Sustainable Things

For years I've been personally concerned about the environment. Climate change has been on my radar since I was a kid. And the problem only seems to have grown. The weather extremes in recent years seem to demonstrate that. I'm only one person, but I felt I had to find ways to make some difference.

boredom

As a creative person, I can say that I never have the opportunity to get bored. For me, there is always something to do. I don't wanna jinx myself or anything, but I rarely have the chance to experience boredom. Burnout, yes, low energy, okay, even low motivation. 

A Quick Quote

It has been a loooong day. But I'm really trying not to break my blogging streak. So I want to share a quote I made into a graphic a while back:

There's a Hole in the Bucket

Sadie Sidecar, once
employee of the month

On the heels of a brief break from studio work, I've been anxious to sink my teeth, my hands, and my energy back into my work. And being on the workaholic end of the spectrum, I thought I could take advantage of the distraction of the July 4th holiday to squeeze in some quality creating time. 

paper Process

 It's been a busy start to the week. So much so that I've already missed one of my items on a new content schedule I've created for myself. More on that later. 

Anyway, since I'm in the trenches, I thought I'd just let you peek over my shoulder at one of the things I'm working to complete: a pair of remakes of an ornament that sold last year in my Etsy shop. These are a customer request. Here are snapshots of just a few of the steps.

To Do or Not to Do

I don't have a creative crystal ball. I don't, as a rule, always know how I'm going to complete a creative project or task when I take it on. I often just have a "gut" feeling, which prompts me to get rolling with it.

Wreck in Review

Have you ever had a week where you repeatedly asked "What the???" Where a series of things that should conservatively be sprinkled over the course of a few months [a manageable touch of calamity for the ordinary person] just keep happening back to back? 

Perception vs. Truth: Signatures

Years ago, as I signed one of my finished pieces, I caught myself doing what I had often done, attempting to slap my scribbled, yet perfectly artful moniker onto the piece with a flourish like I must have seen people do on television or in movies I saw growing up. Somehow it got embedded in my mind that this was the proper way to sign a piece (wth 🙄). But the signatures started to look like crap, and after a while I wasn't sure they were even my real signature anymore. 

Things I Make for Me

In a little change of pace, I thought I'd share a "TIMFM" post. 

FOMO

 ... Or just short attention span? The other day I was attempting to zip through pictures on my fourth Instagram feed, both for the sake of interacting and connecting, but also because I wanted to consume as many beautiful, inspiring images of cottages and gardens as five minutes would allow. 

The Lost Art

Is cursive writing dead?? I recently learned (wow, I'm late to this news) that my 13 and 14 year old niece and nephew were not taught cursive writing in school. Like, they never learned something that was a required part of my elementary curriculum.

An Ode

I've long felt that part of an artist's (of any discipline) job was to move people to see the world around them from a fresh perspective. And since color, texture, and pattern have always stirred the muse for me, I'm sharing this.