Here's a photo I took on January 15. You can see the leaves are mostly gone, but there are a few still left. I think it's pretty the way the late afternoon sun hits them and makes them look golden. Did I hold the camera straight? I'm not sure. The funny thing about Spanish Village is that nothing is really very straight or square. My studio is an odd shape, the outside wall extending at a slight angle. I can tell by the line of my display table and the area rug. For a temporary structure, it's held together really very well.
I've been so busy and so pre-occupied that I haven't had the time or inclination to write in my blogs. But I intend to begin doing so again. The stressful events that I was facing are mostly behind me. The first was preparing a piece for the Small Image Show. I was very happy with the three pieces I submitted. None of them were accepted. However, we also have a Salon Des Refuses that was started by a former member of Spanish Village a number of years ago. I was accepted into that show, one of my pieces was. It occurs to me that I should have taken a photo of it. Well, I will when I get it back.
The second stressful event was cleaning up my studio in preparation for a visit by a family friend. Well, really that was only stressful in that I wasn't sure I would get it done, and I didn't know if I'd have problems finding a place to put everything. But I did manage to complete the task to my satisfaction. There are still areas of the studio that need more organizing, but I have a good start for now. And the other part of the visit involved framing some of the new etchings I've created. I use to buy mats from a framing store, but they no longer carry them. So I had to get mats specially cut. They turned out very well. I'm very happy with the way the pieces look. There are six new pieces, and I have used the center of my display table to show them off.
The third event that created stress for me was the Spanish Village elections. I was re-elected as the Recording Secretary. I had a lot of paperwork to take care of in preparation for the meeting, and I still have more to do. We haven't had a Corresponding Secretary so I've been writing letters as well. Now, though, we have a new Corresponding Secretary and so there won't be as much work in the future, hopefully.
In the meantime, I have managed to get some artwork done. I've made almost no new jewelry except some incorporating brass and copper beads that my metalsmithing teacher showed me. I do have a new hole punch that helps me create holes for rivets, and I have a dapping block for making domes that I can use for beads. And now I have lots of ideas for new pieces and beads of all shapes and sizes.
I've also been fortunate enough to spend more time than usual doing some work in a class in the Enamel Guild. I've been creating woven baskets out of copper and then enameling them. I created two this past Saturday that I'm quite happy with. The disadvantage, as I see it, is that as I get better at making baskets they become more uniform and less interesting. I prefer some of the early ones that are more haphazard looking and have more character.
I've been on break from school. Next week we begin again. I was looking at some of the etchings I have prints of here in the studio. There is a series of three fish that I like. When I first created them, I didn't like them, but now I do. That's seems to be typical for me. Frequently I don't like something until later, whether its art or writing. But anyway, I'm thinking of spending the first few weeks printing the fish. I never printed additions of them in the past. So that's a way I can begin. Then I'll go from there.
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