Time for play

As busy as I usually am, I always leave time just for fun. This week I had lunch with a group of women (and the husband of one friend who has passed away.) We meet monthly for lunch at a new place each time. I also meet monthly with a group to zentangle for a few hours, and there are other lunches, dinners or best of all, desserts out with friends. A local guild, the Reading-Berks Guild of Craftsmen gets me out to meetings and keeps me involved with the local arts scene. Being an artist can be a solitary profession, and I spend many hours working in my studio alone. There is nothing I would rather do. I am very protective of my studio time, but I also need time out in the world. Going to a movie, taking a walk, reading a book, taking a class (not necessarily in my craft) or having fun with friends and family is necessary for my sanity!

Boring beads

Finally, I am getting some time in my studio.  A few weeks ago I did a local show and realized how low my supply of jewelry has become, and I need to make beads before I can make jewelry.  I am mostly missing the "bread and butter" items like small earrings, so I have spent a few days this week making small matching sets of beads.  At least I start out that way.  After a while, I get bored and move on to something more interesting, but the pile of bead sets is growing.  Now I just need some time to turn them into earrings.  Even though I get bored making them, it is still better than almost any other "job" I can think of.

Time flies

I have spent too much time doing things other than working in my studio!  They were all necessary and important, but now I am behind on getting ready for shows.  It is so hard to stay focused- there are bills to pay (one of the reasons I must get ready for shows!), groceries to buy, laundry to do, and the list goes on.  Throw in some extras like changing burnt out light bulbs, doctor appointments and fixing broken things, and there aren't enough hours in a day.  Or a week.  Or a month.  I can't just say I will take care of things first and then get in my studio because there are always too many things to take care of.  The best I can do is take care of those absolutely necessary things and the rest have to wait.

Zentangling

 What fun to try something new! I have been zentangling once a month with friends, and this month we tried doodling on fabric.  The first photo is before and the second is after, although as I look at the photos now, the first one is the other side of the bag.  Oh well, the scroll design was the same.  This is a canvas bag that Marsha of MarshNealStudio.com gave me.  Since it was natural canvas, I thought it would work well, but I was a little frustrated.  The texture was heavy enough that the ink wouldn't write a clean line and it was lighter than the printed pattern.  But after a while, I decided it was ok.  I like the bottom pattern more than the top, but it is all good.

It is always fun to learn a new skill!

Electroforming finally

I finally got my electroforming equipment set up.  I learned the process from Kate Fowle Meleeney late last year, and I finally had some time to try it out, although I had to clean off a flat space first.  I tried it on a few beads that I didn't particularly like.  They didn't come out quite how I expected, but I think I know what I did wrong.  The Berks Bead Bazaar is this coming weekend, and I had hoped to have some electroformed beads to show, but I ran out of time.   The beads on toothpicks have been painted and are ready for the process.  Just the paint is stunning!  There are also a few of Yvonne Irvins My Elements components to be done yet.
After the paint is dry, the bead is hung in the acid solution between two copper strips and the wires connected for current to flow, and copper is deposited onto the conductive paint.  If the solution is new, the process takes 8 hours or so, and as it gets older, it takes much longer.  Only one bead at a time can be electroformed, so I doubt if I will ever have too many beads.

This is a bead out of the solution, all bright and shiny.  I can leave it this way, or I can patina the copper.  So many possibilities to try!

Thanks for sharing your knowledge, Kate!

January is over

January is over, and 31days2organize per Peter Walsh is over.  Spending only 10 minutes a day on an assigned task every day in January has made a huge difference in my house and in my attitude- I feel lighter!  Many jobs, like cleaning out the garage, seem overwhelming, but breaking them down into 10 minute segments make them manageable.  I won't hit the garage until spring, though.  It is too cold out there!  There have been many bags of trash and donations taken out, with more to go, and I didn't even touch my studio.   Tomorrow I am organizing my show crates so they are ready to go, and then I am lighting my torch!  Shows are coming up fast!

Organizing 10 minutes at a time

The month has slowly been improving, or at least not getting worse.  I have been spending at least 10 minutes each day doing daily organizing tasks suggested by Peter Walsh, starting on Jan 1.  I have been keeping up with it and even added some jobs of my own.  It has made me feel like I am accomplishing something each day, instead of focusing on the sad events of earlier this month.  Only 10 minutes a day is not bad, and it really adds up!  I made a commitment to stick with it for the 31 days in Jan, and then I will start working in my studio again with a clear conscience.  Hopefully the weather will warm up- it gets cold in my dungeon and I can't work longer than a hour or so.  When my knees start feeling numb, I know it is time to go upstairs.