It’s strange, not to have been in the studio – nor to have any new jewellery to share with you – for such a long time as this. If my reckoning is correct, it’s been two months! That’s quite a long time, it seems. And yet, I’m not ready for it even still. It’s too much right now. This happens usually after the fall; January is a time of rest when you’re a seasonally-based crafter; but it was even worse this time around.
Part of it was all the hullabaloo and travel around the Craftsy class; but a bigger part of it was sheer exhaustion. I’ve never been one to sleep well; and to be perfectly honest, since my trip to Tennessee all the way back in September, and its attendant 3am get-ups for flights, I really hadn’t ever recovered. The trip to Denver was easier – I learned my lesson and booked mid-morning flights, and made sure to have at least a whole day between the flight home and returning to work – but I have still been so very, very tired.
So, for the past few weeks, I’ve mostly … puttered. Time around the house to make it better. The bedroom no-closet situation was weighing on me at my home and so I rearranged and fixed it (it’s now super useful, if not overly pretty). The “back forty”, as we call an odd outcropping of our living room containing a bar fridge and snack cupboard, got an overhaul as well. (pics not included)
OF COURSE THEY DID
Over the holidays, and since my travels, I’ve started doodling in earnest! Discovering grey brush markers for shading was a delight, and putting colored pencils over top for a smooth colour even more so.
While poking around for long-abandoned art supplies, I discovered both an old compass and my flexible French Curve, which along with a new marker-safe sketchbook started a rise in these mechanical-looking abstracts.They’re such fun to draw and shade that I’m thinking of making a colouring book out of them!
The local university’s production of Hamlet, adapted, directed, and stage managed by our closest friends, took up a bit of my time. In addition to helping with the program, I joyfully volunteered to come help paint and decorate the stage – and ended up seeing the production twice! Delightfully morose and full of angst and beautiful little details, it was definitely a highlight.
Much of my time, though, has been spent resting. Sleeping. Snuggling the cats. Reading. Recharging. Watching sunrises from the window. Being snuggled by the cats (and my love!) some more.
All in all, I’m glad I took this time off. But I’m even gladder to get to the planning and the books to decide what’s next. Cats included.
And soon, I’ll be back in the studio with a fresh brain, rested body, and joyful heart to experiment anew!