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" ?