C4 ward BLOGATHON March, Day 6

Your Perfect Year of Making Art and other stuff

A path by the Withlacoochee River

Geographically... I live in Florida physically but my heart has always been and will always be in Washington state. Why we are here is a very long story so won't go into it. I had always hoped to get back there but know it is not going to happen so I am trying to 'bloom where I am planted."

Strung cardboard circles with inspirational sayings

My studio is well stocked with about everything under the sun at my disposal though it seems I never quite have enough I still covet other material and supplies different than what I already own. Shame on me...

I needed fresh and  unsweetened coconut

My husband is my life and my support and my biggest fan as I create. I was a stay at home mom while he worked his butt off to take care of  me and our 4 kids. Bob is not one to sit around, I covet his energy also,  so he has pretty much taken over the care of the house...He said it is the least he can do for me after all I have done for him so I cook, do laundry and create. He does my dishes, bathrooms, makes our bed etc...That leaves me much time to have fun in my 3 studios and 1 garagio. I feel like the luckiest person in the world. 

Garagio

I mostly work alone unless I ask Bob to do some task for me that requires strength or if it is something he can do for me to speed things along or sometimes to just give him something to do when he seems at loose ends.  Today he used my 'dapping tool' to curve some beer bottle caps into concave bowls so I can use them for beads. He has also done some drilling to add holes to beer caps for a mobile I am going to assemble soon  and last year he strung a lot of tiny beads onto wire so I could make a mobile to hang in my pergola. He is a very wonderful and always an eager helper.

Streaming video class with Ellen

Sometimes I have family and or friends come for an art day or weekend. These are our 'art retreats'. They are always fun and we always get a lot done. That was when Ellen and my daughter Debbie did the intuitive paintings that hangin my outdoor gallery and the streaming video class with Shiloh Sophia last year.

Stringing beads on wire

The time I spend on my art work varies from project to project. And from day to day. It all depends on what I feel like doing and since I do not have a business I am under no pressure to get anything done on schedule. I just do what I want to do when I want to do it...That's  nice.

Barge Canal bike ride

Bob is very active with volunteer work and plays horseshoes and I have four sewing groups that meet once a month  but I am only active in two of them. The other two are dependent on the agenda and my schedule. So between the two of us we have only Sundays and Wednesdays free from any obligations. On those days we try to get a day long road trip of some sort in each month plus now it is winter/spring there are lots of festivals to attend. Summer everything dies down in the heat. We still get a few road trips in but usually it is to a spring where we can swim if we choose. We have family here so there are a few family outings or visits we enjoy. We like to bike ride and walk and we both love to read...so we do keep active.

Barge canal bike ride

My inspiration comes from art exhibits, books and I find lots of things on the internet to inspire. Sometime it just comes to me, what I want to create...probably from some past inspiration I have forgotten about.

Armilladillo on our ride along the barge canal

My aspirations for this year are to bring my projects that are started to a conclusion. If that happens I will be one happy camper. I know without a doubt at the end of this year  I will be making the same list for next year...Get my unfinished projects done...hopefully though not the same projects.

Along the river bank

Bob is the most important part of my life and without him there would be no 'me'. That is why all the extra photos of him are in this blog. My most perfect year of creating would be one just like the last 58...and forever.