Letting Go and Embracing Creativity

One of  the things i've been trying hard to do lately is to keep up with my social media updates and it's caused some angst this last month or so.  You end up working most of the time, like seven days a week! With an exhibition coming up and all that that entailed and running various businesses full time i made the decision to just let it go and concentrate on only one thing at a time.  I did feel guilt, but sometimes a step backwards is needed and i made the right decision.

My beautiful shop "Indigo Moon" here in Montgomery desperately needed my full attention and we decided to close for a whole week and set about giving it a new look by decorating, moving fittings including new business cards, postcards and signs.  

It was very difficult to dedicate so much time to just one project given my forthcoming exhibition "Nothing but a House" which starts/opens on the 1st August at the "Old Bell Museum" here in Montgomery (Just over two weeks away) so we just threw ourselves into the work in the shop and emails, door knocks went unanswered as we literally battened down the hatches.  After working 24/6 (as we opened the following Saturday) we congratulated our exhausted selves on not only getting it finished in time, but making it look so fabulous.  When we opened on the Saturday it was straight into Montgomery Street Fair day and we'd agreed to have a stall in the square so at 9pm the night before we started to think about that.  Needless to say it all went well but it was now imperative that i set to finishing some projects i'd started for the forthcoming exhibition. 

 I'd had new business cards done at the same time as the shop ones, i used my poetry book zine as the main photo on one side and some details of some other work the other side:

I'm really pleased with how they've turned out and looking forward to putting them out at the exhibition.

So...for all this week i've been locked away in my art studio creating and finishing some projects (I still have a bit to do yet) but here are some glimpses of the finished ones i've been working on; all on the theme of "House and Home":

 I love these small pieces on wood, the aim was to create a background not unlike the faded and peeled wallpaper that you sometimes see in old houses.  Vintage ephemera was used to remind us of the letters/bills etc we all keep in the home.  Gold leaf was used to indicate foundations of gold, alluding to the preciousness of our homes, our sanctuary.

 I made these small paper clay houses (approx 2-3 inches high) each titled "Red House" they are a series of 22.  

Poetry Houses; these are precious tiny buildings made of paper clay.  They are so beautiful, very delicate and were quite difficult to assemble.  I wanted the walls paper thin and this is not a medium i am used to working with.  I love the imperfections in each one.

The chairs are very simple papier mache and i coated the seats in gold leaf and added words from old books.

 The rugs and wallpapers are  fragments of vintage fabrics and ephemera.

I now have just over two weeks to finish the other things and despite being busy i feel content with the way things are.  Letting go of this blog and facebook for just a month has enabled me to look forward to creating and being productive in a very constructive way.  I'm sure you'll forgive me.  It's not something i plan to do often but just every now and then when needed!

"Love yourself first and everything else falls into line..."  

- Lucille Ball