Decluttering Creativity Challenge!

I have too much stuff. Much of this stuff is in the form of things I want to make other things out of at some point in the future … either artwork or repurposing into something useful. While recycling and reusing the old to create the new is indeed a noble pursuit, it still leaves me with way the hell too much stuff, mostly owing to my lack of time and energy to make and repurpose as quickly as I would have to in order to NOT have so much stuff on hand. In other words, I collect stuff faster than I use stuff.

Something has to done about all this stuff. Luckily, I have a packrat gene and not a hoarder gene, so getting rid of stuff is generally not a problem, aside from finding the time and energy to get that done. The last couple years, i’ve been really good at getting rid of stuff (or using it) in a timely manner, but … sometimes the stuff just really starts to stack up, and then it feels like an overwhelming task to get rid of anything or even to start getting rid of anything. Have you ever sat back in your chair and looked at a huge project and just stalled on starting in on it because OMG, where to begin? I think we all have at least once in our lives!

All the same, I need to get started getting rid of stuff, and the easiest way to do that is to start in on what I call my arts and crafts junk … the ever growing pile that resides in my current arts and crafts workspace (aka the kitchen). It didn’t start out as a huge pile. Just two smallish boxes of art supplies and interesting things. I bought a large plastic storage box a while back, organized the lot of it in there, and vowed to keep the pile down to only what would fit in said storage box. Naturally, I totally failed at this. It is now a pile of boxes, bags, and miscellaneous bric-a-brac. It’s all really interesting stuff, I assure you! Things that gave me ideas or put thoughts in my head of some sort, but it really hasn’t been sorted or judged worthy or unworthy, and since I’ve mostly been doing paintings and drawings for the last year or so, none of it has been getting used either.

Since that pile seemed like a good place to start getting rid of stuff (and a quick way too), yesterday, I dug into it, fully intending to get rid of lots of stuff. I sent half a trash bin of stuff on its way out of my life, and then, I started finding really interesting stuff and got overwhelmed, tired, and cranky. I made myself a cup of coffee, walked away from the mess I’d made in the kitchen, and began contemplating my situation on the Tree of Woe (with a soundtrack of my ever helpful cats rustling through and gnawing on the stuff tossed and stacked around the kitchen). That’s when it came to me: I need to find a way to facilitate getting rid of this interesting stuff in a way that is fun and creative rather than annoying and tiring!

Therefore, I have devised a challenge for myself, and I’ve decided on some rules. You know I love rules!

1. One small box or bag … or collection of loose objects that would fill one small box or bag … to be selected each Sunday.

2. Within the next seven day period, all objects in each collection, box, or bag, must be repurposed into something useful, used to create something artful, placed in a box for donation, or tossed in the trash or recycling bin.

3. If, at the end of the seven day period, the prior rule has not been accomplished, all items must then be placed into the appropriate outgoing receptacle (trash, recycling, donation).

4. One unused item each week can be carried over to the next week’s collection, but no item can be carried over a second week without being used. At the end of its second week in a collection, the item must be placed in the appropriate outgoing receptacle if not used.

5. a) If all items in a collection are used before the seven day period has expired, the remaining time may either be “waited out” or the next week’s collection can be selected/begun early with the extra time added to its seven day period. b) If all items in a collection are recycled/donated/trashed before the seven day period has expired, the next collection must be selected immediately with the extra time added to that collection’s work period (maximum 14 days). c) If items in a collection have been both used and recycled/donated/trashed before the seven day period has expired, any leftover time must be waited out.

6. Purchased art/craft supplies (glue, paint, tools, etc.) have a permanent pass from forced donation/recycling/trashing (though such will be allowed if desired), but they MUST be placed in their proper storage location. If no such proper storage location currently exists, one must be created.

7. Each week’s collection will be photographed and posted on my blog no later than Monday noon. Update photos during the week are at my discretion. A final photo of any objects repurposed or created during the seven day period and objects which will be removed from the household, as well as the item to be carried over to the next week (if any), will also be posted no later than Monday noon.

8. Whining, wailing, and the gnashing of teeth is both allowed and expected. Breaking the rules is not.

And there you have the rules of the game! I’ll be starting my personal decluttering creativity challenge this Sunday, so stay tuned for those mandated blog posts!

Footnotes
  1. To be fair, the majority of the boxes in the Box Room are also arts and crafts junk, but one pile at a time, right? The Box Room will be next, right after the pile in the living room. []

Spring Anticipation

I am finally ready to declare this work done and finished! It’s been worse than pulling teeth to get the last bit if work done on this one, and there’s been a crisis or two along the way, but now that’s all behind me. I can sit back and enjoy looking at it!

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Now to move on to all the other works that need to be finished.

Today’s Disaster (aka Progress)

When I woke up this morning, I was determined to finish the fish drawing, so I could move onto other work that needs attention. There was barely anything left to do, and finishing it today wouldn’t be a stressful event. And … it wasn’t stressful, until it was.

