Vacation Prep and Various Thoughts

I leave for vacation on Tuesday and I'm finally starting to get a bit excited about going back to Milwaukee and seeing my beading and writing friends once more. I'm reviewing what I want to pack, and it is an indication of how sick I am (LOL) that the first things I am deciding is whether to bring colored pencils or only my graphite ones on the trip, and how I hope I can access WiFi in a variety of locations while out there so that I can continue to write and download my next two class assignments while I'm out there. There should be a business area somewhere that I can print my class assignments out from...right? LOL. OK, I know I'm sick, but it's really a good sick. And I have story deadlines that I have to meet....

Love these singing birds painted by Brian Barber.

One of the articles that I referenced in a second post yesterday mentioned several things that allow an author to clear their mental space and allow themes, characters, and other things such as story lines to enter into the brain. Silence was golden to this blogger, and although I can't disagree on principle, I can disagree in my own personal life. More often than not I prefer some noise around me. I get a bit antsy just listening to Mother Nature, although I admit it can be soothing. But when I'm writing I don't want soothing, I want edgy to keep me moving along. Soothing would just send me to sleep over my keyboard, and I've done that. It wasn't fun and I accomplished nothing by doing it.

Apocalyptica is a Finnish group of heavy metal cellists. I'm in love!

No, I want noise, whether it be the TV or music. I am starting to get more into music again lately, after several years of pushing it behind me. I suppose because my little Apple Nano is so easy to use, but also because I have f-list friends who are far more savvy about music than I and who keep putting up links to videos by their current favorites. So my repertoire of music has been shifting to include more popular tunes such as "Florence and the Machine" and "Apocalyptica" instead of concentrating on JS Bach, Beethoven and Mahler. This can't be a bad thing, because I love music and for many years was going to make my career in it. So keep those recommendations coming f-list friends. I'm picking up a lot of great tunes and it's making my writing come easier, which is allowing me to write better, etc. All good!

Oh, the Pain, But Forging Ahead

I thought that my car was going to cost me close to $1000, bad enough when I don't have ready money available.  It ended up having more issues than I had originally thought, and ended up costing me $2100.  My Discover card is groaning, and I'm trying to figure out how many months of my life it will take me to pay this one off.  I have a safe and drivable car with good brakes and a totally fixed suspension and alignment, but I'm absolutely sick at the bottom line and I know that I still have one more thing that needs to be looked at.  That won't be until 2012, though - closer to the 100,000 mile mark.  The car has almost 93,000 miles on it, so I shouldn't be surprised at the cost to maintain it.  And I fully admit that $2100 is much less than buying a new car would be.  It's just that funds are very tight this year and this was an expense that I really didn't want/need. 

But, sorry to unload on all of you, and I'll move forward.  I brought my glass and my BFAC beads together yesterday, trying to see how they will all work together.  It's starting to pull together, but I think I need to at least start my bezels around the stones and then I'll be able to tell much better.  I'm still unsure about whether I want to bezel or do bead embroidery for this, but I have to move forward and have to decide before too much more time has passed.  And the illustrations for Big Bang are becoming  more clear in my mind.  So I am forging ahead, even if I don't know where the path is leading me.  Live creatively today! 

No More Squeak

So today at 7am I drop my car off to get the brakes redone, the alignment taken care of and something to do with a shock absorber.  I'm not going to enjoy putting this on my credit card, that's for sure, but it's the only option I've got since I don't have the money for this repair any other way.  I had managed to scrape my credit card balance down to less than $500, but now it's going to be back up again.  But I have no choice - I have to drive a safe car, so I'll grind my teeth and make it work.  There are still a few more things that I wanted to get done, but those will have to wait until later this year. 

I love Escher's work.  Every time I look at it, I think of my

friend Seth, who gave me a book of Escher's work many years ago.

Because I had to go back to the shop at 4 yesterday afternoon, I didn't get as much done as I wanted.  But I did work a bit on the illustrations for Darth's Big Bang story.  I'm still trying to get things pinned down before I start the actual work and I'm still trying to pin down what media I want to use for this.  I only need to produce a single illustration to meet my contract, but who knows?  Have a creative day today...I'm already running late and it's only 4:30 am. 

