CARVING OUT TIME...

Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let the other person spend it for you.

-Carl Sandburg-
I finally sat down with my new calendar the other day and transferred all the important dates, appointments, and reminders. I was feeling really bummed that it was already mid-month of January, a brand new year, and I had logged very little time in the studio. Snippets of promises I had made to myself were sifting away like the grains of sand in an hour glass. There are only so many hours in a day and time and attention have been needed elsewhere lately. I felt my creative spirit fizzle and shrivel just a little.Tapping the end of my pen ticking off days all boxed out in little white blocks, some with scribbles and some blank, I knew I needed to schedule and guard some creative time or it was going to be stolen away from me if I allowed. I decided that at least one full day a week would be doable but I might have to be flexible. I have penned myself in for Tuesday and we will see how that goes. Sometimes creativity for me is a mood thing, I have to work in fury when the mood or idea comes to me, I can't force it.I was just about to swipe the large colorful envelope the calendar came in off the table and into the trash when an idea came to me in a flash. I trotted down the hall to the studio and began slicing, dicing, embossing, inking, punching, and snipping with fervor. I now have a brilliant boat load of supplies to create some wonderful tags. I felt my flagging creative spirit lift a little at the pile of pretties spread out before me. With my momentum up I began putting together pretty paper and fabric posies, attacking tags, and embossing a variety of papers to play with on my next studio date.I started feeling better about all those blocked out days and the lack of blank ones knowing that I had kept some of them for myself. I am kind of at a cross roads of sorts with my art and I am not sure what, if anything, is next. I feel myself wanting to step up, over, and beyond the experimental stage I have been in for the last couple of years and get serious about developing a signature style.I am going back over all those blanks and blocks of time. I am identifying time wasters and stealers, trying to eliminate them, evaluating what is important and what can be put aside. I probably won't be too productive in studio this first month of the new year because I recognize the need to get a few things in order so I can have the focused time I need in there. A couple of major projects need to be finished up, the dining nook remodel being at the top of the list. I hope you will bear with me if I am not posting as much or as many artful pretties for the next couple of weeks but I need to set my sights on discipline and dedication to mundane tasks at the moment.
I am keeping my eye on the prize of making those artful dreams happen! I want to thank you for all the support and encouragement you all offer. You really are an amazing bunch!
I hope time is being kind to you and that you are carving out little slices for yourself to do whatever it is that you enjoy. Have a blissful Monday!

Blessings,
Sandy

P.S. Isn't it a little ironic that the front of my calendar says, " Gentler Thyme" ?

TINTING WINTER...

" Hear! hear!" screamed the jay from a neighboring tree, where I had heard a tittering for some time, "winter has a concentrated and nutty kernel, if you know where to look for it."

-Henry David Thoreau, 28 November 1858 journal entry-

First thing every morning upon entering the kitchen I lean across the sink and peer at the east wood to see what kind of day it is going to be. Gray, I sigh while thinking, another gray day. The first snow dusting of the season, a mere three inches, is crooking its icy fingers at me, beckoning me to step outside into its magical frosty goodness. I respond. Bundling up, I step across the door frame into what appears to be a black and white photo of a winter scene, quite barren and bleak...Casting a glance at the wishing well... And tossing in a wish for a less monochromatic day, a touch more of color than that of black, white, and gray. A bridge of branches intertwined over head invites the eye to look deeper, past the tangle, to the horizon beyond their reach... A small shiver, that has nothing to do with the teen temperatures, slides over me. Beyond the furthest branches the photographer began to hand tint the black and white winter scene. The barest of blush and lightest hue of blue was painstakingly brushed between each limb and twig...Standing in the black and white snapshot, I watched breathlessly as a bold brush of color was applied, a liquid molten orange... That began to spill itself right at the tips of my booted feet, touching them, turning them into a bright splash of color, cutting off the oppression or the suggestion of a gray dawning day... I stood still as the chill north wind swirled and buffeted my back, listening to the rattle of the dry leaves quaking in the wind, watching my wish unfold while the black and white photo faded under the photographers skilled hand as he colored in the morning hues...Soft green moss became visible against stripped gray bark...Cotton bolls of snow pillowed themselves on branches of gray-green lichen, striking against a brilliant blue backdrop...Teasing little evergreen tips reached beyond their fluffy blanket to have their fingers kissed by the morning sun... A blue bird...Some blue berries... And blue tinted shadowed snow...Further highlight and brighten the blustery scene to the perfect tint of winter...BLUE! Not the kind of blue that makes you feel down but the kind of blue that lifts you up. The blue of the heavens where berry ripe bird winged wishes are free to fly out of the shadows into the horizon of possibility.

