Antique Mall = Perfect Birthday

Freaky mannequin.

Great beadwork. One of several beaded pouches.

Lovely cabinet.

$65 glass snail.

"Being John Malcovich" nesting dolls.

Marionettes.

Happy orange mugs. Should have bought these.

Warthog and butterfly. How cute, and only $280!!

All but abandoned Etsy

Man oh man! Life has thrown quite a few curve balls my way this year. I can't wait til it's over. 2009 (especially the last half) has been the least productive year for me regarding new beads and buttons. Seems like I've had the same jewelry for years and years...who knows how many. I just don't feel like literally sitting down as much as I used to. My mind is restless, and it's very hard to focus on creating. Sales have shown it, too. I have no idea what 2010 will bring....what distractions will keep me away from the escape that making little treasures provides. Or maybe my definition of "escape" is changing. My Etsy sales this month have been: zero. I'm sure if I were able to invest the time into Etsy or my website that I could, if the following life events haven't kind of taken over, I would have better sales. But honestly, I don't really care. After I post this blog I'm going to go into my studio and work on making some jewelry, I guess. See? If I use "I guess" after stating something that involves creating, you know I must not be feeling the mojo.

My distractions:

Fitness:

Running, lifting weights and doing pushups (or any physical exercise, especially challenging exercise) are a really effective way to dissipate stress. My diet has gone to hell over the holiday season, but I am keeping active. The other day I bought my January 2010 YWCA pass. Since I have no clue if I'll have gainful employment in February, I figure that if I buy the pass this far ahead of time, I'll be more likely to afford February's and maybe even March's monthly pass. It would be cheaper for me to commit to a year, but I'm not feeling that risky right now. Paying $55 for full access (no restricted hours) to a gym that's 2 blocks away, during the crappiest months of the year weather-wise (lugging all the "stuff") is well worth it. Last night, my brother and I went for a run on the most dreary, drizzly, damp, cold day possible. And it was exhilarating! I probably could have gone for another 10 minutes, but his calf was hurting and I didn't want to make him sit in a steamy pickup waiting for me. But I can say that it did whet my apetite for more cold-weather running. He estimated I ran about 2.75 miles.

Mom:

My mom is the best. She has had to transition to living in a nursing home....though she can still get around, has her mental faculties pretty much intact except for short-term memory issues. This could have been a really bad situation.....but she has accepted the situation and is now thriving more than I remember in past years. Next step is to get her apartment cleaned out. That will occupy much of my "free" time over the next month.

Work:

St Theresa Textile Trove is closing in just 6 weeks, which is coinciding with my 10 year anniversary there. I have started submitting my resume to places...one in particular is a job I'd REALLY like to get, but will have to wait to find out if they're interested. On top of everything else going on, I need to keep on the job search. I just don't have the resources to tide me over until I find new work. Part of me is a little scared, I have to admit. I haven't been unemployed for more than 2 weeks since probably the early 1990's. And as much as I'd like to be able to support myself with my craft, I really need to interact with other people. I like being out in public, talking to different folks.

So, I'll get going now and start making something, for someone, somewhere.

6 months later

Some folks have asked me for a before and after photo. These are 6 months apart. The one with me smiling was taken today.

Bottom line: Eat healthy, keep your body moving. Period.

Very strange week! I mean, creepy.

Ok, so I'm kind of freaking out just a tiny bit. Listen to this:

1) My maternal grandma loved clowns. She didn't go overboard or anything, but she did have some figurines and an old clown painting from the 1960's that my mom painted, using a guidebook. When I was a child, I remember her playing "Send in the Clowns", that depressing song, sung by Carly Simon.

Before I could correctly pronounce "Grandma" as a young child, I started calling her Ranga. That name still sticks. It's like "Mee-maw" or "Na-na". Noone that I've spoken to has ever heard of that as a name for anyone.

Last week, a traveling clown, a cute French older woman collecting donations to further her work in children's hospitals, came into St Theresa Textile Trove, where I work. She really was very nice. Not creepy at all. She had a nametag with the name of a doll attached to her front....the name was Ranga.

Next:

2) Tonight I was checking the store's email, just to see if we've had any orders over the weekend. There was one from a customer, responding to an email my boss sent her. She signed it with a picture of my cat, Kitty. It is a small thumbnail image with the lady's website beneath it. I KNOW that photos was not on my computer. She had to have sent it. I wonder if it was ever on my old Myspace page. Really shows me how far one of my own photos can go. Makes me very very happy there aren't any pictures of me doing anything embarrassing floating out there. I sent the customer an email asking her where she found that...the curiosity is killing me! I'll be sure to let you know.

