Oh I am the quiet little sparrow aren't I? Apologies on that, I've been laying low on the internet thing lately. I've been reading The Artist's Way- for those of you who don't know, it's a massively popular book written by Julia Cameron which has a bit of a cult following- creative types swear by it's course to unblock the sink in your artistic mind.
Two of the things she recommends are the Morning Pages, where you must write two pages of whatever-comes-to-mind every morning, and The Artists Date, which is essentially a little time set aside for you and your inner artist to just be together. Both of these I have trouble with and will admit to not doing. Sort of.
I prefer to write in the evening, it empties my head and allows me to switch off. Writing in the morning would disturb my routine and that would cause more damage to my fragile sensitive mind (partly joking). The artist's date I don't have a problem doing, but...about 80% of my time is just me and my artist. We're joined at the hip.
Despite all of this, and despite doing virtually none of the exercises, I have still reached breakthroughs. I don't know if it's co-incidental in reading the book, but I don't believe in co-incidental occurrences so we might have to assume it's the book. Just by reading it I'm saying to the universe 'I'm ready to do more again now, I want to open back up to art.' Just by reading it I think I'm opening that part of my brain that's been sitting quietly for a little bit while I go about the pinned-down routine of crafting practical items.
I do consider my jewelry to be art. But there are other forms of art that I feel like I have left behind. Jewelry has restrictions- I must think about wearability, asethetics in design, shipping requirements, durability, workmanship etc... when I'm making 'proper' art I don't have to think about if it's going to be smooth to the touch or leave a stain or wear away or disintegrate if it gets wet.
So I've been clearing space in my brain and on my desk for painting and paper collage, for textile panels and shadow boxes. (You can see the sort of thing I'm thinking of in the images through here). I realised the other night that so many of the ideas and visuals that my mind shows me are not for jewellery at all, but for larger art pieces. It's my hope that in exploring 'proper' art again I will come full circle and my jewelry will be even more of a pure expression of whatever it is inside me that keeps me creating. We shall have to wait to see what we shall see.
In the meantime, there are two new pieces in the shop (and I'm late in telling you!)...
...and I'm off tomorrow afternoon for a weekend away in the coastal town of Venus Bay. My best friend's partner has a house down there and we're all banding together (with his bush furniture, my jewellery and her 'vintage circus burlesque' corsets- yes I'm trying to get her to get on Etsy!) and doing two markets. Foster and Tarwin Lower, if you happen to be in the area!
It'll be smashing to get away for two days. Technically it's a working holiday, but who can ever call being at a market 'working'? Besides that there'll be yoga and music and thrift safaris...and who knows what else.
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