Retrospective and Looking Ahead

What a year it has been.  I became bolder.  I reviewed more fanfic stories and, because I was more vocal, made friends in fanfic throughout the world.  That's one of the highlights of my year - I enjoy having friends in places other than the US, it helps me pull away from being so insular.  People in the US have a habit of staying inside their comfort box and dismissing the outer world as "others".  But those "others" have lives every bit as important as ours, ideas every bit as ingenious as ours, and they outnumber us by a large amount.  So I think it is important to open the gates to the castle and not lose sight of the land beyond the crenelated walls. 

Sometimes it seems that the US perceives

itself as a castle against the forces of the world. 

Wake up America!  It's a big scary world filled

with some wonderful people.  Open the castle gates!

I did some craft work - not as much as I wanted, but I had a good time with the items I made.  My jewelry box "When Anar Rose" is an excellent project that taught me how to paint silk, something that I want to play with again this coming year, and my Holiday Stars were sent to friends throughout the world and loved wherever they landed.  My enamel work, although incomplete, also turned out excellent, and my metalwork continued.  I didn't get a chance to sketch as much as I wanted, but I don't think I ever truly get enough time for my creative side. 

My happiest times have always been with my

nose in a book.  Now I tend to read electronically,

but my nose is still in a book, it's just a virtual book.

I did review many stories, acted as a beta reader for my friend Iris, and became a more active participant in the fanfic boards that I joined.  Reading, as always, has been extremely important to me and I don't see that ending - I've always had my nose in a book since I first learned to read.  The only difference is that I can carry a library along with me in my Nook now, so I can have my nose in electronic pages instead of paper, but the general effect is the same. 

Every action causes a reaction.  Try to make your actions

have positive results.  I fail at that often enough, but it

is a constant goal of mine and I try to achieve it daily.

And I worked hard at the shop and at my craft, met my friend Seth for a delightful afternoon of wandering the zoo and catching up on our lives, threw Chickie a birthday funeral that she is still talking about, entertained my BFF Sharon who came up for the Labor Day weekend again, and attended the Renaissance Festival each weekend from August into October.  I went to workshops, saw friends both old and new, and donated to charities and causes when I could and when they needed a helping hand.  Looking back on the year, I can live with what I accomplished.  I tried to make the ripples that I put into the world good ones that, in turn, would cause positive ripples of their own.  I hope to continue that in the New Year.  I think that's probably the best goal I could have.  Have a Safe and Happy New Year, enjoy your families and your occupations, and spread joy.  It will return to you ten-fold. 

The Weekend Looms

It will be rainy this weekend, so I can work on cleaning the inside of the house instead of exterior work.  That will be a bit of a change.  We haven't had a weekend of rain for more than two months, although we have had a single rainy weekend day within that time span.  I don't think we have anything on our "must do" agenda for Sunday, so I can allow myself to sleep at least until 9:00am (a true luxury for someone who is usually awake at 3:30am-4:00am).  I'm already looking forward to it. 

I am looking forward to getting some sleep.  I really need it.

I wanted to do the exterior signage at the shop yesterday.  It only took one letter to realize that I need one more item to do the lettering successfully.  So I need to order what is called "transfer sheet" for my vinyl.  That will allow me to get exact placement of my vinyl without the letters folding or buckling while I am applying them.  I think it will look great when I am finished, but I am at a stall point until I get the transfer sheet material.  So I have to hope that we will have one more sunny and warm day so that I can get the signage placed on the windows.  If not, the lettering may have to wait until spring before it can be applied. 

Spending some time sketching would be a
wonderful thing to spend some time on tomorrow. 

But to return to my weekend plans, I suspect we'll play some of Lord of the Rings Online on Sunday, and maybe I can talk my DH into spending some time with a sketch pad.  We're both very broke right now, so we won't be going out anywhere.  And I have plenty of work to do for the shop on the computer, so I suspect I will be busy no matter what.  But it would sure be nice to be able to play with my art for a little bit.  Have a creative weekend at the art of your choice (and yes, for my author friends, that does include the art of writing). 

