Recently someone told me "You are so Cottagecore." My kids know what Cottagecore is. Almost everyone on social media knows what that is. But apparently, I didn't know that the life I've created is trendy. After a quick google search and way too long on YouTube, I now know that my house (which is a cottage,) my barn turned into an art studio, the organic garden I'm developing, the two coops for the egg-laying chickens, the solar lights... What I thought was just life lived as art... is actually the cool thing now. 

I've been living my life as art this week by framing collages for an exhibit of self-portraits created by men transitioning out of the criminal justice system; sketching some of my students who attend a school for the arts, and working in my winter garden.

I've realized that living life as art is living my best life. If you relate to Street Art or Cottagcore, or a picture you just can't place into one category, I hope you are living your best life. And your life as art is a masterpiece.

​Maria Ojascastro