Working on that website...

How odd, when you look at your old website through new eyes.  It came from a time when my freelance work was my ONLY income, and almost everything I did had to be a way to earn my keep.  Some worked reasonably well, some did not and fell by the wayside (I don't make 18th C. style jewelry any more!)

So as the years passed I added more and more--new books, classes, images, blogs, galleries, links...and it became a huge, confusing mess that had very little to do with where I am now--or who I am now.

The new version will be vastly simpler, and a great deal will just go away.  It no longer applies.  I'll maintain the catalog (which will also be simpler since we don't do CDs any more) and the classes, at least the self-directed ones for the present, but the rest will be cleaner, more focused, and a good deal more personal and less business-oriented.  I'm a good deal older now, and I have less energy to waste.

There will be a focus on whimsy, fantasy, spirituality, creativity, nature...and gratitude.

For I am more than grateful I can turn my focus in those directions...

Shedding those old skins takes time and effort...I hope it will be worth it.  I plan to have fun, while I'm at it.

Change is in the air...

It's in the air...sometimes we have to fall back and regroup, for our peace of mind, our sanity, our soul.  Things that sounded wonderful at the time--or WERE--grow like kudzu and choke the life out of us, or out of a project.

Many of you know that I'm in the process of simplifying and refocusing...I have been, in ways, for years.  I wrote a similar blog post in September of last year, on nurturing creativity: http://cathyjohnsonart.blogspot.com/2014/08/nurturing-creativityor-killing-it.html

Heading in this direction, I no longer take commissions, I no longer paint miniature portraits, I no longer do in-person workshops.  I don't take freelance work for magazines.  The current book will be my last one for an outside publisher.  I've said yes to things that got out of hand, got horribly complex, or weren't what I'd expected.  That will stop.

Yes, even more than it has.  I want to focus on those things that matter most to me.

For the first time in a rather long time, I'm excited about a new class idea...Meaningful Journaling.  (Meaning-full Journaling?)

It may be quite some time before I have time to CREATE it, classes are complex beasts requiring hours of writing, illustration, video, and organization, so please be patient--but I'm aiming in that direction.

And I can't tell you how pleased I am by your initial response!  I'll keep you updated, and clarify more what it will be about, as time goes by.

What it will not be, is a step-by-step, how-to, demo-and-exercise class; I've done that already, in numerous formats.  It will be in-depth, personal, and a sharing of how journaling has changed my life and continues to do so.  I'll include resources and a bibliography of books that support this process--some art-related, some not.  (But as an artist, and knowing how making images can change us in amazing ways, that will be our focus.)


(And yes, this post has been sitting in my draft folder for 6 months, and the idea's been popping around in my brain for much longer...one thing at a time...)

Sorting Out Life, as well...

Happy husband...

This is where we were the other day, and yes, I gave myself permission to stop doing gruntwork and do what I NEEDED to do.  I plan on more of that!

 
So.  Not only are we simplifying our home and possessions, but life and priorities as well.  Life is too short, things of real importance deserve our attention, and yes, it's okay to be happy!

I know, that should be obvious to anyone with an ounce of sense, but we do so often do things because we think we should, we must, someone asked, we've committed, we've agreed, SOMEONE ought to, it needs doing, we're responsible...we're trapped.  Tra la.

LONG after these things have stopped being fulfilling, long after they really, actually needed doing, long after the time when someone else might be able to do them better, and might want to have the chance, we're still plodding along.  Blinders on.

And before long we find our souls occupying a tiny corner of our own lives--all the room that's left to them.  I recently posted a link to a site about things happy people do, and it was shared widely.  This is good.  But when I went to some of the shares I discovered a disturbing number of negative comments by people who resented the idea, who thought anyone who had time must be retired (some of the busiest people I KNOW are retired), who didn't have time to be happy (?!?!)...

It made me sad.

The other day Joseph and I were talking about what I actually WANTED to be doing, right now.  (Aside from being Out There, as above!)  I told him about a silly little project I've been wanting to do, for months...it doesn't pay, it's not "work," I haven't agreed I'd do it, no contracts involved...it's just fun.  But ya know, I don't have time for that.

He said "DO it!  No wonder all the gruntwork is sucking the life out of you right now...you need to be doing something else, and you're not letting yourself!  Do THAT, and then maybe the Work, capital W, won't feel quite so heavy."

And so soon, I promise myself, I'll do just that.  Right after I put in a few more hours on the contracted obligation.



However, ya know, it felt great to write all this down!  That too is something I need to do.

I'm a lousy Pollyanna, really...I'm stuck in a couple of jobs that have had glitches, lately, needing far more work than I have energy for, and pretending everything is great is just too damn exhausting.

Nuts to that. 

I hope you give yourself permission to do what you really want to, as well.

--------------------

Meanwhile, there's a helpful series on the Tiny House Blog you may enjoy, on simplifying! 

http://tinyhouseblog.com/ti…/helpful-tips-downsizing-part-1/

Simplifying is not always simple...

Getting rid of our too-many possessions--things we no longer want or need, clothes that don't fit us or our lifestyle, duplicates, things we've tried out but didn't work for us, things we've outgrown, physically or emotionally, hobbies we no longer enjoy--is a long process, for me.

