Friday, March 27, 2009

A Balancing Act

I wear a few hats. I homeschool, work a part-time job from home, create jewelry and run my Etsy shop and am currently doing research regarding Fair Trade businesses. But its time to cross a bridge. I need to cut something out OR get very serious about organizing my time because I am at capacity. I have always believed in living a balanced life and I need to start walking the talk.

Do you ever feel this way?

One thing I have decided to do is focus my creativity in regard to art/jewelry by creating "lines" of work. I have spent a lot of time experimenting with polymer over the last year and a half but I think its time to be directed about what I am doing. Part of my college experience as a craft major was about balancing the mix of assembly line pieces and one-offs...I need to get back on that bike, no matter how wobbly I may be at first.

Here we have the early stages of a line...one pair of earrings is finished ,others are in various stages. Stones/beads to be included are also shown.


I am also working on a secondary line that would be warmer, earthier...as seen with these petite drop earrings entitled "Flax".


I'd love to hear the thought of other artists on this...I suspect I might not be alone in my longing for healthy balance!

3 comments:

  1. The balance battle. I fight it as well, but at least my children leave for the day and go to school. I admire you greatly for that additional commitment that you've made.

    Your new line, and focus is stunning. I think for many artists doing more production-oriented work is key. It allows you to do the photography and write-up on a piece just once. You can then spend more time and energy on making the actual pieces. This is one of my dilemmas.

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  2. At present the only thing in balance is the ratio of periods of manic motivation to sheer immobility. In creative endeavors I find it particularly challenging to find the right balance. My creativity tends to come in unexpected waves, I'm either writing and not painting, designing jewelry or designing and thinking about what to write next-all the while homeschooling and running our home.

    Thought provoking post-I'm interested to see what comes of your efforts to sustain balance.

    PS. I'd like to reserve a pair of the Flax earrings. ;)

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  3. Perhaps the balance in one-offs and production lines is in the quantity of mass produced pieces - so experiment with a design, then make five of it. Then move onto something different and make five of those. You're neither constantly producing unique pieces, nor will there be two ladies at a party wearing identical earrings!

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