Hello, Dolly!

Posted on | August 23, 2007 | 3 Comments

Today was a lovely day. Angie came over right after she dropped the kids off at school. This was Max’s first full day of school and we were celebrating! Angie brought Starbucks and her sewing machine and we made dolls a la Katie Kendrick. The techniques we learned in Katie’s classes are absolutely priceless and we really can’t say enough about Katie as a person and an instructor. She inspired us to look at our art in new ways. Thank you again, dear Katie!

I can’t begin to tell you how much fun it was to start off our day today so early with Angie. She dropped off the kids and stopped off at Starbucks. Angie brought in her sewing machine and we started going through our kimono fabric stash. We each created a doll today using kimono fabric to decorate it. Angie is going to do a bit more on her doll before she unveils the doll, but suffice to say it’s ADORABLE! To the left is my doll from today. I created her with a friend in mind. I’ll be going to the post office tomorrow to send out the other doll and some other things I have made for friends.

Yesterday, for the first day in several weeks, I did not create any art. I went through my studio and cleaned out a bunch of stuff to share with charities and schools. It really feels good to go through things and to have space to move in the studio. For the first time in several weeks, I was able to clear off the table and even clean it – I mean really clean it. It’s such a stark difference that even Dave noticed that the desk was suddenly visible this morning!

On Monday I have my treatment, and I’ve started to notice a trend. The week before treatment, I always get an instinct to “nest”. I am suddenly driven to organize. I pull apart areas of the studio that are bothering me and I reorganize them. I keep doing this that week before treatment. As a result, the studio gets some monthly attention, but it’s also an interesting thing to note for me. I think it also points to my need to make the studio “safe” and a place where I can continue to create, even when I’m not feeling 100%. I’ve learned to embrace this instinctual nesting.

Despite this drive to nest, I’m doing my best to take it easy so I can go in there with energy and – hopefully – come out with lots of energy, as I did last month. I’ve been restricting my driving and my activities that take meo out of the studio. It’s good to remember that there are only so many spoons, so I don’t push myself. I’m going to try to post again before Monday, but if I don’t, you’ll know why!

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