There’s a brief, smile-inducing montage early in “My Art” that sees the lead character Ellie — an artist played by an artist, Laurie Simmons, who also wrote and directed — arriving at the grand upstate New York country house where she’s housesitting for the summer, and throwing open its many doors. Because when you work in the city all year teaching, and you’ve successfully escaped (in this case to focus on your own work), you’re in the mood for possibilities, for fresh air. Ellie’s door-flinging is her way of letting her art-making process know she’s ready for business.
But opening yourself to creation in a new environment invariably involves adapting to the surroundings — namely, other people — and this is the real beating heart behind Simmons’ movie.