« Dieting Nakedly (And Speaking of Naked...) | Main | Good Morning Class »
January 13, 2007
Who Are You and What Have You Done With My Crankiness?
In a big step away from the norm, I actually got things done today. I decided that because I spent yesterday doing research when I meant to be taking the time off, I should spend the day playing and being creative. I hadn't done that in an artsy way for a bit, and I figured I needed the break. Tomorrow and Monday I'll work on work again. But today was for playing.
Normally, I get up, I eat breakfast and stare at my computer and when I look up again, it's 4pm and I've done nothing. But today, I poked around Swap-bot. I've been wanting to do some more ATCs, but I haven't wanted to sign up for any more swaps because I don't think I'll have time to build stuff. Some of the themes are awesome, and I'm dying to just leap right in, but I don't dare because my classes have to be the priority. Well, those and the shows I've been cast in and the fake depositions I've agreed to do for a class at the Law School and the monologue I've agreed to learn and work on for a former classmate's directing class. So ATCs, at the back of the line, please.
But I wanted to do art today. I was itching to do art, so I scrolled through the list of open ATC swaps right now, drooling over the possibilities, and suddenly saw a swap I had to participate in. Had to. The theme is "Other Than Paper," which means that you need to make your cards out of anything else. And I knew what I wanted to do. The material lists popped into my head right then. So I signed up for the swap and set to work.
I can't post pix of the cards yet because they're not done. All of them are drying and need trimming or finishing. But I can tell you what I did. Two of them (one will go to each of my partners) are old cd-roms. I found two I don't use anymore (one was an awful junk mail cd) and cut them to ATC size. (Scissors are best for this, it turns out. Box knives take FOREVER and the cd's break with a jigsaw. But if you're patient and strip away a little at a time, scissors work beautifully.)
The other two are actually part of a series of eight I made from fiberlace. Fiberlace is gorgeous stuff. You take a piece of watersoluble stabilizer, spritz it lightly with quilt basting spray and trail fibers and ribbons and yarns around on it. Then you put another piece of stabilizer over the top and sew the two together in a grid. When you're done, dissolve the stabilizer in water, rinse the fiberlace gently and air dry. The results are breathtaking.
It's best to use the UltraSulky stabilizer, I've discovered, as anything lighter doesn't hold the fibers still enough while you're sewing the grid. I learned this the hard way. And the resulting mess was what I used for the ATCs I made today. I just finished the grid and added ribbon trim in the right sizes. The fiberlace ATCs look so cool. I've made enough that I can send some to people I feel I owe (Karma, Maaike), so once they're dry, be looking for yours in the mail.
Anyway, that took most of the day, when I wasn't doing laundry, and then I cleaned the sink. I'm not sure what prompted this busy-ness. I wish I had this kind of go-getter energy more often. Maybe then I'd get more done.
I told Dave this evening that I think it has something to do with loneliness. I get my most depressed and lumpish when I don't see other people. Because while school's in session, or when I'm in a show, I have all kinds of energy and find stuff to do. But when I've finished the show or in-between semesters (or when I don't have a job), I sit on the couch and hate life. I guess Rule #2 to avoid depression is Don't Spend Too Much Time Alone (Rule #1 is Get Regular Exercise.)
Posted by sally at January 13, 2007 11:24 PM
©2006 - All content copyright Sally Eames-Harlan unless otherwise noted