UPDATE: The customer told me that the image she attaches to her emails is a photo of a raven. Makes it even weirder, that her image is different than what is showing up.

By the way, her quilts are amazing. Please visit her website and see how gorgeous her site and work are!

Two times this week something very symbolic occurred...a sign only I could recognize. I wonder what it all means. And what will be the next "coincidence" that will knock me out of my own shoes?

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While I'm here, I might as well post the results of my first 5K running race. 35:43. I'm damn proud. That guy is my brother...he was 21 seconds ahead of me at the finish line. Thanks Jay and Mike for the pictures!

I look forward to warmer races in the spring, that's for sure!

I'm tired! Goodnight!

Secret Artworks Postcard!

This image is of the postcard I made for Cincinnati's Secret Artworks fundraiser. Nearly 2000 postcards were submitted. The revealing of the postcards was at the Westin Hotel on November 20, and hundreds of artists and art patrons got together to view and purchase the postcards in person. It was my first time doing this at all, and I must say it was one of the most fun evenings I've had in a LONG time. Lots of my arty friends were there. One of them saw my snail sell within 2 minutes of the doors opening. Makes me feel good that it found a great home fast!

I'm having a sale in my Etsy stores, ovenfriedbeads and ovenfriedbuttons, this weekend, through December 1. Might as well jump on the "great deals" bandwagon. I'm feeling particularly in need of funds to prepare for my days of possible joblessness.

Good news: I finished the Couch-to-5K running training program the other day. For the past 9 weeks, I ran 3 days per week, following a series of timed walks and jogs. First day of the program I was running just 1 minute at a time. Now I can run over 30 minutes straight, and have begun the One Hour Runner program. A couple of days ago I also started the One Hundred Pushups program, too. Yeah, I'm working on becoming a lot stronger and fit than I have been the rest of my life before now. I'm still overweight, but life is better now that my body is getting in shape. My first 5k race, the Jingle Bell Run in Cincinnati, is next Saturday. Weather may be iffy, but I'm going to run it anyway.

Ten Years is a Very Long Time.

This image is of a large quilted banner that the staff of St Theresa Textile Trove made so many years ago. Each of us pulled a letter (or a few) at a staff dinner at Benihana in Cincinnati, and made our letters independent of everyone else. I like the "ransom letter" effect.

The store has been in business since 1994. I've worked there since January 2000. It's going to close for good in January 2010. I have managed the store for about 5 years.

Probably the main thing I would say on a personal level about the Trove is the intense education I have gotten from it. Not only have I learned a boatload of information about international and domestic textiles, beads, buttons and what to do with them, but also creative problem solving, accounting, computer skills, customer relations (because we do forge relationships with our customers), merchandising, and the list goes on. I hope that any future potential employers will look at that and consider hiring me...because I will need a job after January. I will dearly miss so many of the customers who have dropped in during the years. I know I will run into many of them in Cincinnati from time to time as I continue to vend at shows and teach beadmaking classes.

I know that we will receive many sad emails and calls about our closing. But let me assure you, Becky and I are feeling much relief. She has really put her entire livelihood on the line to keep the store open. As I like to say, "Love doesn't pay the bills." If it did, we'd have franchises all over the country. The store has been on virtual life support for a very long time, and that's not a healthy way to continue doing business. We are not going to dwell on sadness for what is lost....rather we will look forward to the adventures that God/the Universe will have in store for us.

Ovenfried Beads will remain alive and well through and past this transition. St Theresa Textile Trove was my career, but Ovenfried Beads will hopefully step up a bit in the queue.

If there is anything that can be learned from all sides of this situation, it's this:

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES.

What does your tree look like?

A few days ago I went to the laundromat to clean my clothes, and while the wash cycle was going, I took a walk at Stanberry Park in Cincinnati. Colorful fall leaves and photographs were my main treasures. The photos above are from a huge tree that has been carved through the decades. I didn't notice any obviously new carvings, but one thing that was so obvious was the age of the carvings. About 10 feet high, old lovers' initials were stretched and spread out. The bark continued to grow, and the lines filled in. Almost the whole circumference of the trunk is covered in scars. If you have a chance to check it out, I recommend it.

The photos of the carvings inspire me to think about what kind of scars or carvings there are in my own personal spiritual tree. What events, relationships, dates, times and places have left a permanant mark on my own history? How deep are they carved, and how legible are they? Equally important...what kind of tree is it? Trees are so symbolic in so many way, and the answers are completely subjective.