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Back Home Again
And just like that, I moved my office back home again. I know what you are thinking. You saw this coming a mile away…
It was an incredibly difficult decision that I went back and forth over for MONTHS. I hemmed and hawed every day. Some days I loved the separation of home and work and the blessed peace and quiet of the office, other days I missed my bright sunny room, the proximity to all my many boxes of craft supplies in Diagon Alley, all my happy sunny photoshoot spots, my plants, my animals…my family. I wish I could just keep both but then the expense. I can’t stand spending money on something I’m not using every day.
So I packed everything up in my car and two loads later everything was back at home.
It seems overwhelming, right? Not to me. Clutter like this is a joy to me. I LOVE organizing a new space. I see this as a challenge that I can conquer in a day. Bring it on! I sing. I know I should hire myself out to do this for others but nobody ever wants to really hire me. Plus there is a lot of psychology that has to go into sorting and when it comes to someone else it’s almost like doing hours and hours of therapy. I know this because I’ve spent my entire life doing this with my mom. My stuff: no sweat! Other people’s stuff… well, it depends on how attached you are. If you are ready to be ruthless then I am your girl. Call me.
It took some time but bit by bit I found a place for everything and everything found its place. Lots of envelopes got donated and my new toaster and printer found new homes.
I have to say I’m really happy with the new space. I’ve figured myself out: I just need change. Every six months I need to rearrange or up and move, get a new hobby or try a new work-out. I just crave change. It envigorates me and helps me feel like I’m making progress. I can’t stand feeling stuck. I’m sure there’s a lot more to unpack there mentally but for now I’m sticking with actual physical unpacking.
Besides the hot weather of this room (that is very sunny, bright, and unbearably hot in the summer) one of the things I was trying to escape when I moved to an outside office was how my homelife edged into my professional life. That is still going to be my biggest challenge. When I’m home I like to tinker. I like to clean, I like to garden and I like to make things. I love having a sewing room next to my office and a painting studio in between. I can slide my rolly chair from one project to the other with ease. It’s super fun but it’s also not so great for focusing on work projects. I can spend my whole day organizing the kitchen, baking bread, driving the kids around, and never touch a drop of work if I’m not careful.
My plants missed me. My garden has been terribly neglected, my kitchen too. The dogs are super happy to have a playmate back home again. I can get more walks in… it’s just going to be nice but also difficult.
We’ll just have to see. I did talk to the office manager and they will welcome me back anytime. We’ll see if I can make it till summer.
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cluttercore, balloon antics and punk style
Every inch of my office is filled with knick knacks, art supplies and miscellaneous detritus from about fifty projects I have going on. And all of those projects are personal projects and not even paying gigs! I don’t know why but I am the clutter queen lately.
I recently stumbled upon the hashtag: “cluttercore” (type it into your instagram search bar and see what happens) and nothing has made me feel more pigeon-holed than that term. Clutter is oozing out of me in every way right now. It’s in my art, it’s in my home-decorating, it’s in my closet …I think it might be a defense mechanism against the crazy world I’m getting old in.
I don’t love it. It’s just how things are right now.
I’ve been making recycled postcards for months now. Have I blogged all the postcards I make? I don’t think I have but they are all over the place (half mailed, half on my desk, some framed…) so I don’t see a collective blog post happening anytime soon.
I like to take recycled bits and make art out of them. My latest craze is painting chip board black and then doodling all over it. I’ve also been painting funny hat ladies and gluing bits of fruit mesh bag on the hats to look like veils… I’m not posting any yet (although there is a peek of one above) because I think they are crap. But I think I will get some good ones soon.
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In other news, Bug and I took a long walk (off a short dock) to take some pictures for her instagram feed.
Bug had this idea that we’d buy some mylar balloons to say “1K” and pose with them for her 1000th instagram photo. Not 1000 followers but her 1000th post. I thought that was cool and since I’m always up for a photoshoot, I was happy to oblige. Not to mention I could use the steps. So we walked and we walked and we walked all over the nearby bird sanctuary and I think I took about 1000 photos. Not really, I took 300-something but it felt like 1000.
So many photos!!! You know what’s hard to do in the afternoon when the wind kicks up? Get two balloons to face the right way.
Those balloons were our nemesis. They went every which way but the right way. It’s too bad we weren’t trying to post something about “K1” because that was a winner.
Of course we got our shot (you’ll have to check her feed to see them) but we also got a lot of shots like this. Balloons have a personalities of their own and they are jerks.
And speaking of personality, Bug never disappoints.
She’s going through a self-described punk stage. I’m down for it. She wears eyeliner and fishnets and underwear over her clothes. Payam and her dad hate it, naturally. But I think it’s cool. I’m also picking up a lot of new musical interests because of her. Kids are awesome at that. She makes me playlists and fixes my phone when I forget how it works. So yeah… that’s my news lately.