I hope there is not a hint of gray in your day but the brilliant blue of winters tint that will keep you looking upward towards the horizon and reaching for those longed for dreams and wishes. May they be within your grasp!

CHRISTMAS KC STYLE...

Art is a collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does the better.

-André Gide-

Thank you all for the kind and loving support you expressed over the Somerset article. You all are just the best! Your encouragement keeps my creativity going. As much I as I love to be in the studio making art I equally love collecting the art of other artists. Boy, talk about a collection enhancement, I received a wonderful surprise just in time for Christmas, the give away prize I won from KC Willis of Lipstick Ranch.

I spent a couple of weeks looking at art on her website trying to pick something and could not decide. She suggested I tell her the pieces I liked and she would create something from that. I fully expected a piece of art from her wonderful $200.00 shopping spree in her gallery. I was shocked and awed by her generosity of not one, not two, but three pieces of her art!

The wonderful part is that I made no suggestions of specific styles or colors, only pieces that I liked, and when they arrived it was if they were custom made for areas of my home. You can't really get the depth and gorgeousness of the pieces in a photo but I tried to show them off peppered throughout this post.

I used one piece, a beautiful angel, with my Christmas decor. How did KC know that I have a deep dark eggplant accent color in my living room?I have this beautiful floral design hanging in the studio so I can enjoy it for now but it will eventually move to my bedroom. The colors are perfect!The third piece I gave away as a gift to my best friend and she was beyond thrilled. It is perfect in her family room.KC, I can't thank you enough for your generosity! The beauty of your work enhances not only my home but nurtures and inspires my artistic spirit, that is Christmas KC style!

We are covered up in a blanket of new fallen snow this morning, a cozy kind of day to head to the studio to play. I hope your day is a cozy enjoyable one too!

SOMERSET DREAMS...

Dream: Something wonderfulSomething wonderful landed in my mailbox recently. A dream come true, a Somerset Dream, my contributor copy...And were it not for all you sweet blog friends who suggested and encouraged me to send something in I would not be tucked within these pages, for without your support I would not have had the courage to reach for this dream. Thank you!A special thanks to Christen Olivarez and the staff of Somerset Life for the opportunity to appear within this outstanding publication. It truly is an honor to be in the company of so many wonderful and talented artists and sweet blog friends like Tina, Lisa, Karla, and Monica.Here is a peek at some of the stunning photography featuring my Itinerant Artist Kit and article...While I adore all of the titles that Stampinton & Co publish, Somerset Life is my favorite and it is such a treat to see my art kit in print here. I leave you with this thought, " I would thank you (all) from the bottom of my heart, but for you (all) my heart has no bottom." (Author Unknown) For each of you, my gratitude is fathomless.

Have a blessedly wonderful weekend!

BYE-BYE NOOK, HELLO NEW LOOK...

Cottage: A small modest single story dwelling, typically in a rural or semi-rural setting

Nook: A small corner, alcove, or recess, as in a room
The ringing in of the new year here at Quill Cottage was signaled with the sounds of hammer and saw as we tore down a wall in our house. This past weekend we began what is looking like a series of remodeling projects that have been put off for far too long. The removal of the wall being one of them.

