Goals? Who needs goals?

 It's only one week into the new year and I'm already stalling on my goals!  The living room is still topsy-turvy from the holidays (see below)

 and from the home-improvement project my DH started back in November, which is not quite finished yet.  He's enlarging his former home office so The Middle Child can have her own bedroom and one of a decent size, with a closet.  He's doing a great job - it's coming along nicely and we're nearing the end:  the carpet is scheduled to be installed on Thursday.

But meanwhile the family room/TV area looks like this:

My studio/play area is adjacent to this, so it's gotten quite crowded again and difficult to work in, even when cats aren't sleeping on the fabrics I've pulled!  So it's been hard to even consider coming up with new year goals!

And actually, I'm beginning to think I'm way too goal oriented as it is;  it makes me feel like time's a-wastin' if I'm not doing something constructive every minute.  After a busy fall and Christmas season, I feel a bit like I need some R&R, some lazy down time, some of "la dolce fa niente," as they say in Italy (from the movie Eat, Pray, Love , it means "the sweetness of doing nothing").

But last week, I did manage to review my goals from 2012 and I did pretty well.  I updated the look of my blog, made my 18"x 8' totem piece, persisted with Etsy and finally made my first few sales!  Those were good steps forward.  My website, however, is now defunct due to Apple changing their iWeb functions, so I need to add more pages to my blog to take the place of the website.  I think that will more than adequately serve my purposes for now.

I also approached two local shops in hopes that they might carry some of my charm bracelets, but neither of them took me up on it.  One was somewhat encouraging, but I'm not sure where I want to go from here.  When we were on vacation on the Jersey Shore this summer, I thought I might spend some time this winter making up some beach-themed jewelry and fiber art that I could photograph and print on postcards to mail to appropriate beachy boutiques.  Now that I've sold a few things on Etsy and I don't need to share my profits with a boutique, I'm not sure I want to go that route anymore.  I'll have to wait on that one.

I did revisit and resubmit my seahorse manuscript to another publisher this fall, with another rejection to my credit.  I know many authors who are being proactive by self-publishing.  That has always been in the back of my mind, but it means completing all the artwork for this book on my own, without the benefit of any professional guidance.  Could I complete several illustrations this year?  Could I find a way to simplify and speed up the process so I'm not a grandmother by the time they're all completed?  I don't know... another goal I have to mull over.

Some things that I'm still working on from last year are at the top of this year's list:

• Continue to search for my authentic artistic voice in all my creations
• Continue to experiment with adding words and text to my fiber art
• Continue to replace all negative thoughts with positive ones

In addition, I want to

• add two pages to my blog, one "about me" and one or two gallery pages
• complete a piece for the annual FANE show at the Mahopac Library in May (due in March)
• complete a "kimono" style piece of fiber art for our special exhibit of the Northern Star Quilter's Guild show, also in May (due in April)
• experiment with my big Christmas present: a Silver Artclay kit!

But for now, I just want to:

• Get the living room, family room, and new bedroom finished, clean, and organized
• Be loving and patient towards my family, coworkers, and neighbors I encounter
• Spend a few minutes every day in prayer or quiet meditation
• Do less laundry; eat more chocolate!
• Figure out what we're having for dinner and go cook it!

Mid-Year Check-in

It's hard to believe it's June 30th and half the year is already gone! I've come to believe that time is the most valuable thing we have and I attempt to spend my time only on things I value. That's easier said than done, as there are some necessities in life that require my time, like grocery shopping, house cleaning, laundry, and cooking, but I try to get them done as quickly as possible so I can get on to something more enjoyable and more valuable.

The middle of the year is a good time to look back at my goals from January (listed in this post) and see what progress I've made and what I still want to accomplish. So far I've checked off a few (joined SAQA, submitted pieces to three shows and had one acceptance, finished the large piece I promised my friend) but I still have lots to work on. I only finished one other piece besides the "Caribbean Underwater Ballet" (C.U.B) and that has been donated to the SAQA fundraising auction (more on that at a later date). I'd like to make at least 4 more, one of which is in the works. The look I've been achieving with the sheer aqua fabrics is much closer to what I want my signiture color and "brand" to be, so I hope to focus on that with my next four pieces. That should help me select photos to use for business cards and redoing my website, maybe even with my ETSY shop... Maybe I'll pick up on my weekly art again too- I only made it through about March on that goal and then I got so busy working on C.U.B. with its June 15th deadline, that I devoted all my time to that. I find it very hard to finish something in an hour or so, so when I start something new on a weekly basis I end up with a lot of UFOs and a very messy workspace, as well as divided interests. Maybe my weekly things should just be experiments with new techniques on white fabric, like shaving cream marbleing and sun printing. I'd like to make time for those this summer. I've gotten better at keeping a calendar of shows I'd like to enter and have made 3 deadlines so far. I realized only recently that a great place to keep this calendar is right here on my laptop, on the iCalendar app. I usually only use it so I can visually see how the summer or holiday weekends are shaking out, but I might as well use it for my art deadlines too. I'll try that in the next six months. I think I've also decided I need another good light to help get more professional and evenly lit photos of my work. The one I have is good, but I always end up with a dark corner. I think another light will help immensly and I'm ready to make the investment!

Meanwhile, we're heading to the Poconos this weekend for a little family holiday, a good way to spend time. Each of my daughters has invited a friend, so it won't be complete isolated family time, but at least the focus will be on fun and togetherness! (With 13 people staying in our little 3-bedroom house, there will probably be lots of togetherness!)
God Bless America!

They're done!

(finally!). Cross it off the list!

"Are we having fun yet?"

This is Sophie, Cassie's best friend from next door. Cute, huh?

Yesterday, after making two trips to the vet with the cats (we only have one carrier), I decided to treat myself to an outing at the fabric store. I couldn't resist the softness and colors of the lovely fleece below. Do I usually use fleece for for fiberart? Nnoo, but, it was just so soft and yummy looking! I've been planning on playing with some fleece and coming up with some characters similar to the "ugly dolls" that are sold in toy and specialty stores now. But these will not be ugly dolls, they will be squishy dolls or cutie dolls or something like that. Buying the fabric was fun, and I think playing with it and making stuffies will be fun too!

One of my character flaws (I'm discovering) is that I have SOOO many project ideas I want to try, and I go to the fabric store so infrequently, that when I go, I have to buy with several projects in mind. Then I come home not knowing which one to take on first or where to begin! Sew many projects, so little time!! That said, I also picked up the swatches below, with the idea of making a duvet cover for our bed. We recently painted the walls and installed new lighting and I will be ordering new carpeting this week. I think a new duvet cover would be in order, but I can never find any that I like. I actually ordered 2 yards of something not pictured here (all home decor fabrics were 50% off,!!! Even special order!!!) so when that comes in, I will have another large piece to work on (I generally avoid large pieces when I can, but I will try to keep this simple).

Speaking of small projects, I started this little (~5"x5") piece last week when I was trying to play more and have fun. It was fun for a little while, but then all those little pieces started to get tedious to deal with. I do like the effect of the mosaic using fabric, and I do plan on completing this, but it is already becoming not-so-much-fun. As I said before, "sew many ideas, so little time!!!!" Sometimes I even have trouble finishing the little projects!