cobaltika

i have not been very frisky or productive at the artTable the past couple of weeks, it seems. a new book is coming along slowly. i’ve finished abut 3 dozen handmade bizcards. um … did i work in my journal? no. finally, though, i have been making some new small pieces in the last two days. of course they are recycled photographs (will i *ever* run out of them?? all the film i wasted … shudder!). and i have been transferring bird engravings! i love them! the birds have the sweetest faces. they must be mostly european birds, because i have never seen any of these creatures. anyway, they are pleasant work.

i have been avoiding the big pale paintings.

it seems spring is finally appearing. there is even blue sky today. i have seen daffodils, hyacinth and almost-forsythia. it’s all so late. i guess there will be a HUGE blowout in a couple of weeks and cameras should be prepared.

hopefully i will be cheered by the season, because i have been glum as hell lately. almost depressed, i think. and still feeling sickish. blech. and i miss the girls like crazy lately. it is worse staying in the town they are gone from and are not to return. it is not like i ever had my own separate life here, really. just a job and a lease. i’m trying hard to stay put though, because i know that bit of retirement dough is a wise thing to keep in mind. i am saving $$ militantly, trying to be ready for escape when the time comes.

i wonder where i will go?

amazing StudioSpringCleaningSale still in progress on etsy for a few more days!

i’ve decided to list LOTS of new and old things this weekend, at embarrassingly low prices (but i’m not embarrassed, because they would rather go to new homes, than live in piles in my studio, under the table!). so i am multitasking - creating, scanning, posting, packing - happily! click the image to come see? thanks!

it is another winter day. not as frigid today, but the sky is whiteCold, an eye-hurting non-color. i have to be glued to the computer, working on the magazine, but it is very hard to stay focussed or to sit still for too long, because of my evil neck. stiff & painful. i have been scanning some new things and listing on etsy and scanning some things that didn’t come out well, but i think i might like to play with the images of them anyway. like that one. it is the back of an altered photo, made when i was first learning to use beeswax. not a pretty sight, although i like the pieces. they do not have that sweet smooth surface, instead they are rough and unappealing. so i may play with them as i like in photoshop and see how they print. or do other things to them. all of it is interesting (to me). i miss the girls very much today and don’t feel like i have nearly enough Fun in my life lately. i am not sure how to remedy that situation. i mean, art is Fun (to me). but it is also work. and not very social or outgoing. sometimes i long for people-oriented activities, i guess. but i’m not sure what i would want to do with them actually. those people. oh well. that is about it for today then. back to the grindstone.

these became so much fun. the first set is now up. the next one should go up tonight. and then??? i guess as long as my stack of hopeless polaroids lasts! (trust me. they are *not* worth tearing the collage off to see what image is secretly hidden!) they are good for Valentine’s or any loveOpportunity that might arise. i will even mail them to your crush! with a short message that you choose on the back.

just when i snap off my big mouth about “no more small stuff” and “no more clipped text” i start having lots of fun with it and can’t stop. buh. i *do* want to make big work this year and i WILL. but. um. maybe not just yet? i keep telling myself i must stop using found text, because it is now as trite as pointy hats on fairies (sorry), but then the perfect pages come along and the words just fall together and it is just so much FUN. even my poet says i “do it well”. so maybe i should discontinue any pronouncements about what i will and won’t do and just do what feels right? or should i kick my ass and take some risks with uncomfortable stuff? erf. anyway, they are on etsy, of course. and they are FUN.

i have really been having fun feeling motivated to finish and list these new pieces. they are very recycled. if anyone does archeology on one, it would be silly. so they are dense in a secret way, even though on the outside they are mostly just pretty little pieces. i wish i could arrange and hang them all over a shredded plaster wall, in an altaristic fashion. instead of the way i am required on etsy. hmmmmm… i wonder if i could make a web page like that? they would be so tiny though…hmmm…thumbnails that click? well, we’ll see. i don’t want to sit at this computer all day. again it is beautiful out and wandering with a camera or two will probably be desired. and there is MORE art to make and scan. and even some mailing to be done! hooray! but my poet will still have to pay for *all* the groceries this week. /-:

already i have had too much coffee, i can tell. what happened? i used to be able to sit all morning with my big white cup, refilling until the pot was empty? now i am about to jump out of my skin. wheeee!