As stated many times before, I live in a small cottage with odd angles and nooks and crannies. The sum total of dining space in my little dwelling was a 7 1/2 by 7 1/2 foot nook. If you only had a table to seat four it was fine but as our family grew, so did the size of our table and maximum capacity in that little nook, if you packed in like sardines, is eight, leaving some guests at an overflow table in the living area. Once seated NO ONE could get out unless everyone filed out. The dining rule was that those who don't eat seconds went in first so that those that do could get up without having to play musical chairs.After we went through this whole routine once again at Christmas I decided enough was enough and the wall between the dining nook and living area had to come down. This wall also served as sort of a hall wall. The wall and I have a long history of a love and hate relationship. When we first moved here the wall had a huge pass through opening that was off center, which drove me crazy and was a decorating nightmare. After trying to decorate around it or disguise it, we closed it off. The living area side served as sort of a hall wall and I turned the other side into a display area. It still bugged me that it was off center but not as much.While this solved one problem it created another. By walling off the pass through it cut off a lot of light. Our house faces north with the living area being and interior room with no windows so even during the day I had to keep lamps on in all four corners of the room to keep the cave-like atmosphere at bay. Handy Hubby kept trying to convince me to just take the wall down but I was not so sure about it. After spending so much time sick or incapacitated this past year I did a lot of decorating in my head as I recovered and I envisioned whacking out that wall.

I also envisioned solving another thing that has always bugged me, the fact that these two walls intersected without a proper dividing wall...I kept a tall cabinet on the dining side to disguise the transition and decided to treat the areas as separate rooms. Problem solved, I had Handy Hubby frame up a little side wall here and leave an equal amount of the old wall on the other side. We are turning the new opening into a case opening that will be standard door height and trimmed out on both sides.This, the only outlet in the nook, will be relocated too...I am assuming the previous owners plugged a clock or something in there, not sure, I can't reach it and have never used it, just hung something over it to cover it up.

I was slightly freaked out the first day after we took the wall down. I have never lived in a home with an open concept floor plan so it felt awkward until the sun rose. The entire cave-like living area was flooded with morning light and I marveled all day that I did not have to turn on one lamp. I really think I am going to love it after it is complete.
But, there is always one of those isn't there? Now, the last of the old teak-wood parquet flooring is glaringly obvious, so, guess what we get to do next? And, now that the two rooms open up to one another there is a clash of color and decor, so, I will need to do some painting and since the nook and kitchen flow together...well you get the idea. Thank heavens the kitchen has been fully remodeled and it will only be paint!Darling Daughter and I have chosen a paint color, Valspar's Buckskin Pony, that will blend with the living area colors for the upper walls and I am going to paint the cladding on the lower walls the same color as the trim in the living area, Valspar's Creamy White, to lighten and freshen it up. I am really limited on color choices since I have very distinct color cabinetry in the kitchen...All of the cottage florals will be going away, although, I am going to miss my light fixtures. The table Handy Hubby built will be cut down slightly and moved to the farm, and I will be scouring flea markets for possibly a round or oval table with a removable leaf. I'd love your opinion on this idea, we have two options, to get a table that extends for when we have gatherings (extra chair storage is a problem with that) or get one that seats four and fits the space better and invest in a long folding table and chairs for large gatherings. I do have storage for cushions and chair covers as well as the folding set. I am torn.I found a light fixture for the dining area at a flea market for $7.00 and it just needs a little spray paint and new wiring. I would show you a photo but Handy Hubby thought it was for the farm and when he ran up to check on things he took it along with some stuff that was for up there. Next trip up I will bring it back home, revamp it, and get him to install it. I will need a new one for the kitchen too so that is on my " to find" list.

Sorry that there is no pretty to look at here today, construction is messy!

I am off for a fun day with my friend, Pam, we are heading out to some small town flea markets and a most wonderful bakery for lunch. I hope your day is filled with joy and laughter!