are Ocean) 🌊🤍

Soaked in the views and sounds of Mother Nature. My favorite landscape stills from last week, highlighting the sunrises, sunsets, birds, clouds, and the clearest water at Emerald Bay.

There’s something so restorative about being near a blue space. The sound of the waves, the subtle movement of the water and the vastness of the horizon. It gives our minds a chance to quiet, our nervous systems a chance to settle, and our bodies a chance to simply breathe.

Blue spaces have been associated with reduced stress and anxiety, improved mood, psychological restoration, and a deeper connection to nature.

A little less noise in the mind, a little more presence in the body, and a little more room to breathe. Maybe that’s why this place felt so healing.

Thank you to @nac_weareocean and @johnwaynecancerfoundation for giving us the opportunity to experience the magic of Emerald Bay. I’ll forever be grateful for this experience, the memories made, and the people who made last week so special.

3

31

Soaking up my wild and precious life 🫶🏻

94

3

Most people think surviving cancer means you’re done.

I finished treatment and found out the hard part was just starting. Learning how to have fun again without it feeling foreign. Figuring out who you are once you stop being the patient.

Just got back from a week on Catalina with Newport Aquatic Center’s We Are Ocean, which takes adult cancer survivors out on the water. Sailing, outboard canoeing, snorkeling, games on the beach, meeting sea life.

Everybody there has been through some version of the same thing. In regular life you spend a lot of energy pretending you’re fine. Out there nobody bothers.

Another survivor told me about a last minute opening . I almost had to say no, I am glad I didn’t.

Trips like this aren’t easy to put together and they happen because people who have never met a single one of us decide to help anyway. Someone did that for me. I’d like to do it for someone else.

Donate at the link in my bio. Whatever you give goes straight toward getting the next survivor out on that water.

3

8

Getting cancer: ☹️
Going to cancer camp: 😃

3

15

Years of relationship-building, research, and brainstorming are finally coming to fruition! I’m excited to share the work that @ifearts_ + @bethmclaughlin25 + and I have been cooking up.

🗓️ Mark your calendars 🗓️

Opening on March 6th!

#ifefranklin #exhibition #craft #museum #portal

201

43

19

0

Sometimes I just have to spread out, to send out feelers.

So here are the various “pots” I'm stirring in the studio:

1-3 Doing some paper casting tests with old plaster vessel molds I made in the early 90s (just pulled out from many seasons under the back porch). The interiors are mostly intact, and the exteriors are pretty corroded and interesting.

4-Cutting up more old paintings to write/stitch journal excerpts onto, then weave into reclaimed produce netting (working on new forms, continuing the “Holding Thoughts” series).

5-Still working with the paper-pulp-dipped forms, on and off the wall.

Continuing to mine my history, as I work for my September 2027 show in the main (front) space at Kingston Gallery. I know this is self-centered in the midst of everything that’s happening in the world, but it is what I must do for now.

#experiments #studioplay #workinprogress #studiolife #stirringthepot

42

4

A day of true significance ✨

This past Saturday, we welcomed a wonderful group of community leaders, educators, and artists to a panel discussion at Fuller Craft, as part of the opening reception for “Shaping Futures: The Prison Outreach Program of New Hampshire Furniture Masters.” Brimming with chatter and conversation in the Great Room, the day was a vibrant celebration of our newest exhibition, shedding light on the power of making and mentorship in both the Prison Outreach Programs and the craft community at large.

We extend a huge thank you to our panelists, Leah Woods, Lynn Szymanski, Howard Hatch, Eric Grant, and Lee Perlman, and to our moderator, Fuller Craft’s Artistic Director and Chief Curator Beth McLaughlin, for contributing to the rich conversation.

A digital recording of the panel discussion will be released shortly, so stay tuned. Of course, we encourage our supporters to visit “Shaping Futures,” on view through June 7, and experience the finely crafted objects for themselves.

49

4

If you missed my Artist Dialogue with Toby Sisson, there’s a LINK in my BIO to the recording, featuring some great photos by Nathan Fiske Photography. Endless thanks to Katie Bullied for her time and effort to make the recording happen and to put the sound together with the images. And so much gratitude to Toby Sisson for her deeply thoughtful questions and comments about the work. You’ve given me lots to think about! ArtsWorcester, I can’t thank you enough for ALL of it!!

#HoldingThoughts #ArtistDialogue #Arttalk #ArtsWorcester #VirginiaMahoney #TobySisson
#NathanFiskePhotography
#Marleneanddavidperskypresenttenseprize #Presenttenseprize
#ArtsWorcesterEastGallery
#Mixedmedia #Abstraction
#Reclaimedmaterials #Producenet
#Handwriting #Cursive #Stitching
#Weaving #Paperart #Sculpture
#ContemporaryArt

84

9

🤓Day trip by the @fullercraft team @bethmclaughlin25 (artistic director/chief curator) @jackielupica44 (registrar/collections manager) to see the Museum’s traveling show, @beau_mccall “Buttons On!” On view now at @mattatuck_museum & curated by @souleouniverse

3

6

Announcement!

Solo show coming up THIS WEEK!

Thank you, @ArtsWorcester, for awarding me a solo show in the beautiful East Gallery of their headquarters! Located at 44 Portland St. in Worcester, the gallery is open Wednesday - Sunday, 12-5. The show runs November 5 - December 14, with an opening reception from 6 - 9 pm THIS Friday, November 7 and a closing reception Sunday, December 14, 2-4 pm.

Artist dialogue with the amazing @sissontoby on Saturday, November 15, at 11am on the 7th floor at ArtsWorcester.

#soloshow #mixedmedia #sculpture #holdingthoughts #oldsketchbooks #reclaimedmaterials # #paper #weaving #producenetting #stitching #handwriting #materiality #moretocome #thepastispresent

105

29