New hairstyle, thanks to Angie

I can hardly believe this week has gone by so quickly! On Wednesday morning, Angie came over and trimmed up my hair to hide some of the thinning that’s gotten even worse. I didn’t expect the medications to help immediately, but I sure didn’t expect it to continue to fall out at the rate it is. The hair cut has made a huge difference. I still feel a need to wear something to cover the front and top of my head, but I also don’t feel like I can only wear hats. (Though, as you know from a post last week, I love hats!)

The past few days I’ve done a lot around the house and in the studio. We scheduled for the sprinkler guys to come and make some adjustments to our system, got an electrician in, and ordered a new door for the patio so we will have a French door, rather than a sliding door. We don’t use our patio and pool area enough because you need two hands to open up the sliding glass door the house came with. We suspect we’ll use the patio much more in the fall when we can get out there with a cup of coffee in our hands at the same time!

I’ve done a lot of organizing in the studio, as well. A lot of cleaning up and organizing. I even freecycled some things. There’s a lot more to freecycle, but at least I’m on the right track. Moving things around and placing them where I can find them is such a relief. And the studio feels much more open with each thing I remove. It’s been a great process – one that will continue, I’m sure, for a while. I’ll try to take photos this weekend.

I’ll check in more soon… I just wanted to share my joy at the change and movement that’s happening around here!

I’ve, of course, started to feel some of the fatigue that undoubtedly comes with the treatment, but so far, I’m doing OK. I have been taking easy this weekend – lots of movies, iTunes, reading and, maybe, some drawing.

I did quite a bit preparing for this and the trip. I had a lot of little things on my to-do list that I needed to just get to! On Wednesday, I was able to repair the 53-year-old wedding album of my MIL and FIL’s wedding. During the move, the already frail book lost the top of the posts. I was so happy to find long 3″ posts and 1/4″ extensions at California Paper Goods. That’s what was needed to stabilize the pages. The side of binding of the book needed repair, to. I used bookbinding cloth from The Paper Studio to reinforce it on the inside.

Thursday Angie loaned me her copy of the new special issue of Cloth Paper Scissors Studios. I read it from cover to cover in one sitting! It was so wonderful to see how other artists organize their spaces, how the work within them, how they decorated them, and the amount of space they have (or don’t have!). I was inspired and wanted to immediately take some of the ideas I got from Studios and put it into action. I pulled out my Color Mists and I added color to some paper mache torsos in the studio that have been plain and saved for far too long. I added color to them and I used them to decorate. (Click on the photo to the left to see the annotated version that explains what everything is!

In addition, I added some color to a wine crate with the Color Mists, too. And then I added some of my artwork and pieces that have been given to me to this area. Click on the photo to the right for an annotated version.

I also grabbed the hammer and some nails and I started to hang some things that have been just sitting on shelves. Mostly, artwork that hasn’t yet sold. I will take photos of that at another time.

Yesterday we planned our trip to Europe. Instead of spending three weeks, we decided to just spend two. We are going to go to France only, instead of gong to both France and England. There is so much we want to see in France and we want to relax and enjoy our time. We will spend 8 days in Paris, drive through Provence, and and head to Nice for the rest of our stay. Or at least, that’s what we’re planning as of now!

I made a decision about 18 months ago that I’m not going to teach in person any longer (but online is still an option!). In person takes too many spoons and I’m trying to be better about that for myself. In addition, I have continued on my quest to actually use all the things in my studio – or give them up. So, I spent some time today taking these card-fronts and repurposing them. Since it took very little energy, I sat here this morning with this basket and some pre-cut cards from Strathmore and my adhesive roller. In about an hour, I had mounted those card-fronts onto the cards so I now have a nice collection of over 50 cards that used to be published work. I’m not going to need to make a card for a while!

I also started to create some layered fabric using Misty Fuse for some small journals that Sunspirit Studio/Beads-n-Stuff needs for their stock. I’m happy to say that these are actually selling, so I needed to start the process to, hopefully, get some books out to her next week.

And today, I’m also happy to report that I’m starting to feel human again! I went to lunch with my husband (who was home early after taking his Neurology recertification boards as required every 10 years) and then I sat outside for an hour and read the latest issue of Teesha Moore’s Art & Life Magazine. It was nice and relaxing and I enjoyed the lovely Phoenix weather. It felt good to get outside. And it feels good to have even a bit more energy than yesterday. I’m planning to keep it low key, but at least I know I’m on the mend!

I moved my easel to right behind the desk. Why? Because I wasn’t using it enough. I had to go completely to the other side of the studio (OK, it’s a small studio, but it seems like a long walk from my comfy seat at the desk!) around the table. And, because it was in a corner, I had started to pile things around it. Things like my full-sheets of watercolor paper and some extra canvases. Not a very useful way to store some things, especially when you can’t see them and forget you have them.

