Thank you Claudia!

Look at the gorgeous book bag I received in the mail today from Claudia (Chest of Drawers - I would put a link here if I knew how!) How wonderful to bring in the mail and find such a treasure among the bills! Thank you Claudia!

I have a lot of crafty friends who sew themselves unique clothes and bags, who cut up vintage ties and sweaters and shape them into new and wonderful creation, all with just imagination and thread -- and I wish I could do it! My grandmother was a master seamstress and quilter but I never learned a thing from her and now I never will. I wish I could turn back time and share this with her! But alas, I'm helpless with a needle and thread. Some day I will learn to sew. I'm going to wait, though, and stay focused on the handful of things I do now: write, draw, collage, paint. I let myself try new things as a treat: at Christmas I went on a doll-making binge, but I got it out of my system and went right back to my "regularly scheduled programming," and enjoyed my work all the more for having had a fun break.

A lot of creative folk I know have a hard time settling on one or even a few activities. We're bursting with ideas, multi-talented, interested in everything! And we MUST play, we must feed our hungry thirsty minds, but we also have to have a degree of discipline if we're going to excel in any one - or two, or three - things. Maybe we need to draw concentric circles around ourselves? The inner circle is our main love, and the outward-radiating circles are spheres of play we can venture into when we need a breath of fresh ideas? Like opening a window in our head to let in air and light!

I'm nearly finished with my current project -- my Laini's Ladies holiday '06 line, and it has been a delight and this weekend I will be able to make some check marks on some lists and move on to the next thing!

It has struck me since I started writing this blog that I don't do much but WORK - I knew that, but it's so obvious now that I have no adventures to write about except being able to make check marks on my lists. Oy! All the more reason to be so excited for the mini-romantic-getaway Jim planned for a belated Valentine's: he's taking me to Ashland to see a play and stay in a B&B! (Ashland is a beautiful little town near the Oregon/California border that's known for its Shakespeare festival and we've been meaning to plan a trip there for the five years we've been living in Oregon and this will be the first time. Can't wait!)

Speaking of little adventures, I've been seeing lots of references in different blogs to "artist dates." Can someone tell me the gist of this? Are there rules? Suggestions? What's the origin of this wonderful idea? Is it an Artist's Way thing? I want to plan some for myself and would love to hear more about it. Thanks!