cobaltika

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.

another fairly dreary morning. needing more coffee. man this is a rough week. and SO COLD. why is winter so long this year? this morning ice pellets falling, overslept, *had* to wash my hair, late, stomping around, finally my poet offered a ride, now scratchy-eyed and lumpy with extra clothes that i didn’t need after all in the office. ready for lunch. baby food in a can today - Annie’s Cheezy Ravioli. hey, it’s easy to bring and very cheap. i’m trying to be so much better about bringing lunch. i don’t like messing about with food in the morning AT ALL. it’s nauseating. the best parts of life lately are the artTable, despite the freezing floor, and daydreams of trips away. california and the NW are coming soon and i could not be happier! i don’t even care if all my ebay sales flop and we have to sleep in the car at campgrounds!! and eat power bars!! margaret has been scheduling the college visits and we almost have a plan. then in april, to boston and betsy. YAY. i love my girls so much and miss them like crazy, but i am so glad they are off having interesting lives. last night we watched Rest In Pieces (Joe Coleman). it wasn’t what i thought it was going to be, because i didn’t really know who he was after all, but it was strange and GOOD although i had to close my eyes at times. and i saw the eclipse. is it lunch yet?

very very sleepy this morning. my eyes are sandy and blurry. i wish the professor who makes coffee was here today! if i try to make it, in the office pot, it will taste so nasty, i know. i can only make it in my own pot, and then just barely. not enough this morning though. need more. a little cranky. last week i was looking at tickets for Boston, but was not quite sure of the timing, so did not buy. today i look, ready to buy, and they have gone up $60. shit. oh well it is only money, right? i am having much fun being an online entrepreneur, i think. now that i have kind of settled on small art for etsy, my hands are busy every night and new things appear as if by magic. i am finding old bits that i loved and saved and it is fun to use them now. it seems magic when they sell, too. i even like the packing and mailing part now. i just wish i knew a way to become more visible and desirable. the pieces are sweet, small and very reasonable. i don’t like the term “cheap art manifesto”, but i do like the idea of making pieces that can give visual pleasure and be affordable. especially in these days. i am also enjoying the eBay stuff now, too. i like answering questions and watching the bids and feeling like something that was taking up space and no longer useful in my life has great value to someone else. i have now washed many quilts that i made 15-20 years ago and stored away. not fancy wall kinds, but for babies - non-traditional babies, of course. no pink and blue here. on the weekend i will be able to photograph them in the daylight and then i will list more things. i am getting into it! and my scuffy old fluevogs, too, maybe! it is definitely work, though. but remember, i am escaping into art and work now! not red wine and trashy mysteries! (at least not to excess) my hips ache today. i hope i am not getting arthritis, too. maybe it is just from clomping up and down the hill in lumpy ice and biting cold weather. winter can be done anytime now. where are those little yellow crocus? i’ve been looking…

some new things on etsy: hanging objects & more prepared books
lots of good things!

… and …

i have finally started listing many random, interesting and useful things on eBay. starting today with cameras, lenses, filters and flamenco shoes (which are doing very well, don’t laugh!) i am selling Miss Jemima, my Lomo, my Smena8M and my Diana+.

go see if you like?

hopefully tomorrow i will start listing some vintage textiles and clothing and yet more random, interesting and useful things. god it is a lot of work though! setting up photo shots, then listing, thinking of what to say, jeez, then packing and sending. but i MUST. there is so much stuff in this house now. what will i do with it all when i go off to the Peace Corps???

ok, enough advertising. it is rainy and cold and my back hurts so much. i want to start new pieces, but i don’t think i can tonight. my body only wants to lie in a clean flannel nest and read a book. then sleep. mmmmm.

yesterday turned out to be a great artDay, although i was sluggish about getting started. i actually have a “body of work” happening, i think. wow. finally. i have been working on pale pieces with found poetry and stitched photos, new ones, and finishing started pieces that have been waiting for inspiration. also making some very tiny ones that i can put on etsy when they are finished. this all feels good. now the party is over though and today i must trudge out into 14 degrees and many inches of snow to hike up the hill to the office. bluh. but i will come home and continue … i will … i will …