So, I moved the easel and moved my printers (I have a color laser and an all-in-one inkjet) onto the window “seat” that I never EVER used. I figured if it’s going to be there, why waste it! I’m still working out how that will all look, but right now, it’s not too far from the desk and I can get the USB ports to connect – my primary objective!I used to have the all-in-one on the floor under an old primary school student desk; on top of it was my big color laser printer. But it really shrunk the room by a out 2 feet in that corner. Now I use that for my paint palette and my brushes. Much more useful that way.

My extra canvases, large sheets of paper, etc. are all on the bottom of my shelf unit, out of the way, but safe from the elements by corrugated cardboard over them. I know what I have and it is now clear to me I have more than my share of Fabriano Artistico Hot Press and Cold Press 140 lb. paper. I have a lot of work to do before I buy more paper!

In addition, my fabric was in four different places in my little studio. Now, thanks to this post by sewtakeahike, I have reorganized my yardage of fabric and folded it all pretty by color (see right). I have also put all of my larger velvets and felts together on a nearby shelf so I know what I have there. No surprise – I don’t need more fabric for a while. And to the left, you can see all my pretty fat quarters. I’ve been buying less fat quarters and more yardage. I think that’s the way to go. What I do need, however, is more Pellon Craft Fuse. That’s the one thing I will allow myself to purchase at JoAnn’s this week. And, well, maybe a few zippers…

My vintage fabrics were also in a lot of different places. I went through them. I have an idea of what to do with some of them, but I’ve not put it into action because I had little idea of what I actually had. Now, however, I have pulled out the vintage fabrics that I want to use for this super secret project!

The storage and use of my sewing machine has been a constant struggle for me. I switch back and forth between fine art and fabric art and then mixing the mediums. Because my studio has one large table, it’s been the place that I must constantly clear off before I can do any sewing. Well, not any longer. I finally invested in an inexpensive portable sewing table. I doubt it will be put away very often, because it fits perfectly in my studio. In fact, I’ve already used it and I LOVE it. My shoulders don’t hurt from moving the fabric and I can really understand the difference now.

There’s still much to do. It’s a neverending process, I believe. I think that as my interests change, as my supplies change, and as my project focus changes (and it does often!), different things will become important to have and others will be important to get rid of. I have come to learn and accept that I’m still trying to find my complete voice as an artist and that is just fine. I think all artist continue this process. I’m just one of them. I accept that my interests, inspirations, and energy will constantly change. I think it’s part of what makes me an artist – that I don’t easily get complacent. For right now, however, I’m done with organizing and I’m going to actually do some art!

Perhaps it’s because I made some major life changes last year. I learned to take care of myself. To focus only on things that make me happy and healthy and to focus on learning to nurture myself. Changing my life so that I’m doing things I love – my art, spending time with my husband, exercising, seeing Angie – has been a beautiful gift to myself.

And speaking of beautiful gifts, my darling husband, Dave, surprised me with a lovely bracelet this morning. It’s white gold (my preferred metal) and diamonds. It’s sleek and beautiful – oh, and it sparkles! Angie has said that Dave spoils me and treats me like a queen. Well, I’d have to say that this proved it! LOL

I’ve done some art this week, but not as much as I’d have liked. We found out a week or so ago that we have termites. Pretty common in AZ to have subterranean termites, and our neighbors all had them, so not a huge surprise. As a result, I spent much of yesterday going through the studio and clearing out the bottom shelf of my built-ins. It made me go through and reorganize some things so I can still function in there. It was a good exercise, even if it was exhausting. I have to finish up and clear off the table, where things end up during the re-sorting process, of course. And Dave has to move everything away from the walls in the garage so they can do some work there. It’s not a lot of fun, but at least we’ll have it done.

OK. I’m off to finish the clean-up for termite day and to enjoy the rest of the day with my husband. Have a great weekend, everyone!

I know it has been a while since I’ve blogged. And I’m sorry if you kept coming by to look and there was nothing new. I’ve been doing things that have kept me away from the computer – organizing and purging some things from the closets; decorating the house (finally!); painting the canvases; cooking and keeping house. I’ve never considered myself a housewife in the Martha Stewart sense, but I am becoming more of a fan of having an organized and completed home. I just spend so much time here, I may as well love my surroundings, right? I’m even finding that I don’t mind doing laundry too much. (Don’t send in the calvary, as I’m sure it won’t last!).

