Here are the most recent additions to the jewelry to be sold on Etsy and at my Annual Sale, which I'll tell you more about later (except to say that my annual Open Studio Sale was the real inspiration for the Etsy site, as many friends from out of state were sad not to be able to come to the sale and wanted a way to participate online. So really, it's all thanks to them! Thank you, Them!)
In the book I have been reading called, "Making Art a Practice: Thirty Ways to Paint a Pipe", the author encourages aspiring artists on all levels to begin each art making session with a ritual. It can be a cup of herbal tea, a certain song or CD, a particular art warm up, the recitation of a goal, quote or motivational mission statement - any action that will take them to that creative place. It acts as a portal, immediately extracting one from the day-to-day rigmarole, and transporting them back into the creative flow they stepped away from at the end of their last creating session.
I have found mine.
I make a single pair of earrings before I begin any project currently in progress. It's a great creative warm up (and it will serve to rescue me from the November crunch when I usually try to pound out items to have enough for my Open Studio Sale. Freak-out mode is not a yummy-fun way to make art).
For the moment I am relying on the stock pile of beads I have on hand, but as soon as Ellen's book is done (this week! YAY!), I will begin making ceramic pieces that are one of a kind. That's when my heart is really happy. Anyone could make the exact same jewelry I make out of beads from the store, but my ceramic pieces are unique to me.
In the mean time I will still try to find that playfulness that is part of why I enjoy making things with my hands so much, even if the beads did come from a store.
