Yep, that’s right.  It is almost time for my exhibit in Corner Brook, Newfoundland to open.  Hard to believe it is finally here.  I think just like with most exhibits, they are booked so far in advance that they seem like ages away.  And then just like that they sneak up on you.  I have officially finished making all of the pieces that will be in this exhibit.  My most recent and last was this one called “Overcast”:

 

I spent today labelling and making up the tags for each piece and organizing all of the other bits and pieces that go along with the exhibit.   Next I have to wrap them all up and do a trial run with packing them to see how I’m going to go about getting them all there.  Exciting times for sure!

There is actually a fair bit on the go.   I am also sending two of my pieces to this upcoming event in Vancouver, British Columbia.  I am very proud to be a member of Guild Trip and this fantastic event will be the prelude to the launch of the site.  I so wish I could go to check it out, meet some of the other artists and see the absolutely AMAZING venue that it is being held in.  But alas I can’t be there so I will have to be content with having my pieces there and seeing photos!  If you are in the area, be sure to mark it on your calendar and check it out.  My “Ghost Trees” and “Through the Trees” pieces will be there and available for purchase along with many other Fine Craft works!

So other than these two upcoming exciting events, things have been fairly quiet. I’ve sketched out my next piece.  This one is completely for me, to hang on my wall.  It is a project that has kept getting pushed to the backburner with other things and now I have decided to carve out the time to just do it.  I have lots of other ideas percolating away that need some time to sit anyway so it seems like the perfect time.

 

This was the original framing of “Undeveloped Memories”.  As you know, it got a major framing facelift.  So now I am going to use this frame which sits empty and am going to fill it with six panels, each with a picture of my kids.  Two panels will be for my daughter alone, two for my son alone, and two for pictures of them together.  I think it is going to be a really fun and meaningful project that will capture them as they are right now.  So as I mentioned, the first panel is sketched out and I just have to get down to picking out the colours and then getting started.

A huge part of starting a new project, sadly, is tidying up from the last one.  My studio becomes an absolute mess of yarns- especially when I was working on the Postcards from Newfoundland pieces because I was changing colours and pieces so often.   Things stay a little more organized when I am working on a bigger piece.

I don’t know what it is about mess and clutter.  I swear it multiplies by itself.  I have done so, so much decluttering over the past couple of years and have absolutely curtailed what we bring into the house.  I’ve said before that my mantra is that if something is going to stay it has to either be very useful or extremely beautiful and meaningful.  There are so many other ways to find self-fulfillment than shopping for more and more stuff.  Especially mass-produced “made in China” kinda stuff.   Yet even with that philosophy I still feel like my house is full of clutter.  I think partly it is from the kids’ toys- toys these days all seem to come with a million pieces that inevitably get scattered around the house.  I remind myself that these are short-lived days and I am quite good at passing along toys as they are outgrown by the kids.  And my daughter is really great about things too- she doesn’t like a lot of stuff, is great at telling me when she no longer wants something and isn’t really into cutesie knick-knacks and the like.  I hope that I am passing along to my kids an appreciation for valuing experiences over things and a love of handmade rather than factory-made.

That feels like a ramble, but I think with all that has been going on with my exhibits etc. mess has been inevitable and sometimes it reaches the point where it drives me nuts and when that happens I notice that it also affects my productivity.   Physical clutter really does clutter your mind and take up way too much time tidying it up and cleaning it.

So, I’m taking my time moving onto the next project.  I’m getting my space in order, choosing my colours carefully and looking forward to getting into a slower rhythym in my work- at least for now.

Clearing my calendar a little bit and clearing my space is really helping to clear my mind to make way for more creativity.

 

Karen