Last week my husband was out of town, so I enjoyed the quiet time and spent some didn’t even get into the studio a lot. I did get to see Angie a few times, though. She joined me at my treatment and drove me home. I can relax when she takes me home; when I take a taxi, I have to focus and make sure they can get to my house. Not the easiest thing when you’re nauseous and fatigued! Later that week, we met for coffee.

This week has been a busy one. I had a doctor’s appointment on Monday and then some blood drawn on Tuesday and another appointment. Today I picked up Angie and went to The Creative Quest to look get some inspiration for a project we’re working on. Since we were passing the Sew N Vac, we had to stop in to see if there were some Fat Quarters we couldn’t live without. Of course there were. And I also scheduled my “how to use your sewing machine” class. Yes, I have had my machine since July, but I never took the class and I’m sure there are things I haven’t learned about it!

I’m home now and I took a nap. I am now sitting on the couch enjoying a cup of my favorite Jasmine Green Tea and relaxing. I’ve been reading Teesha Moore’s latest issue of Art & Life. In it, she encourages us to be “in the moment”. It’s a lesson I continue to re-learn throughout my life and I was pleased to read that Teesha also subscribes to it. I think the most important thing that journaling has done for me is to make me focus more on being in the moment. I hope that you’re taking time to be in the moment.

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!

But first two things I had mentioned yesterday, but for which I did not provide photos or final resolution!

1. Embellishment Organization:

I have used baby food jars to organize my dimensional embellishments so that they are fun to look at. I love looking at the colors and being able to see what is inside each jar without any need for labels. This means I can easily change out the jars based on what is in “stock” and what is “needed”. The best part of this is the acrylic shelf organizer it’s on. It has steps so I can see each of the different levels of the jars and stack the jars on top of each other. I really like this method. It’s pretty to look at and easy to see what I have.

2. iPod Update:

This morning my new iPod arrived. I am a now a very happy camper! I can carry all of my music, videos, podcasts, and audiobooks. And yes, it’s safely in the new hard shell case! Right now, the case is black, but it will be decorated in the very near future. I will share that, of course, on this blog! For now, all I know about the decoration is that there will be both doodling and rhinestones.

Now that this is all out of the way, on to the artistic stuff!

I mentioned yesterday that I had painted a silk cap with Dye-Na-Flow paints to use with Paverpol. It turns out, nto incredibly surprisingly, that I’m allergic to Paverpol and had to close the container it before I even started working on the project. Well, I needed something to do with this luscious fabric, so I created a padfolio using Sue Bleiweiss’ padfolio tutorial. The tie is done with a vintage button I have. The cording was made by using a zig-zag stitch over several twisted fibers. It’s one of the methods Sue taught us in class. I really love how easy this method of creating a multi-colored, multi-textured cording is. The padfolio sews up in a snap!

This week’s assignment was to create with kitchen products. The first assignment was to dye some paper towels. Now I LOVE to dye paper towels. That’s one of my favorite things to use. Two-ply paper towels are quite sturdy and they do hold up well with the wetting, dyeing and drying process. I used Color Mists to dye mine. I took the assignment and changed it up a bit. We were to tear up the paper towel and fuse the pieces. I wanted to do more of a patchwork view, so I just sewed the pieces on and then added stitching to keep them sturdy. I like the texture that was created by the continuous movement of the sewing machine and the paper towels.

We were to create a triangular/three-sided vase out of this. Choosing where to cut the fabric was half the fun. I wanted diverse colors. it’s why I chose so many different colors of Color Mists when I dyed them. I wanted a Free People/Hippie sort of look. The sewing on it made the design really stand out. It reminded me of one of those shirred fabric peasant blouses that are out there. But the best part was what happened when I put the project together. The vase came out looking even brighter and more “artsy” than I expected! I’m really happy with it. It will hold a spot in my studio to brighten it up. Perhaps I’ll try to make some of the fabric flowers that was highlighted in one of the earlier issues of Cloth Paper Scissors magazines.

Now, however, it is time to turn to yet another project. No. I’m not sure which one!

On Tuesday, I started having trouble with my balance in the house – falling over to one side, walking into walls (I swear to you that they do move!), and vertigo when I laid down. By Wednesday, the problem was fairly unbearable, so, instead of waiting until my scheduled July 2nd treatment, DH worked his magic and got me in on Friday, June 29th. I spent a lot of time between Tuesday and Friday staring into space, trying to clear off the studio table and have some space to do whatever I felt like. But for the most part, I didn’t do much. This is why, my friends, you have not heard from me.

