Studio, Day Two: Too Cold To.......

...get anything in the studio to DRY yesterday! I am not joking; I have never had this happen since I built the studio on.

I started out with great plans and excitement and slapped down the gel medium beneath the paper hearts, as shown in the above and below photos. I like some depth on the pieces---I go back in, color the edges, things pop and it looks great. Simple technique, a bit time consuming to dry but usually in an hour or so, it is far enough along that I can work on other parts of the piece.

The caveat of that is...of course...that the gel medium is DRY or on the way to DRYING. Yes, it was cool in the studio, and I went in the house to attend to a few things, but when I came back out, the paper was cold and the medium wet. As in, really cold and really wet. And the studio did not seem as warm either. So I checked the furnace and it was okay and I wandered through the back of the basement, looking for an enclosed oil heater to plug in down in the wet studio to start getting heat there and hoping it would rise.

Alas, this was the work of the day. The wind picked up before noon, and since my one studio wall is on the west, where it was taking a full hit of frigidity, the temp dropping was again a problem. Not only for the drying (and I use that word loosely!) papers but for ME too. Body parts were being most uncooperative. Not being able to feel scissors is bad.....especially on precision cuts! LOL!!!

So at the end of the day (or as you will, this morning) I had squat to show for my good intentions other than a warmer studio---the oil heaters take a while to start getting heat going---and a nice, colorful, visually pleasing mess on the table.

Which is where I was yesterday.

At this same time.

And yes, I will try it again today, hoping that it will be warm enough to work out here. I don't even want to think about what the electric bill will be......that would definitely take me out of my *heart-y* mood and produce something much more ominous.  >:-)

If nothing else, it was fun taking some photos of the colorful bits and pieces, and maybe that was what I was suppose to be creative with instead. Sigh.....

I hope the inspiration has not frozen or been blown away during the arctic blast yesterday. And I can honestly say this is the first time in my life I am glad I cannot drive because it is too stinking cold to be out!!!

I don't know....maybe I should just crop some of the photos and print some cards and say it's done.

Frustrating.....utterly frustrating.

Well, I'm off to the tables again, after a trip to the wet studio to gather more supplies; collage medium, glitter, pens, paint.....pretty soon it will all be upstairs and then I will have to sew, and back it will go again. That is why, on days like this, I am ready to let the sewing go out of my life......

I wish you all a LOT of warmth today, to make your creativity flow and not freeze up in a big lump or require retreating to your big comfy chair with a hot cuppa and an afghan. (though that does sound GOOD!!!)

Pax.