Keeping Creativity in Real Life

Real life can become overwhelming.  It can permeate every part of your day and cut you off from time to spend on creative pursuits.  But all artists must remember that creativity exists on many levels.  When I'm not able to sketch or develop in the physical dimension, I envision projects that I want to do or see new things that I want to develop.  After all, aside from helping customers which is my main function at the shop, I am currently counting and packaging jump rings - more than 100,000 of them.  That's a lot of counting and packaging and even though I have it down to a science, I don't have to think with more structure than counting up to four or 20 (I count in groups of five). 

My new machine is on its' way.  My DH
will have a fit - ANOTHER piece of equipment! 
But how kewl is this?!?

Jim (my Manager) and I had a nice talk about creativity, developing projects, and time yesterday.  We would both like to see me as having the opportunity to work on the projects that I have pending in real life and in my mental list of projects.  The hard part is getting the time cleared.  Well, next week I get an extra day off on Thursday.  I'm fairly determined that I will not spend that time cleaning (only one day will be allowed for that), but rather allow myself to have some time at the sewing machine, the sketch book, and maybe caressing my enamels.  In my dreams last night, a use for my new equipment (due for delivery this week) came through.  Now I have to receive the equipment to find out if I can make this work or not.  I'm really looking forward to some play time! 

Happy Monday!

It's Monday, and I'm actually in a good mood to start the week. I bought a new large sketchpad on Saturday night, so I now have a new one to fill up. I had filled my last large pad at the shop and it was driving me batty that I didn't have another one to turn to. I have pretty much decided what I want to do for BFAC 2011, and need to continue working on that. It's fairly elaborate (), but if I can pull it off I'll be happy and it will be kewl. I have some books ordered that will also help me, and I need to drop by Treadle Yard Goods and purchase some duponi silk on Wednesday. I'll be down the street anyway, so that won't be too difficult. I would really like to keep my expenses on this project to a minimum, so I'll have to see how it all turns out. But the concept is firmly perched in my head and it is just a matter of making it see the light of day.

I have a lot of work to do this week, and since I finally got the household check from my DH, I can actually pay the bills (a week later than I should have). It's no wonder that our credit is going down the tubes. I'll work out a budget for him later this week and see what I can accomplish to increase the amount that he gives me monthly. I won't have a lot of our tax refund left in the account to help out in an emergency, so I'd better do a good job with the budget. He makes a salary, but I have to sell securities to get any extra funding.

Beading For A Cure is taking this week off from the auctions, so no pictures until next week. But I'll be back again, spotlighting the incredible beadwork and encouraging you to bid beginning next Monday.

Thoughts and Restarts

So what do you do when things just don't work out on a project? When I would have a beading project that just wasn't working, I generally would just start again - after all, thread is not expensive and neither were the beads. But with metals my materials are a bit more so I tend to push the restart out longer than I probably should.

Sometimes it is colors that don't work. In my current cloisonnae, I did diamond drill one color out to refill it with a more muted tone. But I generally live with my glass results. Because I am rethinking the backing plates for my cloak pins, I took a few steps back. Instead, I had a chance to continue sketching on my preliminary sketch for my Lady in the Mirror project, it's almost at a point to transfer it over to my sketchbook for a true work-up. I am also designing my charms for the PMC Conference, I will purchase my Beading For A Cure kit tomorrow, and I have a glass and enamel project pending in my head. It's perched there and won't let go, so I need to start bending some wires for that one once the design work is completed. My enamel weight should be arriving at the shop today and that gets me one step closer also :-)

But each re-do, each "back off and look again" experience strengthens me as an artist. It is an opportunity to learn, practice, and fine-tune skills. I hope you don't have too many re-do's in your future, but if you do...just look at it as an opportunity to do more of what you love - playing in your studio or with materials that you love.

Week Progressing, Work Not Progressing

I'm tired. I usually am tired by Friday, but today I'm really dragging. I want to get my cloak pins finished, and I can wind the wire for the pin stops this morning, but I don't want to solder them onto the back until I have designed the bail. I want to have a bail on the back of the pin also so that I can wear the pieces as pendents and pins, not just as pins. But even though I've been thinking quite a bit about what appearance I want for my bail, I just can't make a firm decision. I have to nail this before I can finish the project, so I will be contemplating this quite seriously while working today. I want this project wrapped up by mid-week next week.

