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Well, Spring was on its way, it really was, we had crocuses, the very first daffodils and some of those small, early irises, it was all going so well. . .
But then a large quantity of cold air from Siberia decided to spoil the party. We had serious amounts of snow (for round here OK? Yeah, I know it's not much really, compared to many places but let me have a good old British moan about it), and temperatures down to about -6 at night. It was all rather beautiful when the sun came out, but it did mean that the waste pipe from the sink managed to freeze solid so we couldn't use the kitchen sink or the dishwasher. But were we disheartened? Well, yes, obviously, but we just about managed by using every plate in the house by the time the thaw came. . . Stoic? Isn't that a make of car? . . .
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| Very festive. Only the wrong festival, it's nearly Easter fer gawd sake |
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| The house has rabbit ears. How endearing. . |
The cats responded by staying indoors and sitting on Gill's iPad. Maybe it was nice and warm ;-)
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| Boudicca's response to digital media |
Anyway, spike stuff still selling on FB, and some business has been done via my Etsy shop, so I am feeling pleased.
I made some crackle beads, photographed them etc, but then had to work out which beads were in which photograph, as they looked very similar and the only distinguishing features were the particular pattern of crackles on particular beads.
Cue eyestrain and interesting language. I sorted it out in the end and labelled each set so I don't send the wrong beads to any prospective buyers. . . The pics make the process look a lot easier than it was. . .
You may recall in previous posts, how I went on about how I was following my artistic path and any that financial gain was a welcome extra, but not something that influenced my creative decision making. . .
I know. . . I know. . .
Well, that noble, hi falutin' stuff is all very well, but faced with the prospect of making some stuff you are pretty sure people will buy, or going off on a creative tangent and 'growing as an artist', the former is tending to win out at the moment.
It's not so much the thought of gaining money that attracts, as it is the thought of losing almost certain earnings if the more commercial route isn't taken. It's like throwing money away ;-)
It takes a steely resolve to turn down likes and sales, especially if such things are a bit of a novelty ;-)
Still, I'm sure it will all stabilise eventually. I'll work it all out. It's still a bit new.
I'm enjoying the ride meanwhile. I guess I need to take my audience along with me on my tangents eventually ;-)
Below are some of my newer spikes. Mostly sold. . . 'Enjoy', as they say. . . annoyingly. . .
Jon x
Okay - here goes. You absolutely did get quite a bit of snow. For where you are. Absolutely. And it does look beautiful - even with the rabbit ears. And yes having the water freeze is rubbish to deal with (using a British phrase there) and -6C is definitely unpleasant.
ReplyDeleteHere we got a dump of 20cms the other day just because. And then it dropped to -34C overnight and my car froze solid - killed the battery dead. You think the poor thing would be used to it since we regularly get those -40C days. Ah well.
I have heat tape wrapped around my water inlet pipe because it's been known to freeze solid even though it's inside the house albeit at the front door. I know that's weird but I do live in an actual barn.
It's definitely worth knowing that whatever the temp outside you'll have running water inside because of the heat tape.
We still aren't expecting to see spring here for another 2 months. In fact the word is don't plant anything until the third moon in May which means the end of the month then. Extremely short growing season and spring flowers just get hammered with snow and sleet every single year - poor things.
On to your creations.
I'm just stunned once again by how gorgeous your work is Jon! You slay me with what you create. I'm almost jealous but that's overridden by how much I appreciate what you do. I'm delighted that sales have taken off for you.
You could set aside days where you create just for sales and days you create just for you.
I'm not one to really say anything about this as I always seem to have sales in the back of my head when I start and I end up with something that will sell but not something that really is me. Know what I mean? I too want to explore my artistic levels and see what comes out.
Hey ho - I think it will come. I enlisted in Dan Cormier's Single Slice Mokume course and I'm working my way through that.
Next is delving into another course on exploring my own style - I'm looking forward to this.
Then I intend to buy your tutorial on laser transfers and explore that.
Now that I've typed this all out I better get organized and get into my studio to work on Dan's course right now.
Thanks for the inspiration Jon. Every time you write I find I get all excited about doing - something - anything.
Thanks, I don't know how you function in your winter temperatures ;-) Though I guess you are 'used to it' by now. . .
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you find my work inspiring, I do seem to be fairly good at seeing and exploring the possibilities of various materials and techniques and making them work as beads somehow. Not something I am going to try to analyse though. Just the way my mind happens to work ;-)