I did that thing I always tell myself not to do. I second guessed myself after ink (or paint) has been applied to a surface and tried to take it back. Bolstered by the knowledge that I have successfully done so in the past, I went at a small section on this work, and then I smeared the entire center section.

Not a wee little smear. Not an almost unnoticeable smear. No, a giant, huge, dark black, wet smear. A work ruining smear. An “I want to die now” sort of smear. The sort of smear that makes one feel like someone must surely feel right after they drop a baby on its head.

There are no photos of said smear. Time was of the essence when it happened. You don’t stop to take a photo of the baby you just dropped. You pick it up and try to fix anything broken as quickly as possible. So I set to work trying to fix the drawing immediately, and some things helped, and some things made it worse, and now I am stopping for today.

Here’s today’s progress on the restoration of my unfinished drawing after a majorly destructive event:

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Tomorrow or so, after doing a few restoration tests on something that isn’t the original work, I hope I will be able to clear up the lingering blurry bits, but right now my hands are shaking too badly for any sort of detail work. I’d only make matters worse, and as it is now, I think I can still save it.

I hadn’t yet decided if I was going to do any grayscale shading on this piece, but well, the universe has possibly decided for me. Grayscale shading may now be necessary in order to cover my clumsy stupidity. I’m telling myself I am OK with that outcome, though I am not sure I am.

Today I learned that I have GOT to ignore the critical voices in my head and press on with my work with full faith and confidence that each line and stroke is perfect as it is. Hopefully, this lesson will stick this time, because my heart can’t take another disaster like today’s.

Life doesn’t have an undo button.

iPad Art

Finally broke down and bought a stylus for the iPad. Should have done that on day one. It’s not THE stylus I eventually want to have, but it’s pretty darn awesome all the same (and didn’t break the bank). So new stylus has lead to new art!

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To see it much, much larger click here!

Continued Progress…

The closer I get to completion on this piece, the slower and SLOWER the work goes. I haven’t quite figured out what psychological issue causes that to happen all the time, but it does. LOL! But in between family drama and the usual whatnot of life, I have been getting work done, and progress is progress!

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The vegetation area is done, I think. Maybe a bit more of the tiny pebble detail here and there, but yeah, the plants? Done. The tree may or may not be done. I had planned to do some detail on the trunk, but I find myself liking it without so much detail. I can always add it later, if I change my mind. The only thing left to do is the sky area, and I have a couple ideas I am working with. I’d like to finish the drawing part tomorrow, but I doubt I will be able to make a decision on which “what” to use by then. Ink is so unforgiving. There’s no undo button!

When I started this one, I’d intended to add pencil shading, but I’m no longer sure it needs it. Since pencil is forgiving and inherently removable, I’ll probably do one section and see how I feel about it. But at the rate I am moving on getting the last bits of this piece done, that could be a month from now. Who knows how I’ll feel about it then!

All in all though, I’m really happy with this piece. I wish I moved faster with the drawing, but my mind seems to prefer taking its time and mulling over every single line carefully. Time to face the fact that I will never be an extremely prolific artist … at least not with the drawings. LOL!

More Progress…

My goal was to have this one finished this week, but obviously, I have not achieved that goal. Well, stuff came up … such is life. But I did make a little more progress on it, and I did some sketches of the next things to be added. Next week is another week! LOL!

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I Made a Book!

One thing I have always wanted to try my hand at was making books by hand. I own oodles of books on the subject of bookbinding. I have studied the subject extensively. I have never tried actually making a book. I’m sure you know how it is … always some excuse or the other. Bottom line, it was really a fear of failure. Silly, I know, but I hate trying new things unless I have personally had someone show me how to do it and walk me through the process. I suck at following written instructions.

Last night, I’d decided I was finally going to try making a book from scratch. What’s the worst that could happen? A book that was less than awesome, and probably some damaged pride, since you know I always like to be perfect at everything the first time I do them. But I’ve been pretty miserable and stressed out lately, so my mood could hardly be made worse by spending a few hours making a less than awesome book. Might as well go for it!

The end result? A book. Considering it is made out of a cereal box, printer paper, and hemp twine normally used for making macramé jewelry, it’s not half bad. In fact, aside from a couple of errors probably made by every person who has ever had a first time making a book by hand, it’s sort of an awesome book. I mean, I think it’s REALLY AWESOME! I made a book out of stuff lying around the house! And it doesn’t suck! YIPPEE!!!

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The best thing about today’s project is that I learned a lot about making books by actually making one. The biggest lesson learned? Having the proper tools and proper materials would make the whole process much easier and the end products much better, and now that I know I am capable of making a book out of crap with almost no tools at all, I’m feeling fairly certain I’ll be investing in proper tools and materials soon. I want to make more books!