100 Is Only the Beginning

Today marks my 100th post on my daily blog. I'm actually rather shocked that I have managed to work this into my schedule. Unfortunately, by doing this, I have let another posting board lapse and I really need to try and work that one back into my life. Getting up any earlier is not really feasible - I already get up and am at the computer no later than 4:00 am. But I really need to get back to my Metal Clay boards also, so I may need to alter my schedule.

I really wanted this blog to be a discussion about art. There certainly has been some, but also personal insights and daily living. I was thinking about honing the purpose of the blog to be more art-specific, but those daily living things are a direct influence on my art and I'm not sure I can divorce them.

What I really need in my life is more time. More time to take up a pencil and paper when I feel like drawing. More time to shake up some paints if I feel like trying some color combinations or painting a new mini. More time to turn on the kiln and play with glass in its many forms. My fingers itch to be involved more in my art. I dream about it, I think about it all the time, and I can't do it because I have a business to run and a family to pay attention to. Those two things also deserve my time. So, like many/most of you...I need more time in my life!

Rethinking Design - Tria and the Ick Factor

I started the assembly of the Red Road series of my newest enamel pieces yesterday. After putting the centerpieces together, I didn't like it. OK - to be more precise, it isn't laying correctly. It isn't flexible and isn't draping the way I envisioned. So, it's back to the drawing board for the assembly portion of the project. I find that artistry is often a series of stop-motion effort. Trying one method, evaluating the result, and taking aspect of that method to use in method number two. The procedure of trial and re-try can go on indefinitely, but to do so is non-productive. Therefore, I started a rule several years ago that I would do a complete re-do only twice on any project. From that point I would move on. I use this technique in my painting quite often. But when does the project deserve a re-do, and when is it just the Ick factor? And what is the Ick factor?

The Ick factor is a fact in (my) painting, and often in the production and trial of other items. Basically I define the Ick factor as a stage that every project goes through where it simply looks icky. If it is painting - it looks blotchy and the highlights are too intense; the shadows are too abrupt. If it is pencil work, the shadows and definition simply aren't coming through from the pencil to the paper. For jewelry, the finish doesn't work, the solder doesn't flow, the design doesn't come together within the physical realities of this world as opposed to the world of imagination. Everything has an Ick factor point, and the successful artist pushes through that point to come to a successful conclusion. I will get through the Ick factor with the Red Road series, but I have a suspicion that the end piece will have a far different appearance from my initial mind-image. BUT when I am through - the pieces will work and I will be happy to offer them up for sale.

Catch-Up Again - Thinking Ahead

Of course I didn't get everything on my Wednesday list accomplished....but I rarely do. My Father, in his wisdom, believed that learning at least one new thing each day would keep the brain sharp and extend his life. He died in his late 80's and his brain was just fine, so maybe he had something going there. My life seems to operate more on the order of "always play catch-up". Always have more things to do than time to do them. Always have at least one project in the wings that you would like to do. If you have that, you will never have artistic block because you'll always be one project behind.

I was able to accomplish some repairs that had been pending. This is a good thing because repairs are flow-through. They are one of the few things that I actually get personal money from. So I will phone these two people today and when they pick up their items, I'll get a few dollars to put towards my travel fund cash jar for my summer workshops. If I don't start saving for summer now, I'll have no spare cash for something that strikes my fancy or for a nice dinner with friends. Thinking ahead....that's the key :-)

And Now the Work Begins

It's Wednesday, Studio Day, and I have a necklace repair to do, photography to do, assembly to do (lots of that), a website format to check out for my possible future website, bills to pay, a mailing list to update, a repair to pick up from a goldsmith friend of mine with a lazar welder (he can do things with that which I am unable to do with a torch), a return to take back to a store, we need a new plug-in teapot for the shop, I need to check out the magazines at Barnes and Noble, and finally, I'm meeting Chickie for dinner. WHEW! Oh....and I need to get two loads of laundry done. It's already 5:08 am. How can I possibly be running late already at 5:08 am? Well, just read through the list above again. I have twelve hours to accomplish all of that.

Last week's kiln time was very well used and I have a lot of pieces ready to assemble in my Red Road series. That will give me three series ready to post for sale, so I'm getting that much closer to opening my Art Fire and Etsy shops. Getting some photography done is essential, which is why it's on the list for today. I guess I'd better print out today's post just to ensure that I don't forget anything on my list above :-) May your day be productive and joyful in the eyes of others and the Creator. All is good - happy, happy.

INAGURATION DAY!

Well, the big day is finally here. And I must admit to a feeling of hope that I haven't had since I was a child and JFK was elected (I was quite young, but I actually do remember him). The expectations for this President are huge. The challenges are monumental. And the job will, without a doubt, be the hardest job he will have ever performed. My hope is that he will take the eloquence that he undoubtedly has to spank the Congress into constructive action. Congress is a problem - these men and women that have been elected are divisive, self-serving, and too happy with the spoken word (as opposed to action) to pass legislation that will help this nation. I hope that Barak will be able to focus Congress to be an effective and functional arm of the government.

One way or the other, however, we are getting a new President today and I'm happy about that. So, congratulations go out to Mr Obama. May your dreams be realized today and may the dreams of this nation be realized through these next few years under your leadership.

Sunday and Parties

I actually had a really nice Sunday - playing Lord of the Rings Online for a few hours, then reading some Lord of the Rings Fan Fiction. I even assembled another bracelet for my future Etsy store and shoveled the driveway. I went to Target and made them richer and me poorer, but I now have some essentials that were desperately needed (like toilet paper - a true essential in my viewpoint).

Today is Martin Luther King Day and I can't help but feel that he would be so proud right now. Tomorrow we swear in our first black President, and I am thrilled with how far we, as a nation, have come in 150 years. That it took 150 years to get from slavery to the Oval Office is both a triumph and a tradgedy. It is a triumph because that road, from Lincoln to Obama, has been a long one. And a tradgedy because the basic recognition of the value of humanity, despite their exterior appearance, seems to be a hard lesson for mankind to learn. I'm not so sure we've learned that yet, but I am proud that we will have this President. He is educated, extremely articulate, and I think he will do us proud on the national and the international scene. I can hardly wait until the actual inaguration tomorrow.