What I did spend quite a bit of time doing was taking things out of my multi-drawer storage unit and into small jars I received from a fellow freecycler. They’re much easier to use, look prettier to look at, and they were fun to put out there. Here is a photo of what I did with the jars. There are still about 10 jars left. Yes, they are baby food jars. Since I have no children, I’ve never had these lovely little jars before. I’m happy that they were freecycled. I’ll be watching for more! (Photos to come in the near future. I’m not near them right now! )

Oh, and there’s the not-so-fun thing that happened on Sunday that neglected to mention. Do not, under any circumstances, close a door on your iPod Nano. Ask me how I know… Yes, I was getting in my car on Sunday after meeting my MIL and FIL at a restaurant between our two homes. I *thought* my iPod was inside my purse. No. I had made it easily accessible by hooking it into one of the D-rings of my purse. Not, it turns out, a good idea. And the saddest part was that this new iPod Nano was my little present ot myself with my American Express Rewards points. I had just received it and fallen completley in love with it about six weeks before. Now it will become a part of a sculpture, for I cannot just toss it. And “squishing in a car door” is not a covered event on the AppleCare plan. A new Video iPod was purchased and is on its way to my home, along with a hard case that will withstand the abuse of the iPod being in my hands!
On Monday, I think, I worked on a piece for my Joggles clas. It’s an accordion book that uses dyed mulberry bark for the cover of a concertina book. I like the project; however, my finicky body did not enjoy the mulberry bark. I had to put this project into a sealed baggie and the leftover bark into a separate one. I think Angie will get the finished project (which is not in perfect order, sorry Angie… The allergies got the best of me!) if she’s not allergic to it. One of my fellow classmates, Rosaland, will get the rest of the bark, since she is here in town.

Tuesday through Friday, while I spent time at home, avoiding the car and staying on terra firma, I did the rest of that third lesson for my Joggles class.

Or at least I tried. I painted a silk cap with Dye-Na-Flow paints. I put it outside to dry and then I started to split it to turn it into a vase like Sue Bleiweiss shows in the class materials. To do this, however, you must use a product called Paverpol. I was excited to try this product; however, with my allergies being what they are, I was leery. I decided to open the container to see how I reacted. Well, let’s just say that I will not/should not use this product. My eyes started running, my face itched. It was all I could do to close that container and walk away. So, I did not finish that third week. I am still figuring out what to do with the silk, and I’m considering a padfolio. I hope to play with that tomorrow.

And on Wednesday I was the lucky recipient of a swap package by Mikki DuChenne (who, alas, has no blog!). Look at all the LOVELY delights from Mikki! I opened the box in the den with DH next to me. I apparently kept shaking my head and gasping. I really was amazed by all the amazing, fun things Mikki found for me. Mikki’s generosity is astounding! Now to make something with the goodies!

At 8:00 on Friday morning, I went to get my treatment. It was fairly uneventful, and I started on a different anti-nausea medication that definitely kept the nausea at bay. I am now, Sunday evening, starting to come out of the foggy fatigue I get after the infusion. I hope to leave the house tomorrow. But, at the least, I do plan to do some art in the studio.

On Saturday morning, Dave left for a meeting in Kansas City, MO. We lived in Kansas City for 3 years, but I never really grew any friendships in the area at the time, so I opted to stay home. But I was not alone, that’s for sure! Angie came over with her boys and her niece, Cassidy. We monitored while the kids went into the pool and then we went to lunch. After lunch, the boys watched a movie with Cassidy and Angie and I talked (surprise, eh?!) and watched part of Traci Bautista’s Retro Rags DVD. The kids got restless, so Angie took them home and I watched the rest. This was my second time watching this, but I couldn’t stop myself from watching it through. I really enjoyed it. Traci gives so many tips and her teaching style is so relaxed. But, since there really is very little on TV during the summers, I decided I needed to get some videos. I went to Blockbuster and rented Dreamgirls and The Devil Wears Prada. Both are movies Dave had no desire to see.

I also spent some time this weekend doing more clean out of some of my studio. I found even more things I could do without and I reorganized things like buttons and brads that were in one big jar or multiple drawers but were difficult to find. I watch my local freecycle lists for creative storage items. I found someone who was giving away a dozen jars. My buttons and my thread spools are now in cool jars by color grouping and my brads are in small spice jars by color grouping. It adds some color to the studio and also reminds me what is there. It has been a good thing. I have more that I want to go through, but I needed an art break.

I did some backgrounds on Monday, making a complete artistic mess of the studio after all that clean-up! The thing is, it’s the first time in at least a month that I pulled out my heavy bodied acrylics. I’m gald I did. I got some cool effects. I’ll share them later, because I have to go and get ready for my treatment. I am hopeful that there won’t be the craziness this time that there was last time. I’m bringing my sketchbook with me to draw while I’m there. It should be interesting to see the things around me in a different way. I’l share later what I come up with!

Have a great day, all!