However, along with Spring comes the rebirth of the landscape and a sense of renewal all over. Rebirth is always such a theme in creative work it seems. This year it takes on new meaning for me in my little world.
Last month I hit the wall in some respects creatively. That wall, which is always quite close, is the very inflexible 24 hours in a day rule that someone long ago made up as the rule . . . and boy has it stuck!
24 hours a day.
I've fought it my whole life. Going so far as to try, at 19, to restructure my own definition of the week to consist of six 28 hour days and sleeping only 6 times a week. However, that schedule, as you might imagine, has it's problems. Most rooted into the fact that you are the only person living on such a schedule and, three times a week, you are "mid-day" when the world is sleeping. That was fine for me as a devoted night owl at the time. . . but not so good for others in the house. lol
Anyway, more on that experiment another time. I gave in after a few weeks and have been on the old 24 hour system since.
Last month I found myself overbooked on custom work and turning into a real grumblepuss some nights when I found I had no time left to just make what I most desired which is, after all, why I create in the first place. But it is a balance I know. I just let it get all out of whack after the holidays and I do so have trouble saying no to my wonderful customers who return again and again.
So, I set the goal in mid March. Get through all of the custom pieces on the schedule by the first week in April and then, once there, stop booking my weeks full of custom work and start spacing them out. My main concern was that people would not be willing to wait 6 to 8 weeks or longer for a piece but that turns out to not be true. I am, as of now, into June with requests and still no one balks at the wait.
The best part is that this week I finally have been able to begin again in just making whatever my heart desires. It seems like it has been ens since I could just daydream and play. . . and while it has only, in reality, been a handful of weeks, I am glad to be "home" again. I think it is SO very important to feed that muse inside and to allow it to drift and wander wherever it may. Otherwise even the most wonderful of creative work can seem less shiny and fun. And that is no way to go. :)
That said, I wanted to share a peek at what Spring has conjured in my world.
As you know i have several forms of expression and styles that are dear to my heart. Egyptian antiquity, model railroad miniatures, spiritual statues and visual art to name a few. . . . but fantasy creatures and fairy worlds are the nearest and dearest of all so it is no surprise that I have found myself lost in places and faces like these below.
It has been nearly impossible to keep fairy houses in stock so I set out to create something a little more 'expandable". A world of their own. What I cam up with are these "Fairy Houses of Mossy Lane". The houses will be sold individually of course but I could not resist starting on a "set" to shoot them on. The base with it's cobblestone road is just begun really. I'll be adding flowers, benches, and, if all goes well, even tiny little HO scale fairies with handmade wings. I am tickled with the results so far!
And creatures. . . Spring seems to regularly manifest ideas in this realm too! I listed the first of these guys the other day, inspired by a tiny detail in one of Arthur Rackham's wonderful fairy tale illustrations. Another going in today and, it seems, two more have sprouted (they grow out from under the caps) this morning!
And for me, the story is the thing! So the midnight oil is being burned with a lot of writing and creating the backstory of these creatures and place.
The only issue is now that my to do list of what I want to make is as backed up as my custom list was last month! No rest for the wizards . . . and still just 24 hours in a day!
Enjoy the week dear friends. . .
nicolas
So busy! I love your new pieces! They are precious! Nicolas, you are so talented! Your heart and soul goes into everything you create! ;o)
ReplyDeleteThank you! Yes, so busy it took me this long to get back and reply! lol I am blessed to know creative souls such as yours that, even across the miles, inspire whenever I drop by for a peek! :)
DeleteI too have a hard time with the 24 hour clock. Having a school aged son certainly keeps me mostly in the real world... mostly... but I still work until after 3am a couple of nights a week, entranced by the process of making. I love your new cottages! They are darling! The colours remind me of those sweet colouful houses found in Nova Scotia. Xoxo
ReplyDeleteHi Nichola! Late night was always my favorite time. When younger and out in the working world I, of course, had to burn that late night oil to get anything done. Now, though I work on creative making all day, every day, I still find that there are just certain elements that only come out when the rest of the world is asleep. . . so I try to use the days as "work mode" doing the less wildly creative tasks of photographing, listing, emailing, packaging etc etc and I save the nights for the most creative and secretive of new ideas! lol Things to me just feel safer in the wee-night and more possible, creatively speaking. . . .
DeleteP.S. You little windows are perfection!
ReplyDelete