thinking about turning points

I've had a lot of time this summer to sit still and think about things

and now that one of the on line artist groups that I have been a member of for a long time is "reinventing" itself and changing a lot of their "rules" to belong to the group -- including asking all of us to "reapply for membership"

this was not necessarily a decision I wanted to make right now, but I have been thinking that it may be time soon to make this choice anyway

and here's why --- this is the last piece of beaded jewelry I finished -- last October -- almost a year ago --

and even though I've been keeping up with reading the challenges, etc., from the bead group since then, I have simply not felt inspired to create anything for them

to a large extent, my tastes and style in this art medium seem to no longer be valid -- certainly the total lack of sales and very low number of views on my Etsy page for this medium indicate that --

part of that may also be that I have not been willing to make a piece like this one and practically give it away in terms of the price I charge for it -- my time is worth something, and I'd rather spend it in working on something that at least makes my soul happy!

like this piece, for example

I made it for my daughter in 2013, and I recently "recalled" it to do some updating

so now it has a lot clearer definition of the individual pumpkins and a lot better shadow

and I enjoyed doing that

there is the fact that all seven of these pieces are currently on display in shows or galleries right now which feels a lot more rewarding!

and there is the human factor

the community of fiber artists that I can actually be an active part of in this area is large and very rewarding

it may well be time to hold a giant sale in my Etsy store to clear things out (and maybe actually make a little money) and then to seriously consider revamping and re branding it --- or creating a freestanding website again --- or both

in the meantime, while I'm thinking about that, I'm still working on the big garden piece

the deck and the planter boxes are done, and I've started on the gate that goes at the far right edge of the decking

and I've started on the fusing of the ice cream freezer -- working on a piece of parchment paper over the line drawing lets me see what the pieces look like, and to move them around or change the colors until I'm happy with how it looks

meantime, I finished this reflection study, and I'm really happy with how it looks

this piece is about 13" x 13", and originally I was going to cut it down to 12"x12" and donate it for next year's SAQA auction

but I don't want to cut it

and I want it to have enough "presence" when hung that it looks like a piece of art, not just a big potholder

my solution to that is that I'm going to mount it on a canvas -- of course you can't get a 13"x13" canvas -- but I was able to get a 14"x14" one, so now I need to think about what color that 1" border all around it will be

my garden is starting to be more productive

I'm picking tomatoes and cucumbers and zucchinis about every other day now, and I should have green beans soon

YEAH!

the big deal here this week was the eclipse

we had heard that animals are impacted by this kind of solar phenomena

apparently Mr Benson didn't hear that

this was his "I'm watching the eclipse" pose --- sound asleep on the couch!

onward!

searching for a new "normal"

I'm stronger, but not totally recovered -- I went to my master class on Friday and came home pretty exhausted -- feeling enough better that I want to do everything that I was doing before, but still not there yet

now that I can manage stairs fairly easily, I've been back in the studio

and the first order of business was getting the three pieces that are going to the NCAR exhibit ready to hang

which meant that this 12"x12" piece had to be mounted on a canvas

and I had to find an appropriately sized box (a trip to a local small market did the trick there -- they were willing to give me a pizza box that I could paste a new label on!)

the other two pieces needed slats and wires and bags, and I've almost finished that part too -- looking good!

I'm working on the pieces for the garden piece

the only other piece I've done this way was the mailbox piece (that isn't quilted yet), and at the end I had a few issues with things fitting together correctly on that one, so I'm hoping for the best on this one -- hopefully I learned something the first time!

the sky/trees/fence part went together great, and the hose pieces (that will hang from the trellis at the front of the piece) are ready

so now I'm working on the decking that runs between the planter boxes

sometimes a piece returns for some "refreshing"

I made this piece for my daughter a few years ago, and it has returned to the studio so I can improve the definition between the individual pumpkins and improve the shadow on the floor

this will be the next thing at the sewing machine, and shouldn't take too long to get done

this photo of an old ice cream maker will be the subject of the next small piece

I think it will be a good companion piece with this milk can piece

so the map has been drawn and it's time to select fabrics!

we are actually starting to get some goodies out of the garden

last week was rainy and cool much of the week, but this week is supposed to be warmer, so I expect I'll be picking a lot more things out there!

ok -- just what is Mr Benson thinking as he sticks his tongue out at me?

only he knows, but it is a cute picture, and it might end up as an art quilt!!