It's Time....

Grandson Sebastian Danger Powers at one week old

Birth of my grandson,
Death of my father,
Awakening the garden.....

It's time for reflection, and possibly for redirection. Laura Otero created a list of things it's time for in her life.

 What is it time for in my life? What is it time for in your life?

In my life, it is time to celebrate family,
Time to seek out mentors for my business,
And time to get some chickens!

The Impossible Garden Rises Again

 Putting my father to rest; awakening the garden.
There's something about digging in the dirt that is therapeutic, especially if the sun is (finally) shining too.

I think I'll do better with a little structure in the garden. Last year's garden looked good in the spring, but the deer ate more than I did, and the strawberries got lost in the weeds.

This spring we built beds for the plants we want to tend  closely. The beds will make the plants show up better, separating the garden from the yard.

So sweet to see that my little apple tree
survived! My little accidental apple tree
 sprouted after an apple pressing
 on this spot!

My business could use some more structure, too, some little forms to protect and nourish it, where it can grow.

Where my garden needs sun, my business needs appreciation.
Where my garden needs some kind of boarder to make it show up better, my business needs ....a place to be where people can see it.

Sunday I took my scarves, prints, and silk paintings to Loretta at the Ballard Farmer's Market in Seattle, to be juried for several markets. "You're In!!" she said,"but there is no more space for venders in Ballard. You are welcome at the Fremont, in Wallingford, and at Georgetown, though."

I plan to begin showing in these markets regularly starting the Sunday after Mother's Day. I also have my scarves at Ventures Store on First Street in Pioneer Square, Seattle. Having a place to show up where people can appreciate my work will give my business more of the structure it needs.

Lost in Grief--and A Way Out

Not quite 2:00 a.m. The rawness of my grief struck home, deep in my belly. The fear I had not allowed myself to feel in the hospital with Dad engulfed me. I felt the tearing of my heart as I tried to care for my father, prepare my brother, console my mother--and keep my commitments to my fledgling business.  Hardest was the sense of failure, failure to be there for my Dad in the way he needed me, failure to communicate with the hospital staff and arrange for my 86 year old mother to talk with the doctor.


Daylight now, and I came across this idea from Kara Jones,  a grief counselor who is going through her own grieving process:

When you feel yourself lost in grief stuff -- especially when you feel it physically like, feeling it in the pit of your stomach or when you have a gut instinct -- try mapping your body.  Take a large piece of butcher paper and have someone else do an outline of your body.  Then you take your time and fill in the body outline with words, collaged images, sketches.  Focus on the places in the body where you were "feeling it in the pit of your stomach" or "seeing red," that kind of thing.  Let yourself see the reflection of your body and feelings in the body outline.  Play, experiment, let yourself write words and then collage over them, then write more words.  There is no right or wrong way to do this.  It's just a way of getting outside endless rounds of unanswerable questions or the hooks that have you stuck feeling one way or another.

I think I might make a paper doll instead of a full sized body outline. Maybe dress her/me in ... not black.... Tulip colors, White sail against Blue sky colors, colors of the adventures we had together when I was growing up with my father..

A Soul Flies Away

A soul flies into the night
And we do not know, we do not know...
Free at last of the body's decaying
Where did he go, where did he go?

This is my first art since my dad went into the hospital a week ago. He died last Friday. I'm trying to let the emotions rise, to allow the grief, the emptiness, to express and to be. To acknowledge the anger and to treasure his blessings.

Fremont Sunday Market

Nichole and Bobbi, my neighbors.
check out Bobbikin's jewelry

Panic hit as I set up the booth. You know, that feeling that my wares won't sell, that they aren't good enough, that I don't have enough to make a good showing, etc. It will rain. No one will come. I'll freeze my buns off.

And some of it came true. I sold two cards and a print. I froze until I figured out how to put up one of the tent walls and had a good hot meal. I couldn't figure out how to hang the silk paintings, and the scarves got all bunched together because of the wind, so it didn't look like I had much. It poured for the last two hours of the market.

Karina of the booth of HolieBowlies,
 and Tim Fantastic

And I had a BLAST! It was fun! I made new friends, studied the people who walked past, took lots of photos, got new ideas for designs. I even found someone I may share a booth with. I feel as though I laid the groundwork for later. I will be back at the Fremont  Market on Sunday. Maybe I will see you there!

The Oh GoodnesS Me Plan; a Business Plan for Artists

A business plan is a fine thing. It is built of numbers and dreams, and it requires careful thought and a bit of research. Before I could create a business plan, I needed to:

Heron Scarf in process

a. figure out who my customers were likely to be (I made this up from the few customers I have had already)

b. think about where I might sell my wares (art fairs and boutiques)

c. figure out how much each piece cost to make, what I can sell it for, and what my profit margin would be

d. know how much money I need to live on

e. know how many I need to make and sell in a month to make that much money (and not go crazy!)

f. have a good idea what my monthly expenses are likely to be

Love these patterns, but I have not
 been able to do it again. Every piece
is one of a kind! 

It is very helpful, this business plan. It is made of numbers, though, many many numbers in neat little rows and columns--lots of rows and columns!  Numbers just don't quite satisfy me. I need more.

Then my Artist Magazine arrived, with an article on OGSM, a business plan for artists. YES! OGSM stands for Objectives, Goals, Strategy, and Measurement. My brain immediately put friendlier words to the letters;  Oh GoodnesS Me.

So.....Objectives.... To make money, right?
AH...if my objective is just to make money, I should go sell stocks or insurance. You and I know there is something deeper and broader. We need objectives that talk about our yearning to grow as artists and to reach a larger audience, as well as the business side of art.

I have objectives as a practicing artist painting on silk, and objectives as a teacher, as well as for the business side. Here is my beginning:

Area	Objectives	Goals
1.Professional Development as an artist--technique	1.Master using natural dyes	1.Create an inventory of at least 5 natural dyes, including tumeric, madrona, a good brown, a good green, and indigo by Strawberry Festival
	2.Master using various methods pf applying dyes and fabric paints to silk	2.Try stamping, stenciling, block printing, and various Japanese techniques by Christmas

Strategies	Measurements
1. Find partners to dye with, through the Fibernet group. Collect madrona bark and other local plants for dyeing.Try some dyes available at weaving works.	1. I will have 20 scarves dyed in natural dyes by Strawberry Festival
2.Just do it! Commit to a minimum of 3 hours  a day in the studio trying new techniques	2. I will have 20 scarves displaying the various techniques by Studio Tour in December

Don't get me wrong. I need the numbers too. Numbers are how we keep score in this culture, and--more important-- numbers can tell me if what I am doing is working.

Check out Blue Sand Studio for some more ideas on goal setting. I really like Suzanne's way of setting up monthly goals for her jewelry making.

The Dragons Are Done!

 They have names like Smokey, Bark, Coco, Lolli, Star, and Rock.

There are sea serpents, dragons that live in caves or forests, and some that live in ice and snow.

 Some have horns, some have antlers. Most have wings.

 Some have eggs to guard. One has a  baby dragon by it's side. One has a special place to carry it's eggs on it's back.

Some are friendly; some eat people.

Some breathe fire. Some breathe ice.

 Some are shy.

Some like to fight.

Some are good sports.

 All of them are very beautiful! And all of them were created by very proud first graders!