Scherenschnitte Christmas Card for 2016

The month of November was filled with much papercutting.  I snip my own Christmas cards each year and it is no quick task.  I do love doing it though.  If I wake at 4 in the morning, I get excited because that means I can go down into my studio and snip in the relative dark and quiet for a few hours.  It feels like Santa's workshop.




Anyway, this was the design for my 2016 cards. The cards are 3D.  The four sides each have a different scene.

Though I get a lot of positive feedback from the folks to whom I send cards, I do not get many cards in return anymore.  I guess the tradition is going out of fashion. Makes me sad.

Procrasti-organization

I love sitting at my desk. It feels good to wake up when it is still dark out, and admire my work space all lit up. It is kind of like how you get mesmerized by a campfire or lit Christmas tree.

However, a lot of the time,  there is a pile of stuff left there from my last project.  Instead of getting inspired to do art work, the pile inspires me to organize.

This morning, after seeing my hole punches all scattered on the desk, I thought up a better way to organize my them. So, great! Accomplishment. But no art work done. 

When I am in the flow, I don't see the chaos. But afterwards, it keeps me from moving on to the next project. It feels like procrastination to organize my space when I want to work, but I can't move on until it is done. I wish I knew how you folks who are always tidy and organized, do it.

Redecorating Snippyville - Walking Sticks

Snippyville, my studio, has always woefully  been a ragtag, yet beloved, workspace.  During my 2 month recovery from foot surgery, I spent a bit of time down there trying to figure out how to fix it up.  It is still in flux, but there are a lot of changes in the works.

I have had my father's and grandfather's walking sticks for 25 years.  I also have a couple of my own.  They have never been displayed, though I have always wanted to show them off.  Yesterday, I decided to hang them up.   Something seems to still be lacking, but I like the idea.

Here is my Dad's walking stick.  It was made for him by a friend of the family.  Daddy was an outdoorsman, so the stick is woodburned with funny images of outdoors adventures.

The smallest stick is PaPa's walking stick.  He was a little man of Irish descent.  I always think of his walking stick as a leprechaun's shillelagh.

The last two are mine.  They are both unfinished.  I need to stain the one on the right and the one in the middle on the left needs a little more flouish.

Anyway, this is the first look of my "new" space.