The last few weeks have been more challenging that I would have guessed. My day job has been quite unpredictable, with a couple of large, rush projects turning off and on like a strobe light. Now, it seems that I have an unplanned vacation between now and the first week of August. What to do with myself?
I've decided to rework my home office. It's time for a thorough cleaning and reorganization of all of my business materials and paperwork. There are more fun things I can think to do with my time, but no project that will provide so much benefit to my life. I work from my home, and have been a self-employed writer for just over 13 years. By reworking my office, I lay a foundation so my working life runs smoothly, and I facilitate my writing muse. Since writing pays the bills, this will make everything in my life easier.
I love my daily life, and I work hard to keep it that way. I'm always trying new things, tools, techniques, strategies, fresh ideas, and anything I can imagine to tweak my life. I've lived with the mantra "How can I improve my quality of life and spend less?" for almost two decades. The latest improvements to my daily life have been: taking at least one art class a month, scheduling time in the studio, Twitter, and spending time with the new people I've encountered. This week, I'm getting ready to interview a housekeeper, someone who can help me keep things running smoother in two visits a month. It's an idea I'm willing to try, and I'm hoping it will accomplish two things: 1. A tidier house will shift the energy of my house which will free my mind up to explore new ideas and projects, and 2. I will spend less time cleaning and more time making art.
Those of you following my blog see me exploring the memory art/mixed media world, but what I've not shared are my short term goals for this exploration. I have a few ideas for items I'd like to make and sell locally. In years past and in another medium, I sold items in a local gallery and that was great fun. It was the first time in my life I felt like an artist (instead of just as a writer). My new project ideas actually combine words and images and memory art and I'm working at building the foundational skills I need to make the prototypes. I'm experimenting with paper strength, adhesives, embellishments, and layouts. But I'm also working to find a balance between me telling a story and providing a platform for someone else to tell their story. I've been looking for companies to make make customized stamps for me, and visualizing production lines for photo images and custom paper for book pages.
It's all been great fun. Now, I'm watching the pieces of the puzzle manifest in my studio (and life) and loving the anticipation of watching them come together. I hope that in 6 months, the projects I'm just making references about now will be full-blown items on my worktable ready to be delivered to the marketplace. One day I will be able to post pictures and announce how my dreams and desire have bloomed into reality around me. Until then, I'm very happy to keep dreaming my dream, trying new ideas, watching my progress, and loving the anticipation of reaching my dream.
2 comments:
And you go girl! I am rooting for you! It sounds very exciting. I went around and checked out your other posts. You are very clear and focused. I know you'll get everything you want.
Thank you for visiting my blog and commenting. I hope you make the best stamps ever. Also, I am taking two 3 hour Tim Holtz classes and after reading your post I am even more excited.
Catherine
Charlene, Thanks for stopping by my blog. Your kind words of encouragement truly mean a lot to me right now. One thing my mom had done was to make a list of what she wanted to go to certain people. As for you organizing your office. Look at the bright side it is just to darn hot to go outside:)
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