Absence makes the heart grow fonder?

I feel like I've been so absent, and miss writing & reading all the wonderful blogs I like to frequent. The last week or so I've been dealing with a lot of back and neck pain. I think anyone with health issues could probably tell you about times when their bodies just said "look you've got to deal with this" and it just took over their lives for awhile. Unfortunately this has been one of those times for me, and I've had to stop and look real closely at what I'm doing that is and isn't working to manage my pain. How I wish I could make larger changes in my life right now that would help even more! Oh I dream of not having to sit for 8+ hours a day hunched over paperwork on an uncomfortable chair at my day job....

So, between being busy at work, dealing with pain, renewed activity in yoga for pain management (which is making all my other muscles sore!), setting up my new computer and printer, I've been a very busy tired girl! But I couldn't go another day without checking in here. I hope all of you have been doing well! Take care of yourselves, always...

I've been feeling blah the last couple days. This little guy here makes it a little better. Chillin' in his favorite spot near his grass...

And all through listening to my online class tonight he's been trying to get my attention, like he is here. Just look at that well-fed belly!

(Yes, that is a box you see, left over from my move about 7 weeks ago. Almost all of my books and art supplies are still in boxes right now, waiting for their own home. Still waiting for those bookcases... why did I think painting the old ones would be a good idea, exactly?)

Hope you all have been having a better week than mine. So glad tomorrow's Friday!

sometimes it's like that

Have you ever sat down to do something creative, and nothing felt right? The mind a whirlwind of scattered thoughts, no inspiration in sight. So you pull out that sketchpad & just start moving the pencil over it, in hopes something will form.

But forcing never works.... And so you figure today is just not the day for it, despite what you'd hoped to accomplish. And lo and behold, a mere 20 minutes later, after turning you attention completely to something else -

Voila!

- a completely new idea springs forth in your mind, a fully imagined compostition. And maybe, this new thing even has the potential to bridge disparate elements of your body of work so far, which you'd thought didn't go together at all, and feared made you look scattered in your efforts.

Sometimes, it's like that.

Weekend Progress

The end of the weekend is here, unfortunately...although it was lovely and relaxing. I hope all of yours were nice as well :-)

I got one more collage laid out, see below... And I ordered a printer! The Epson R1900, one I've been researching for a little while. Finally saw some test prints at the store - actually in a book, comparing Epson's top 3 wide-format printers (well, the top 3 for less than $1,000.00, that is). I'm so excited that I'll be able to print lovely, quality images soon!

While I was at it, I also ordered a new computer from HP. I love my little HP Mini Netbook so much, that little red-with-pink-flowers cuteness that you see peeking out of the corner of the pic above - but, while it's very pretty and very portable, the small screen is difficult to work with to process images, and I decided to splurge on a dedicated machine for my coming-soon Etsy business. I even have a repayment plan all figured out for the financing on the computer - thanks to my good friend S. who taught me budgeting & financial projections. I feel so business-like now!

I have to admit that planning for my online store, getting my artwork ready to introduce to the world, really committing to moving forward with this dream I have of being a successful artist, is really starting to take over my life now. There is not much else that I'd rather be doing right now :-)

Another Collage

This one is another in the series I'm working on, the overall series I plan to call The Chase. It's inspired by the idea of a man seeing a woman across the room, and he just has to meet her, and she sees and makes him chase after her. Not in a stalker-ish way at all, this being a romanticized notion.

I'm still not sure about the composition. I couldn't decide between the two background papers, then thought to combine them this way (yes I still need to trim the right side even with the left). They're actually a dark minky brown and a dark, rich cream color, look a bit better in real life than what I captured here. I'm curious - what do you think of the composition?

How was your Monday?

Mine was good, for a Monday....It's supposed to rain tomorrow though. Which means I should get up earlier tomorrow for the traffic, since Californians do not know how to drive in the rain. Fall has definitely set in, boo! Hard to believe just 2 or 3 weeks ago it was triple-digits in the Central Valley and I had a little sunburn. Our indian summer here in NorCal seemed shorter this year - but then again, summer never, ever lasts long enough for me.

I have to take a moment to thank everyone who left comments for me! What a nice welcome for my new blog. My classmates from the Fishbowl are fantastically supportive of each other, it is great to be part of such a community :-)

I just put up a pic of myself finally, after taking a mess of pictures of myself and not liking any. This one will do though I guess. I have another Work-In-Progress collage to show off tomorrow, as I hope to have time to post. See you soon!

3 semi-finished collages

I need to put a couple coats of varnish, and sit them under a heavy book or something to get the edges to uncurl... But getting 3 glued down in one day is really productive for me.

Check-In

Well it's the end of the day, or close enough that I've thrown in my towel for the day. And I'm happy to report success! I got three collages pasted up, they just need some time for the paper to uncurl and then a few coats of varnish to seal & smooth. These are from the layous that I was trying out for the past week or so, in my earlier worktable picture. I'll try to post a few pics of the finished results when I get a chance, but for now I'm all out of energy.

So I was successful at keeping my promises to myself today, I am sure that a big part of it was that I planned to report back here...don't want to make myself look bad after all, haha. Aside from a quick trip out to buy more acrylic medium to glue the collages, and a longer break for a nap.

Now off to veg out for the evening...

Dedication

I've read that if you just show up, every day, the work will get better and the muse will visit. That it's not so much about creating from genius every time, but about being there for the practice. This is extremely difficult for me - I resist any semblance of routine, procrastinate, try to multi-task, drive myself to distraction, and that just ain't cuttin it.

Over the weekend I tried my best to stay off the computer, and focus on what I need to get done instead of surfing blogs and streaming media. It sort of worked, but not all that great. And here I am at home today, fighting off some bug & so I'm not at the j-o-b, and I have the time & opportunity to do some artwork. But I can feel a multitude of distractions calling my name.

So, I need to make myself a few promises today. No, I will not turn on the tv while I'm working. No, I will not run out to the store to "get a couple things" until after I've put in some time working. No, I will not get on the internet until this evening (ok as soon as I put this away). I will do my best to put aside any nagging thoughts of "oh I need to do this", "I should do that",

Let's see how this goes. Will check back in later. Hope everyone has a lovely day!

Pictures - work in progress

I've had this idea for a collage series in my head for a few months now, and been saving magazine clippings for it. Finally had a chance to crop the clippings and lay them all out to play with potential compositions this past Sunday and Monday evenings. They're in that stacked-rectangle style I've been working in this year. Here's a couple shots of my "worktable" aka coffee table (nothing's been touched in 3 days! not even the remotes.) Where does all my free time go? It wasn't the tv, not this time.

Side note - One of the things mentioned today in the e-course I'm taking is the need for a picture of yourself for your online presence. I really have to say I've never been into pictures of myself. So, there's a pic of my hair over to the right. For now, until I can get something better.

Welcome!

Ok, this is my new endeavor.... my attempt to put in one place my journey of becoming a working artist, my struggle with the transition from just surviving with a day job to flourishing with a wonderful creative life, and overcoming all that holds me back from living the life I want to lead.

At the studio door... This is how I often feel... Like I'm looking in at someone I want to be without the ability to cross the threshold and become that person. I yearn to inch my way across that entry hopefully sooner than later.

My other blog with the funny name, ninja haiku, I will keep up for the occasional random bits that float through my mind or catch my attention.