Okay. So I have alot of clothes. Like...mucho. But one thing that I think I do well is keep it all organized. Everything is seperated by color (I like to use this order, W, ROGBV, Gray and then Black)...short sleeved shirts are all together, then long sleeved shirts, cardigans, dresses..tanks and t-shirts on a shelf (stacked in color order) handbags groups by color, strappy/halter and strapless tops together in bins...I have been called OCD...but I have also been called to help organize a closet or two, and it is something that I love to do. Wow, what a nerd, huh? But the thing is...regardless of how organized it all is...I still have to move it, which is stressful. So I have devised a way to move my clothes and accessories based on the way that I organized my closet, making use of crates and containers. I have been using this technique for a little while, and with the invention of Pinterest I have been able to see that there are other organization-obsessed folks out there doing basically the same thing. I have a few additional crazy details...but they work for me. I have been texting pictures of my packing progress to my close friends, really just so I have some accountability...and because they keep me motivated. Out of our group of friends, three of the couples are moving either this month or next, so we can all relate/freak out together. Anyway, my friend Jen said I should share my technique so here goes. (and BTW...she is an AMAZING writer! Check out her blog, http://www.jenscrazylife.com/
1 Comment
...not a burrito...keep readin'!
I have been making my art, but truth be told...I have been making a GIGANTIC mess around here. Folks, I am moving, and it ain't pretty. Deep breaths, I can totally do this. Maintain some sense of decorum? Maybe not...but the move will happen, it has to...first things first. For starters, I just have to get this off my chest. Mackie and Scooter are no help. Now, my good friend Jen said that she thought if they had opposible thumbs they would be helping. Maybe. Yeah, okay I would like to believe this. However, they could at least help cheer me on, keep me motivated, focused on the overwhelming task at hand. What do they do, or what don't they do? Here, you be the judge... Okay...before I get to my art, I just want to write one more thing about moving, because this has kind of taken over my life for the past 48 hours. We don't do the 'big' move until closer to the end of the month, but we are going to try and start moving some small stuff starting next week, some of those areas that are a pain and take time to set up, like the kitchen and our closets...and I am teaching art camp next week so that is why I am torturing myself right now, since I won't have as much time to pack next week. (also...in some kind of weird twist, as stressed as I am and physically exhausted..I actually kind of love throwing stuff out...and all this sorting and labeling appeals to my OCD tendencies and love for organization. Weird.) Back to that last thing about moving. I don't know if it is anywhere else on the interwebs, or Pinterest specifically, but I have a way that I move my jewelry that I have used for years and it's cheap, simple and WORKS...and I want to share it. It's aluminum foil, that's all. I buy cheap aluminum foil and roll my jewelry in in in sections, laid out, pressing the foil down on each section to keep the pieces from moving, and tangling. The reason this is such a big deal to me is I love jewelry. I mean...LOVE. It's kind of my thing. Not fancy jewelry, no m'am (or sir) ...just affordable (even super cheap) costume jewelry. But I love each piece, I usually pick up different accessories when I travel, so there are lot's of memories in those baubles. I am obsessive about keeping my collection organized, it is all sectioned by color...necklaces hanging on the wall (with a mirror in the middle so I can see how it looks!) Bracelets sorted, earrings in small bags color coded...seriously, it's kind of my happy place. I think I started doing this when I was still in college, especially after being frustrated when my necklaces would be all tangled when I moved. (and I have moved many, many times) I would have to sit and try to untangle them, adding to the frustration of the moving process and slowing me down. So I started wrapping the necklaces in aluminum foil, rolled like a burrito, then labeled by color to make it easy to set up my new 'necklace wall' in the new destination. So anyway, it works. If you are moving try it! Ummm....so....yeah, besides PACKING...I did make some art, of course! I completed my daily pieces, still working with the turban/sunglasses/gypsy/bohemian idea...using pencil, Sharpie Marker, watercolor...I think I might play with patterns and textures in future pieces...