And no, this tiny set didn't take up much room...but I didn't use or need it. 

Long, but necessary, and freeing.  I feel lighter and less encumbered.

How to go about it can be problematical.  Do I try for "the perfect recipient"?  Someone who needs or would most appreciate what I'm passing along?  (My, that process will slow you down!  It's lovely when we nail it, but it takes a whole lot longer...)

Do I take a box of unused art supplies to school, or our sketchcrawl group, or give them to an artistic friend, or someone with children who enjoy creativity?

(Yes, sometimes all of the above!  I've got a box hatching now for the sketchcrawl artists...)

Sometimes we take a box of miscellaneous things to our family gatherings and hope they'll fill a need; housewares, bedding, tools, clothing.  My youngest godchild looked stunning in a dress that just didn't work for me--too short, too clingy...

Sometimes--frequently!--we take things to a charity resale shop that will even unload the car for us if asked.  It feels good to benefit them while clearing out our space so we can breathe, and so there's room in closets and drawers.  Today, a box of miscellaneous things (we needed 4 thermoses...why?), last week a few books...

A heavy bag of clothes I don't wear went there recently; my closet already feels roomier, and I thought I had DONE this not long ago... 

I hate shopping, so buy online most often...and if I'm paying attention, return things that don't work in a timely manner!  Guess I didn't need those after all...

Then there's the jewelry I've made when I was in my  polymer clay phase...I've sold some, given away some, some is in my Etsy store, and I still have three big glass-topped display cases from when a shop in town carried my work...they closed a couple of years ago...

Pottery supplies...I no longer have access to a kiln, so Joseph took those to the basement for me.  I haven't quite given up on that one!  Pottery is practical alchemy, and I love it.

But then there's the table loom in the attic...a friend wanted it but we haven't made connections.  In two years...

Fabric I'll never sew...happily much of that is perfect for my beloved niece Jenny Hearn, who supplements her income by sewing for RenFaires and such, so off more of it goes as we dig through our attic stash...

Books I've read but won't read again, books on hobbies I no longer have time (or interest) for...and oh dear, books I MEANT to read, but didn't.  (Books are hardest for me...Amazon resale, sometimes, giveaway sometimes, but oh dear Lord so many, MANY more...)

Sometimes I sketch those things I've had trouble letting go of--so I still have them in my journal but I don't need them taking up room in my home--OR in my head.

I still have two of these--I love the M-86 from Hero and the little Noodler's pens, but the middle one has gone to a new home...along with a lot of my other fountain pens...

I am keeping those things I use frequently--ink pens that work, that glide, that make marks I like.  The others go.

Watercolor palettes that I use and depend on, and that are light enough to travel.  (At this age, I consider carefully the weight of my tools and equipment, often weighing them on the postal scale before packing for a trip.)

Paint colors I love and that do what I want them to--I'm not tempted by the latest triad, the tricksy new color, the faddish, interference colors and all.

Brushes that feel good in the hand and make the kind of marks my soul needs--like dancing.

Clothes that fit and flatter and suit my elusive and somewhat quirky "style."  COMFORT is essential, at my age, but I don't care to look like the iconic Walmart shopper (not that I even own a pair of pajama-bottoms...)  I don't care what's in, or proper, or "right for my age"...if I like it and it's comfortable, it stays.  If not...out.

Shoes that don't hurt, feel good, and offer just a bit of support--those definitely earn a place in my closet.  I just recently found some wonderful Japanese sandals that I've just lived in this summer...so more of the others go in the giveaway box!

Kitchen gadgets I actually USE get to stay; kitchen gadgets as "decor" are edging out the door.  I have an eclectic collection of old knives that are definitely part of my life as sometime cook.  They work, they hold an edge, they feel good in the hand.  Others?  Long gone.

And of course I need to "have an accord" with my husband; when I'm seriously into giveaway mode, nothing is safe!  He recently took a little camera back out of the box...ooops...

And yes, sometimes I list on eBay--look for Katestreasures or click the link.  Vintage ink pens, a big watercolor box I haven't used in an age, reenacting gear I no longer use...

And of course the books and CDs we publish via our small company, Graphics/Fine Arts Press, like this one...but then that's a whole different kettle of codfish.  We don't want to run out of those!

But oh my, listing/selling is a pain in the patoot!  Shooting photos, writing descriptions, packing things up, shipping...happily I am seeing that light at the end of THAT particular tunnel!  (Or so I tell myself...)

We haven't tried Craigslist, but sometimes Freecycle is a good option--list it and they come and take it away!

Except...when they don't show up.

How do I decide what goes and what stays?  Sometimes it's easy.  Sometimes the recycle bins are full to overflowing.  Some things I wonder why I kept them at ALL.  Sometimes I put things in the giveaway box, and take them back out, and put them back in, and...

But as a general rule, I keep things that are needful, useful, or that feed my soul.  

So Discardia remains satisfying and feels like progress, however glacial...and Andy Couturier's wonderful A Different Kind of Luxury continues to inspire me. I have lived with a whole lot less...and I am aiming for that fresh, open place again.