I've taken a break from everything the past few weeks to get life in order. The weather Sprung great in late May (past tense of Spring) and I was bitten by the gardening bug. Two weeks later an old vegetable patch in the front yard was transformed into a nice 10x10' garden complete with birdbath and seating area. Now if only the Venison -- I mean deer -- would stay away!
Now that the outside was taken care of, the inside of the house needed serious attention as Marble Man's parents were coming to stay for a week. Can't have them seeing how we really live, now, can we? So we fired up that fancy new vacuum cleaner -- zoom zoom -- attacked mystery piles of who-knows-what in corners and on surfaces, and now it's so clean we don't recognize the place. Time to throw a party!
We had a lovely visit with the parents, saw movies, ate out a lot, had lots of visit time. The week sped by really fast. Now it was time to get back into the swing of a regular work schedule. (What's that?!?)
After my last post, my Batgirl ego was pretty excited to be back in the batcave, doing what I love to do. Then for a few weeks after that, my hand was screaming at me to "cut it out, already"! As a result, I have decided to do just enough fabric dyeing to keep our local quilt store stocked (and my pockets full of sorely needed beer money) and some custom work for individual clients (that's money for beads). The rest of the time, I'll concentrate on the jewelry-making, since it doesn't seem to bother my delicate parts as much (the thumb pain's connected to the wrist pain, the wrist pain's...). Disappointing, but a logical move to make I think since, being in pain is such a pain! (I can always add the fabrics in slowly, to keep stock up for my scarf collections and maybe the silk shawls.)
Meanwhile, I've had such a long break with all the house improving going on, that I can't remember what the heck I was working on when I stopped! I cleaned up my studio space, put everything away, and now I'm like, "HEY, what the...! Where was I?" So, I look at this as a creative kick in the pants, (so to speak) and I can do whatever floats my boat at this time. I'll figure out what was in the works at some point - like when I come across a half-finished pair of earrings and say "Oh, yeah! Now, how do I make the other one to match this one?" [I've discounted photocopying as a valid way to reproduce earrings -- too flat]
I have received a lot of positive yummy feedback from family and friends about the jewelry pieces I have already finished, which is great news and tells me I am making some killer jewelry, as they would be the first ones to point out any weaknesses. Now that I have a bit of inventory completed, I need to find the right outlet. I have a few options. 1) I could try to get invited to participate in a home show for the Christmas season. 2) I could suck back a glass of wine for courage and start cold-calling galleries and boutiques. 3) I could have the jury slides made and apply to the regional craft shows. 4) write a really nice letter to Warren Buffet, asking if he'd like some other charities to make donations to (that's ME!).
I am leaning toward options 1 & 2 for now. I have a few friends and family who are artistic and have had success at home shows. So, I'll put out some feelers to see if I would be welcome with my new line of work. I think that jewelry has a wider appeal than the fabric arts do, so I might have some success with the store buyers too. I would make the cold calls to introduce myself, then send out a packet of information including pictures. If I do it right, I should be able to get some appointments to bring work in for review. Cross your fingers!
Now it's back to the bead mine...
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