Creative Life 2016- Week 7 - Continued!!

Look at me.. making twice in one week! {sarcasm} if i had the energy, i'd be in the studio every night again, making a dozen pieces a week. The weather is absolutely beautiful today though- i rode the scooter back to work after lunch (and was tempted to not go back to work) and am looking forward to riding around this evening, before the chill sets in after dark.

Last night i got a few pieces made :) To be fair, they were mostly doing the final assembly, clean up or whatnot of pieces that have been sitting around for a while- the large copper piece has been tossed around my office for almost 2 years. BUT- i'm going to take the victories i can get and i will be content in knowing that these pieces are not 100% complete and ready for pricing and display.
Yes- i tweaked the image strangely, otherwise, you wouldn't be able to see the three earrings at all. one pair is a wire fabbed triske- Sterling, one is mold cast fine silver trilobites and finally, the bottom set is made from water cast pieces that have been soldered together to create a harmonious pair.

The leaf is a fine silver peperomia leaf with liver of sulfur patina (sealed) on a metallic bronze leather cord with sterling clasp. And of course, that big honking statement piece is solid copper- coated to protect the brightness.

Creative Life 2016 - week 7

BOOM! Finished piece. finally. (other than the competition piece and class samples). Indian Kammererite, Australian mint chrysoprase, sterling silver. hand made matching, removable chain. Satin finished. 2/2016.

That's the positive- what's below is the whiny, emotional, artsy-fartsy stuff that goes through my head all the time. If you want to skip it, that's fine. Scroll back up and look at the pretty. :)

2016 has been a rough year, creatively speaking. I am realizing that I need to take some things off my plate in order to be more effective at the things i need to keep. I got distracted by the 'business of art making', the networking, the groups, the functions, and forgot that at the end of the day, i need energy for the actual art making. It always gets hard during the winter months, when the energy is scarce to begin with. I'm sure by late spring, i'll be back to my old self, getting involved with this guild, or working with that group for a show. and i'll be delighted by my connectedness, my sense of belonging to a bigger community, and my ability to make progress in the 'art world'. Right now, i just want to curl up under the blanket with the kitties and sleep.

There have been a lot of external circumstances that have made me feel less than my normal self over the last few months. I have looked back over my writing, my sketching, my finished work (what little there is) to see how my state of mind has been going. the lack of content speaks volumes. even my blog posts have been of lower quality and certainly less frequency. I really hope Blogger gets their app fixed soon so i can blog from my phone. I spend most of my workday on the PC, and honestly, getting on it when i get home is one of the last things i want to do. (also why i have a pile of invoices to enter into QuickBooks.... hmm... )

I think i just need to hibernate from like December to April. come out for food and showers and then retreat back to the blankets. if i live tweet it and cast it, does it become performance art? { sarcasm }

Creative Life - Week 5 & 6

It's been a busy year. At least on the "Main Stream Job" front. i have been trying to be the artist also, but time has been scarce. I am proud to say i completed my piece for the Halstead Kinetic Challenge and went to the opening of the Collaborations show at MJCC that i am a part of (along with a slew of talented Tennessee artists)

I haven't been able to keep up with my blog because nothing wants to post from the mobile app anymore- something broke on the last update, which is just silly since i have a google phone and this is a google app...I had week 5 written and ready to go last week, but anyways- it's about the spirit of the blog more than the letter of the posts.

i have been treading water (in life) mostly- work is busy, creativity scant, weather weird. I keep pushing on because i know the life i want is within reach. I sourced some neat old silverware from the early 1900's for my next project- i'm going to make molds of parts of them and use them in other pieces- there's too much of a historian in me to cut them up and use them. i picked up two lovely floral pieces from an antique store in Galveston- they'll have a fun story at least. :) And i'll have some great samples to show off at my Mold Making for Metal Clay class that is happening March 12th at the Memphis Botanic Gardens. :)