I have also decided that my "Lady in the Mirror" project needs to be larger, so my guideline photos will need to also be enlarged to help me keep the proportions. This is just a drawing based on a small story by a friend, not a major project. I don't have the time to attend a serious atelier, so I have to practice my drawing skills in a variety of other ways. I always seem to put the drawings away too soon - considering them complete when they might not be, but I really want to play with this one. It's just fitting one more thing into my days - no wonder why I'm always tired, there just aren't enough hours in every day - especially when I have to work eight hours or more each day. I want time to play!!!!

Progressing and Designing

I am trying to get my scheduling nailed for the year. I know that I will complete an item for Beading For A Cure, the charity against colon cancer that I have been involved with for many years. And if my friend Shruit gets our application in and accepted, I will be participating with her in a second competition piece. But I think those are the only two beading competitions that I will produce beadwork for this year.

In metal clay, I will be making charms for the charm swap at the PMC Conference in July, and I will be making some Art Clay Copper pieces to enamel and test out because it's a new product that I actually have owned for a while now and just haven't had the time to play with yet. I may or may not do more with metal clay this year - it's still very much in the air. I love the product, but I also need to work on my fabrication skills which have fallen by the wayside.
For fabrication, I will be setting enamel pieces. I need to finish my cloak pins. Then I would still like to do the center heron for my heron and chrysanthamums piece that I started more than a year ago. And I want to make more enamel. Lots more. I really love playing with enamel.

And I'll be drawing. Because my fingers are itching to pick up a piece of graphite and a sketchpad and draw. And many of those drawings may make their way into color and finally into glass because the projects that I have in the works are into sketch mode now.

And finally I'll be sewing - I'll be hand embroidering the borders of cloaks and machine sewing the cloaks themselves. I still want to do a new corset for Renaissance Faire, and I want a new skirt also. I have had the fabric for that for a couple of years, I just need to actually make the items.

Well - it looks like I'll have a busy year. Guess I'd better get going on my art front!

HOW many Hours?!?

The list of things I need to do is arm's length, and to top things off, I'm meeting my friend Chickie for dinner and a movie tonight to celebrate her birthday. We're going to see "Where The Wild Things Are" on the IMAX screen followed by a late dinner. I'll be dragging tomorrow, but it's worth it. Birthdays MUST be celebrated in an appropriate manner.

My new enamels from Coral at Seattle Enamelworks arrived yesterday. I'm very glad that I ordered 30 empty containers from her - I had forgotten that the Japanese enamels come in a baggie instead of a container, so the first thing I get to do when I get home from my morning errands is to get the enamels transferred from their baggies into their new containers. Then I can use some of the new colors on Terperion and Laurelin and get one step closer to finishing those. They are really turning out nice and I can't wait to get to the kiln and see the next firing.

I hope that all of you have a fantastic and creative day today. I've been working on my drawing every morning for the past few mornings - time to get comfortable with my pencils again. What have you been doing for your personal creative outlet lately? Choose something to do for the next seven mornings - it doesn't have to be anything major, but should be something that you will do for at least 20 minutes. Then stick to it and see, next week, what you managed to accomplish in the week. I'm sure you'll be amazed by your progress even though it was over such a short time. Live creatively!

Climate Differences

I'm so glad that I'm no longer living in Denver. They got pounded by snow yesterday - the most snow for an October day in a decade. It looked very cold, very white, and very much something that I didn't want to drive through. Even though I'm a lot further north than Colorado, I probably won't have snow sticking until November/December - sometimes not even until Christmas. It is rare for us to have a brown Christmas, but we usually don't get heavy snow until the last part of the year. October is too early. That doesn't mean it doesn't happen - the Halloween blizzard of the 80's is historic and I remember it well. But I also remember trick-or-treat in Denver while I was growing up. Many of the times it was cold, but snow was very rare. And those few times when the weather was really warm were really fun - we stayed out really late and got LOTS of candy.

We've stocked up on the candy here, even though I usually get less than 10 "kids". I say "kids" because the "kids" that I usually get are college students from the nearby college. They are usually quite fun though, so I don't mind spreading the calories between my own body and younger ones with better metabolism. In fact, it would make me very happy if I had to give away all of our candy. At any rate, it would be healthier for both my DH and me.

