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aearwen2My mom, rest her soul, thought up the concept of "corking". Her explanation for it: "a wine cork serves a useful purpose just by doing nothing but sitting there." That's what I've been doing a lot lately - and I'm trying to become a little more actively useful.
I've rediscovered my love of beading, thanks to a gift necklace given to my daughter for which she wanted matching earrings and a set of old (as in heirloom) earrings for which she wanted a necklace made to match. So... I now have two bracelets and a string of what I call "happy beads" (very shiny & sparkly, and all different colors) to my own name.
I also have some ideas for some bas relief pieces that I'd like to do, and Hubby presented me with two pieces of scrap wood on which to practice. My dad had an old Dremel that I'll use along with a chisel, as soon as I have the design penciled onto the wood.
Add to that the need - and finally the ambition - to start arranging music for the Theosophical Temple in Halcyon that was requested of me a while back. The Guardian handed me this sheaf of hand-wrought music & invited me to modify it for the little choir. After a telephone call this week to make certain how much latitude I had in messing with it (after all, if it was someone's sacred cow, I'd better preserve as much of it as possible, yes?) only to be told "nobody's heard this stuff for ages - call it 'creative license'," I'm about 3/4s done with the new arrangement of the first piece. With luck, the choir will start rehearsing it later this afternoon.
And finally, I'm slowly getting back into the habit of doing light housekeeping, a little every day. I'm certain our horrible dust problem will ease when we have new carpeting, so I'm also chipping away at going through books & stuff that has accumulated over the last 20-some-odd years and throwing everything away that really has no intrinsic or sentimental value whatsoever. I'm no longer keeping stuff just because Mom gave it to me, you see. And so my house is starting to reflect my changing attitude.
Corking is OK, when it's all one has the energy for.
I'm glad I'm finally moving on to something else.
I've rediscovered my love of beading, thanks to a gift necklace given to my daughter for which she wanted matching earrings and a set of old (as in heirloom) earrings for which she wanted a necklace made to match. So... I now have two bracelets and a string of what I call "happy beads" (very shiny & sparkly, and all different colors) to my own name.
I also have some ideas for some bas relief pieces that I'd like to do, and Hubby presented me with two pieces of scrap wood on which to practice. My dad had an old Dremel that I'll use along with a chisel, as soon as I have the design penciled onto the wood.
Add to that the need - and finally the ambition - to start arranging music for the Theosophical Temple in Halcyon that was requested of me a while back. The Guardian handed me this sheaf of hand-wrought music & invited me to modify it for the little choir. After a telephone call this week to make certain how much latitude I had in messing with it (after all, if it was someone's sacred cow, I'd better preserve as much of it as possible, yes?) only to be told "nobody's heard this stuff for ages - call it 'creative license'," I'm about 3/4s done with the new arrangement of the first piece. With luck, the choir will start rehearsing it later this afternoon.
And finally, I'm slowly getting back into the habit of doing light housekeeping, a little every day. I'm certain our horrible dust problem will ease when we have new carpeting, so I'm also chipping away at going through books & stuff that has accumulated over the last 20-some-odd years and throwing everything away that really has no intrinsic or sentimental value whatsoever. I'm no longer keeping stuff just because Mom gave it to me, you see. And so my house is starting to reflect my changing attitude.
Corking is OK, when it's all one has the energy for.
I'm glad I'm finally moving on to something else.
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Corking
Date: 2010-08-29 06:10 pm (UTC)Good for you! It takes courage to change a way of living, and my mom currently does what you are in the process of doing.
Although, with her, she wants to ger rid of EVERYTHING! LOL This includes dad's items and my many books, etc. None of which I am ready to get rid of (the books that is), and a few years ago I had gotten rid of many. Though I am probably better for it, I do remember I had them and now miss them terribly.
So a word of advice, really really think about what books you want to get rid of. Don't get rid of them "just because", you'll find as I did that there may be a day when you're looking for the very book you got rid of, because you want to revisit it, or get information from it that may pertain to something or other that you are interested in.
I am sure you probably already know this, but thought I'd put my two cents in. :D
I've never done beading or bas relief, so I am intriqued as to your creative processes. It seems that you are very "hands-on". :) Do you do other things too? Like crocheting or knitting, or painting, etc? I am curious, can you tell?
Hugs and Love,
Vanime
Re: Corking
Date: 2010-08-29 11:52 pm (UTC)Yeah. Hands-on is me.
I really need to get another beading loom too one of these days, because I love to do that kind of beadwork as well. I've made leather pouches/bags and decorated them Indian-style with beadwork before. I got into stringing beads by making Buddhist prayer beads for my kids and others who asked for them - then made bracelets and some necklaces. I'm still learning some of the finer points of that art, as well as some of the advances in clasps (like magnetic ones, which are fantastic to work with!)
The bas relief is something I've never tried before, so this should prove interesting. I've some ideas, but time will tell whether I have enough creativity to pull it off. If so, there are a few pieces for my bedroom I've been brewing on for a while: bits of art deco dingbats with tengwar.
What else do I do? Well... I'm a musician first and foremost - a pianist (altho' I've learned quite a few other instruments to one level of ability or another from crass beginner to performer.) I'm the piano half of a piano/organ duet team and have lots of fun with my co-conspirator once a week. I mentioned the program I was part of in one of my posts just a while back, AAMOF. Of late, I'm also the musical director for a small choir and an amateur community group for whom I have become the accompanist and musical arranger. Now that my latest arrangement project for them is finished, I will be working on putting together an a cappella madrigal group from that same community - IF I can find a willing bass/baritone who'd be interested, that is. Know anybody? :-D
In hand crafts, however, I've never been shy at trying something new.
I've done sewing back in the dark ages when I was a kid. Made myself some of my clothes when it was still cost-effective to do so. I made myself a pair of moccassins once, and a kimono - and even a meditation cushion (and sewed THAT one by hand, because my machine was busted!)
I also do origami and, for a number of years, used to teach simple origami projects during a Japanese cultural festival at the Buddhist temple. My grandmother taught me to embroider and crochet, although I never really did anything with that knowledge.
I know. TMI. Sorry about that - you asked...
Re: Corking
Date: 2010-08-31 12:25 am (UTC)You MADE a kimono??? Wow, that had to be hard to do! I have a "couple" kimonos, a haori and a michiyuki. All vintage. :D LOVE the japanese stuff. Samurai films and all. :D Just a sucker for a good old Akira Kurosawa film. :P
I currently do cross stitch and crochet. Learning to knit (the darn tension is NOT working), and want desparately to do crewel embroidery. (There are some seriously beautiful kits out there that are calling to me...sort of like Frodo at the ford)
You are a diverse person, and that is a joy to know. That diverseness carries over to your writings; the different viewpoints that you are able to employ. It gives me a greater appreciation for the writing skills that you posess, AND really cements your greatness as a writer in my eyes that you were able to convince me to read Along Came a Spider - which I read in full! GREAT story, btw, if I haven't told you yet. :D
Hugs and Love,
Vanime