Thoughts in the USA

That's why this blog ceased to be lively and oftenish.

One major reason, probably the main one, is my time being hungrily consumed by being the president of our art association. But - I am finally starting to learn to say "No", or "Not now", or "What a good idea, you are very welcome to do it yourself", teaching myself to delegate, and putting priorities on when to do what. I am getting better at making sure to not fully give up on my life. I mean, hell, it's a volunteer job, I am not getting paid, and I seem to be the only one who can do this job (in the sense that there is nobody else is stupid enough to say "Sure, I'll do it!"). So, even if everyone wants to see everything happen right now, well - tough. Things that were neglected for 3 years can wait a few more months. Nobody's going to die, the world will not come to an end. And I do not fancy a panic attack (and I was pretty close to one of those last week). So there.

Still, there are events to plan (our association has the charming trait of having everything happen at during the last quarter of the year, and then have an arid period...). The issue-packed annual all-member meeting is coming up, the holiday party needs to be planned, and - above all, our annual show is coming up in October! And I don't think I'll manage to paint something for that show. That just sucks! not just a matter of time, but of all my creative juices being drained by the stress. I guess I'll have to revert to a painting I did last year, which does not make me happy at all, but may at least keep me sane. Come to think of it, I haven't really painted even one good watercolor this year (except for those small self-portrait studies, which are really small...). I did much better at collages, but since ours is a watercolor organization, I cannot show it.

There's another annual show at a different art society, that is about art in general, and I have 3 pieces there: my self-portrait collage, the "Global Warming" watercolor, and a real cool photograph. Feels so good to not be restricted to one medium!!

So, I need to get framing (always a stressful situation!).

And, there is also life outside of the art world. We are starting the re-flooring saga!!! And no, not by Expo. Hell no! That experience was enough to embrace S&G with both arms.

So, instead of the impressively ugly and dirty carpet that The JohnnyB has been living with for the past 10 years (only 5.5 years for me, luckily), our living room will be getting a beautiful laminate floor. And, those not-as-bad-yet-still-annoying old fashion tiles will be replaced by laminate in the corridor, and with a truly gorgeous vinyl in the hall bathroom. That vinyl will also adorn my studio, and it looks so much like tiles, we had to check it several times at the store. I love it, it looks a lot like Jerusalem stone, which is what I grew up with (the real thing, that is), and I really, truly can't wait to have it done.

One catch, though: all this makeover means packing half the house and storing it in the other half for about a week...

That means packing my studio!!!

I spent weeks being horrified (to say the least) by the mere thought. But today, in joint forces, The JohnnyB and I packed the big cabinet that holds all my art supplies (and makes any artist who sees it weep with envy - it's the ultimate wet dream for storing art supplies!). Later, while The JohnnyB was enjoying his sacred beauty nap, I continued on my own and packed the books galore that fill the generous shelving unit. So, I am 80% done with the studio, more than a week beforehand, and it wasn't nearly as painful as I imagined!

AND, yesterday, the friendly installng boss from S&G (Chuck? Chad??) dropped baseboards in our garage, for us to paint so they match the color of the wall. How exciting - painting baseboards, Wooohoooo!

And so, between all these, plus the damned heat in the past 2 weeks, I am dead tired, quite stressed up, and not feeling very creative rather than reporting on everything that needs to be done. Which yielded this fascinating, thrilling and spellbinding post.

And how are you?

Labels: This Old House, Venting

# posted by Nava @ 9:42 PM