Early Morning, Bright Photo!

I tried to pick one of the brightest pics I had for this morning; I had a late night after having the opportunity to chat with a friend I've not been able to really talk with in ages. We bemoaned the lack of time for exquisite gourmet cooking (yes, I used to do that, and quite well too!), the quality of raw food available and how a whole generation of people have never eaten *real*, farm grown, fresh food stuffs. It reminded me of how much I used to grow and how we basically spent Summer having the garden provide almost all our meals. How I miss those wonderful harvests and the incredible flavors of produce straight from the ground!
This evening DH and I are off to meet friends in Wabash for a bit--we've been trying to hook up for the longest time and with everyone's schedules tonight happened to work. Yipee!
I keep asking myself when life became so hectic, and bit by bit, I am paring down. I want quality time--studio time--time with friends and time for more work with my church.
Sometimes it is easy to be swept away by the moment and become involved in far too much. Harder still is the ability to step back and let it go. With some sage advice from good artist friends of mine, I have taken that first step and while it feels a bit odd, it is also like a weight has been lifted off me. Yes, there is still work for finishing up some loose ends, but after that's done, I will have more of my own responsibilities back and less of those belonging to others.
Saying no can be good, but let me tell you, it's hard.
Studio time is worth it though; health is worth it, peace of mind is worth it.
Now to start some serious thinking on a fiber class I will be teaching in the Fall, incorporating the elements of the outdoors into personal work. That's exciting!
And yes, I am still working on the fiber piece I had posted here earlier---the hands just have not been too cooperative. Check back in soon for some fiber art content!
In the meantime, here's hoping you have a bright and productive day, filled with beauty and creativity!

Artsy Activities (or how I spent yesterday other than laundry....)

Above you find another box canvas I am working on, and some of the pieces I intend to add. I took the plunge and printed out a transparency to try and incorporate into the design---I can see it so firmly in my head and want sooooo bad to just jump in (or waddle, as the case may be) and finish it! But it is stewing while the fiber piece from yesterday is still stewing.
We stew a lot here. ;-)
At any rate, all these diverse pieces speak to me, and there will be more added no doubt, but this is a preview of what is going on in the studio at Casa Lockard.
And, another fun thing that happened yesterday was my friend Val came over (have posted her art here before) and I walked her through doing a blog, so if all y'all would be kind enough, go to the link in the sidebar for Community Artists Co-Op and take a peek. I think between the two of us, we did a nice job! Yes, the background is the same as my blog, but for the moment, it stays because I tried finding some free and EASY TO INSTALL backgrounds, and we about crashed everything........don't ask....... The one I use is a simple copy the code and stuff it into an HTML box in the *add a gadget* section and that's all I can handle. Period. Geek, I am not and I wish I was.
So anyway, at the end of the day, we had pretty much artted ourselves out, between discussing and sharing fiber, critiquing the above piece and of course our large venture, the blog.
Val will pick it up fast----it's just taking time to tinker with all the stuff and learn.
And it's fun to share what you know with someone so they can create on their own.
It's pretty cool being an artist, no matter what your medium, isn't it?
Have a good one and go make art!