Since Halloween is tomorrow, I'm wondering what your ideal costume would be. Not the one that you can actually manage to cobble together; but what would it be if you could make/have anything? I'd probably start at about 50 pounds lighter and six inches taller. Obviously THAT isn't going to happen - LOL. But, it is imagination, after all. So take out your pencils/pens/charcoal, etc., and draw your ideal costume. Your creative challenge for the day!

Aftermath and Shyness

The surgery went well. I brought a book on watercolor techniques as well as my current volume of History of Middle Earth and my sketchbook and pencils. I had a four-hour (or so) wait in the waiting room, so I got the book read and the current HoME finished and really wanted to draw, but I was too shy to get the sketchbook and pencils pulled.

After I got my DH settled, I went back to the shop and opened for the rest of the afternoon. I mentioned to Chickie that I was too shy to open my sketchbook and draw while I was at the hospital and she couldn't quite figure out why since only practicing will improve my technique and any child would be happy to sit with pencils and paper and draw. She's right. I need to find the courage and self-confidence of my inner child again before I will be comfortable drawing in public, but I need to find that soon because I want to work on my sketching techniques and that's not going to happen if I'm a creative coward. So....my challenge to you and to myself is to put on the blinders and work on your art with the joy and lack of self-consciousness of a child. I have a feeling it will be harder to do that than to spell it, but I'm going to try very hard to allow myself the joy of creating.

Schedules Filling Quickly

Why do I ever think that I have time? If I didn't carry sketchbooks with me everywhere, I would never have the opportunity to design anything at all. But even with that, most of my designing takes place in my head, not on paper, because designing time is premium time.

While at MCWC, I had a one-day class with Alan Revere on Designing. I have to admit that I loved this class. But I loved it for and on several levels. Primarily was the opportunity to allow my creative side to overcome my practical side and be the major mover for the entire day. To hold a pen in my hand and draw for an entire day - this was absolute heaven and something that I haven't been able to do since I was a small child. To have some direction from a master that fine-tuned the designs, directed the attention, and suggested improvements and focuses - past priceless. Absolutely past priceless. And I ended up with four designs that I want to make in real life, one of which I purchased gemstones for while I was attending the conference.

But my "studio" day is Wednesday. And what do I have going on? I have two doctor appointments, I have to drop off some jewelry for repair by my friend who has a laser welder, I need to pick up my computer (fixed now - yippee!!!) from the far north suburbs, I need to get the computer back into it's little space and hook everything up, I need to hit the office supply store, and my list of other errands is growing exponentially. I really want to open some clay and get my next projects going so that I can enamel in two weeks (I have to work all next week while my Assistant Manager takes vacation). I'll be lucky to have one hour free to be able to do this. Time to grab the sketchbook again, clay may have to wait :-(

Cleaning, Packing....Priorities

It turns out that while I am cleaning for my houseguest and thinking about bringing up my suitcase to start packing, my thoughts are actually turning to how I can easily carry my art supplies along with me. I guess clothes are secondary to creativity for me.

One of the projects that I want to work on during my week at the conference is ribbon embroidery. I want to bring some of my cloak fabric, some french curves and an embroidery hoop, needles and some scrap ribbons that I bought for practice, and try to determine the patterning while learning the stitch. As the final goal, I want to have ribbon embroidery up the center plaquets of my cloak, and possibly around the hem as well. But I've never done ribbon embroidery - LOL, so it's time to learn the spider roses that I want to have as my embellishment.

I also want to pack a mid-sized sketch pad - not my larger ones, and not the small ones that are my usual carry item. I want to actually be able to work on my drawing and maybe my watercolors, so I need portability. I'm thinking I may grab my lime green backpack. It may be a bit low-key, but it will hold what I need and leave my hands free for my handbag or laptop bag. It looks like class supplies will be pretty minimal - pliers and cutters along with safety glasses will take care of 90% of my class supplies, so most of the backpack could be my art stuff. I'm starting to look forward to this trip. Now if I could just get some sleep .

