Desperation is the mother of inventiveness

So, if you've been reading this blog for a while, you know that with our move to Elora I gave up my studio space.  Our B&B is a huge house but it's mostly for the guests... I do, however, have a large bedroom which includes my big studio desk and had to think, think, think like Pooh Bear to try and find some way to have my art supplies and projects in-the-works on hand.  What to do?  

While at HomeSense and Michaels I was oogling the pretty boxes and the idea hit me:  why not put feet on boxes like this and slide them under the bed!?  Couldn't afford these fancy boxes though, so a trip to the Dollar-or-More store scored us these great boxes!  

I glued on little wooden feet so air can circulate under the boxes.

In the end there are 8 storage boxes, 4 each of the 2 different sizes (the feather pattern ones stack nicely on top of each other)....

...under my bed!  Each is labelled with its project and I can now find and get to whatever I want when I want... not that I have the time but the possibility now exists!!  

Stand still and breathe

This was my Russel's birthday, but she died a few years ago.  Still miss you, crazy pup!  So I thought this quote very fitting as we continue to walk through life:

Today, if you’re confronting an issue for the ten thousandth time, or feeling that your life is going nowhere, or panicking over how little you’ve achieved, stop and breathe. You’re not falling behind on some linear race through time. You’re walking the labyrinth of life. Yes, you’re meant to move forward, but almost never in a straight line. Yes, there’s an element of achievement, of beginning and ending, but those are minor compared to the element of being here now. In the moments you stop trying to conquer the labyrinth of life and simply inhabit it, you’ll realize it was designed to hold you safe as you explore what feels dangerous. You’ll see that you’re exactly where you’re meant to be, meandering along a crooked path that is meant to lead you not onward, but inward. http://ow.ly/jb04i

(This is from Melanie's Facebook page, thank you!)


Also, The Right Brain Business Plan by Jennifer Lee was recommended to me (thanks again, Melanie!) but right now I REALLY have to concentrate on making critters for the April 28th doll show so I'm going to let this book go.  One thing I am taking from the book, however, is the need to write it down:  Note to self:  PLEASE would you just make a realistic list of what I want to accomplish with the critters this year?  And get off the bloody computer already!

I need to supervise myself, LOL!!!

My online tour, 4th time around!

This is what my world revolves around right now:  the spreadsheet for the Online Hallowe'en Artists' Studio Trick or Treat that I host.  The artists have sent in their photos and descriptions and I'm busily putting their "studio" pages together, keeping track of who sent what on my trusty (yes) hand-written sheet.  (I've smudged out the names so those artists who are LATE won't be overly embarrassed.)

  The art is AWESOME!!!  The artists are all so sweet, and creative and happy about the tour, but it is a ton of work and I'm creaking under the pressure a bit...  Organizing, finding and getting artists to join, advertising, and now putting the pages together... it's a constant, ongoing affair and August and September are complete write-offs.  This is the fourth year and I've decided that next year I will take a break.  I had so many plans for my own entrees for the tour and didn't find the time (make the time?) to get any of them finished, which is woefully sad since I knew I would be needing them since November 1st, 2011.  The witch shoe on wheels being pulled by demons, the mini skull magnets, the assortment of bat-head brooches... all still just dream-stuff.  Ah well...   

So 2013 will be mine to catch up with MY art, and rejuvenate for a glorious 2014 tour revival!

Congestion

I've had a cold all week, so it was nice to sit outside in the unseasonal +27C sunshine and cut out mini hedgehogs. This is a pretty brainless activity at this point, I've made so many of them. But here's a shot of my studio desk... ugh. There are 7 projects on-going in that clutter, not to mention the mending hanging on the chair, and the lady cat that's pinned and ready to be cut on the floor.

No wonder I run away to sit outside!