Too many irons in the fire... or why I need to clone myself.

Sometimes I wish I could clone myself. I need several of "me"to keep up with all the things I want to do. Or more hours in the day. Mostly it would be nice to have an extra me to do the cleaning and cooking so I can pursue the creative stuff that is supposed to be my job now. Anyway, lately I have been dividing my time between keeping the Etsy Shop going and feeding my yarn/knitting/spinning addiction. And as if that was not enough I have decided that I need to dye my own yarn. For those that are curious here's the latest in some of those endeavors...

I am really having fun with these little guys and frankly surprised myself that I have not ditched the project due to its immensity. 

In the spinning department of Olliff Studio I have been improving my consistency and learning the differences in spinning various fibers. Alpaca spins very different than wools and I even tried "spinning in the grease" (spinning un washed wool right of the sheep) and learned how to Navajo ply which is a lot of fun. 

Merino/Tencel I picked up in a lovely little shop in Piedmont

Spun & plied

Alpaca/Silk from a shop in Oakland called A Verb for Keeping Warm

half a hank spun

About 200 yards spun and plied

After I finish spinning the chocolate I am hoping I have enough to make this:

It was meant to be. The pattern is called "Deb"

Dyeing is not as productive as I would like. I finally dove in and did a little but it is intimidating… 

First dyeing attempt (sorry the lighting was bad)

I took all the bits of merino, alpaca and silk in the previous image (minus the skeins) and spun them end-to-end.
Not much yardage but it was fun to see how they spin. 

Oh...and then there is weaving. I have a small table loom that has been in storage for about 30 years. I think I wove a stupid wall hanging on it and then lost interest but I'm really glad I still have it because I suddenly have the urge to use it. More on that later. 

See why I need to look into cloning?

Catching up. Again.

The problem with finding new, fun things to do is that there is never enough time to do them all. I need to look into cloning. So, with the new spinning (and soon weaving, as we found my tabletop loom and it no longer scares me) I am having to balance the creativity in my studio. And then there are the days when I don't want to do any of it or have other stuff that calls to me from 'real life'. 

Getting back to the state flower series that I have been working on for my Etsy shop I am pleased to say that I am up to (still working on) Florida. They are getting to be more fun than I anticipated but I'm still glad I'm forcing myself to go in alpha order so as to not skip over any that I might not ordinarily be compelled to paint. Here are the latest: 

Catching up

I just realized that it has been awhile since I posted here. I've been pretty well occupied with painting and knitting. The painting is going well and new stuff will be up soon I promise. I've been working on several paintings that I started after our Yosemite adventure but they informed me that they needed a nap so instead of ripping them from the boards and binning them I let them have their way and you know…I think they were right! I've also been slowly working on the ACEOs of the state flowers. Going alphabetically I have Alabama, Alaska and Arizona done. I will give you, my loyal followers the first look here. 

In other news I sent off the two prints to Honolulu to be included in the set department of Hawaii Five-O and received word today that they arrived safe and sound. Phew! It's like sending my kids out into the world. 

Today I was pleased to find that my work has been mentioned in a lovely blog called The Watercolor World! Thanks to Tanya at Galeria Surreal for that. 

Insomnia. The good kind.

Last night I could not get to sleep for ages. I was tired but my mind would not shut down for the night. My mind was reeling with a new idea. I hesitate to tell you about it for fear that it will go away in the form of my loss of interest. Yeah, I'm kinda like that. I get a wild hair-brained (or not-so-hair-brained but possibly too lofty) idea and then don't carry it out because I am impetuous like that. But this seems different. 

I've been trying to think of a series that I can do. Something people might want to "collect the whole set" of. I noticed that a lot of Etsy artists sell ACEOs. For those that are unfamiliar that stands for Art Card Editions and Originals. They're a bit like trading cards. The only rule is the size: 2.5"x3.5" and as the name implies they can be one-of-a-kind originals or editions. They seem to be quite popular on Etsy and the beauty is that the buyer can have a piece of art for very little money. My thinking is that it would whet the appetite for larger pieces later.  So… I have been thinking of diving into the ACEO pool and seeing if I can boost my sales and exposure that way. 

I wanted to come up with something that there are a lot of that would also be fun to paint. Last night I hit on it. I was going to hold back until I can show you the actual thing but being the impatient one (and hoping this makes me a little more accountable to my promises) I couldn't wait. So here is a hint—note that this is NOT a painting yet. Merely a draft of the concept with a photo. 

My goal is to also offer the original painting in a larger size (probably 10x14) without the text which I will have to do in Photoshop. And giclée prints in various sizes.

I would love to know what you think.