200 and Still Going Strong

Amazingly enough, this is my 200th post. Since I write this virtual journal for my personal edification, I am patting myself on the back. It's not that I don't have the ability to focus on something for periods of time. Any person will have their own areas of focii. But I have never been a person who has been able to keep a diary. Yet, here I am, keeping a virtual diary and a regular schedule. So...congratulations to me. I'll raise a glass of wine to perseverence tonight :-)

And today is a studio day. Basically, today that means a trip to my silversmith who will do a resize job for me that I simply don't have time to do. I'll probably grab a quick breatfast at Gigi's on the way - excellent breakfast quiche. Then, run home and start work. Two or three loads of laundry. Pulling my cloak template off the mannequin and laying out the actual fabric, getting it cut and sewn. Finishing up the last of my Beading For A Cure project which I want complete by this weekend. Starting my housecleaning before my friend from California arrives to join me on the drive to Milwaukee next week Sunday. And I probably should start thinking about packing - but that can wait until the last minute. It is more important that I do things that I simply can't do after a full day's work or in stolen minutes through the day.

And I brought my sketchbook home from the shop to flesh out a couple of ideas. It would be delightful if I could find a few minutes (30-60) to do that, get measurements correct, and revise a couple of things. Also, I have photographs on my camera that need to be downloaded onto my computer....and....and. Well, let's just say that I have many more things to do today than I have minutes in which to do them . It's a normal studio day - and again the kiln won't be fired up because I have too many other things that need to be completed first before I can indulge myself in some glass/enamel work.

Finishing Up

I've been trying very hard to complete my Beading For A Cure 2010 project before I leave for Bead & Button Show at the end of the month. With the exception of tearing one part apart and redesigning it, it is starting to come together. My DH is rather astounded by my designing style. He can't understand how I can just pick up a needle and the beads, start work, and make what I want without sketching or designing it before then. What he doesn't understand is that I am working from a mental image that is complete, but that changes occur to meet the physical realities that can sometimes insert themselves between a dream and reality. I'm working on one of the final portions now, and it should allow me to finish this no later than the middle of next week. And, as much as I wanted to put enameling with it, I decided to pass on that and just work this one with beads. Part of that was time, but the other part was that the design of the piece altered as the elements came together in real space and I think that the enamel would actually detract from the finished look. There are still a few challenges in the future to make the project complete, but so far I'm pretty happy.

So...when you think of a project, how do you approach it? Although I love to have my sketchbooks, I will rarely do much to sketch out an idea. My ideas are already in my head and it is my job to make them appear in real-space. Sometimes there are years between the design and the realization of it because I have to acquire the skills necessary to make the project. So, do you work a project out little bit by little bit? Do you start by working out a small detail and then branch out from there? Are you economy driven - i.e., you have to make X number of pieces by Y date for a sale or a show? What works well for you and what doesn't? When you know how you design, you can fine tune the method(s) that work best for you and become a more effective and productive artist.

Metals - Color, Texture

I am a visual artist - I am not a composer of music, an interpreter in movement, or a maven of words. I am a visual artist. My chosen media for many years has been metal and glass. It occurred to me as I drove to work yesterday, that I really love working with metal. It always amazes me how malleable metal can be. The things that I can do to change the surface of metal, and what I can then do to color or embellish it, just makes playing so much fun! And I love the colors of metal, unadorned: the bright white gleam of silver, the wink at the sun that gold boldly does, and the mellow warmth of copper. I love them all. I tend to work most with copper, not only because of the color but also because it is a more affordable option for me. But copper fulfills much of what I want in a metal. It can be cut, hammered and shaped. It can be etched. It can be enameled and patinated. It can be soldered or cold connected. It's a happy metal and I really enjoy it.

Even as I work with the metal, however, I still have a deep desire to be better with pencil, ink, paint and paper. There is something so portable about being able to produce art on the fly. I have at least one sketchbook with me at all times - in my jacket pocket, in my car, in my work room, next to my bed. I love being able to grab a pencil and jot down a design or a scene on the fly. But expertise in this, like in most things, requires regular practice and I won't be able to truly devote myself to all of the aspects of my art until I have retired from my "day" job. Therefore, let's all think optimistically about the economy and our place in it. We will be able to pull ourselves out of this economic downturn, recover our funds and financial stability and our personal confidence. Then I can retire and play with my art. After all (as my good friend likes to say)...."It's all about ME" - LOL.

Create happiness by sharing beauty with another person today.