Wait...gotta keep it simple...(talking some sense into myself) Okay, so I might not venture into too many materials, I am trying to keep it manageable since there is so much going on the rest of this month. Besides the daily pieces I also worked on two bridal shower invitations for my sister-in-law. I combined a few ideas I saw on-line to create two watercolors that I painted in each of the shower's theme colors, then scanned the images (thanks, Jess!) and put them into Word to add the words. Boy, I can't wait to get that new Mac laptop for my new job...I have a feeling that me and Photoshop are going to be BFFs. For real. Besides the daily pieces and the invitation art, I did take some time on #textiletuesday to start another small piece, another hand-dyed, fused fabric heart with wings. I managed to get the heart completely covered in red beads, each one sewn by hand. I love beading. It is very calming. I am glad that I am taking a little bit of time each week for textiles. For the weekend...I need to make some more fashion illustrations! Oh my, it has been too long! And I want to make at least a few more 'Crazy Cat Ladies' so I can pick out my three pieces for the upcoming show at the Green Room. But now..back to packing up my jewelry. I finished the cool colors, black, gray and browns...gotta tackle my warm colors, white/clear and multi-colored pieces next...well, after a run. I can say one thing...that the week has flown by, I have been busy with various art and art related happenings but I have still managed to make my daily nap club meetings with Mackie and Scooter, which I am probably most proud of. Hey, there is always time to nap. And make art. And sparkle. No excuses. Tuesday I initiated my first (self-imposed of course) #textiletuesday on Instagram. For the first TT (of what I hope to be a weekly commitment to do something textile/fiber related, hold me to that!) I invited my super talented friend, Giselle, over. She wanted to learn how to bead. Folks, she is a natural! Behold, the birth of another fiber-fanatic and beadin' babe! It certainly was not all fun and games...there were a few needles that came unthreaded, some fallen beads and, of course, the return of the dreaded #frockblockers...two cats that love to sleep on top of vintage fabrics and eat the lovely embellishments...sheesh. We survived it though...and I got to witness the 'spark' for fiber art in someone else, nothing beats that! After Giselle left I kept working on a project I had started...I was distracted... looking at my beads and random embellishments... all I could think was...(in my best Marty Huggins voice) So...five hours later, my beads, threads, random trims and embellishments, etc are all grouped by color and sorted into plastic bags, etc. I came out of what was almost like some kind of daze and was happy with what I saw. And then Wednesday morning I woke up and cleaned/organized my wee little art space in the kitchen...and that made me (and John!) happy...nice open space to create more work, everything put away. Yes, please. Wednesday it was off to Ink and Pistons to drop off my pieces for the show this weekend (Amanda and JR are so nice!, congrats on your one year!) and the head on over to Jessie's for randomness. Amanda gave me some postcards to distribute....but first...yep. Impromptu photo shoot out on the patio for Art Hive Magazine and Ink and Pistons promoting on social media. Yeah, I know, we are silly. So silly. What happened after the photo shoot goes as following...Jessie attempts to make cauliflower rice...I eat leftover spaghetti squash and turkey meatballs (amazing! more, please!)...Jessie gives up on her culinary endeavor and makes stir fry with regular rice...I post to Art Hive blog and FB about Ink and Pistons and then take a hour and a half nap...Jessie is a creeper and takes a picture of herself watching me sleep...don't ask...then we plot and plan to take over the world! (...not really, we started talking about sparkly stuff and then I went home) Awaiting me at home...a large box from my father-in-law. Inside- magic! Raffaele has been experimenting with transferring images onto wood...and now I know why. He made me a cool wood block based on an image from my website, it is sitting on my art desk as we speak, er...read...er..write. You get the point. Also in the package, a 'drawing box'. It looks like a big wooden book, but it actually opens up and has storage for my 11x14 drawings. I can close the box and use the top as a work surface. Its...kind...of...awesome. Inspired by the 'mail magic' I received...I packaged up some things that I have been wanting to make, spent time collaging and embellishing each package....I shipped those off Thursday morning. Which brings me to last night (Thursday) and this morning. I kind of have...ummm...alot going on. I feel a little overwhelmed, and excited. Not sure where to start.
I will make a list, cause I am weird like that.
Gonna miss my friend, Mr. Nottage!
This post is long overdue...I want to just take a moment and blog a little about a place that I has been a part of my life for the past four years...that place is Indiantown Middle School. When I was looking for jobs in Florida...it was such a stressful time. John had found out he got into some PhD programs and after talking about it we chose Florida. I ended my school year at Wintergreen and pretty much left for Japan for a month with John's sister and a group of teachers on a Fulbright Study Abroad. We would tour Japan all day, visit shrines, schools...walk, walk, WALK...and then, every night...I would look for jobs. And then I saw the posting for IMS, and I applied. I was able to schedule the interview while in Japan. I think I was back in the US maybe two days before we headed down to Florida. I interviewed and got the job...and I have been there for the past four years. I taught art, wrote a bunch of grants, coached cheerleading, some good friends...and was even lucky enough to be the Teacher of the Year there...good times indeed. Probably so much I could say...but instead I just want to post a few panoramic views...so I can take a peek back at my time at IMS when I miss my students and friends..if I ever doubt myself when faced with a new challenge... I will look back at these to remind myself that I made a difference, and I will try to do that wherever I go, regardless of the demographic of the school. First view...my classroom. A very lively place...with lot's of...well...EVERYTHING. I think I really found that our when I was leaving because I had to get the entire room packed up and moved across the way into a temporary location. They are going to tear down almost the entire building that I taught in my fours years at IMS...so in addition to packing up my own personal items in the classroom...everything else had to be packed up. And I did it- WE did it. My students not only finished their projects and helped me sort and distribute them to each class, but collectively we boxed up that entire room. I can only hope that it will be a little easier for the new teacher to set up the art room next year...I am so OCD I couldn't just box it up...I had to do color-coded labels..sigh. Life would be easier if I wasn't so set on organization! And then...of course...the art. We made SO MUCH ART. Seriously. I covered any wall that the tape would stick to. They thing that was unique to IMS was the amount of space that I had, especially the past couple of years. We opened up a new building which left the old cafeteria open for...art. It became a gigantic gallery, we even used it for creating/storing sculpture. Then, when they moved even more teachers tot he new spaces I had a room for 'resources' (basically, recycled materials)...a room for cheerleading...and a room I set up just for drawing and printmaking. I definitely had space...and we filled it with art and art-making. And now...well, now I am looking to the future. My future includes moving farther south and leaving the public school system to teach private school. I will be teaching digital photography, drawing, painting and survey classes to middle school and high school students. Nervous? Yeah, a little. Excited? Alot. (sorry, Mrs. Aldridge, I know that isn't really a word) Yes, I am. I am so excited I don't know what to do! But first...I will just spend some time relaxing and enjoying my summer...but I will always have my memories of IMS to take with me wherever I go. First, a little background. I am way too into my planner. I love it. I love the planner...I love to plan. Finding the perfect planner each summer is something that I both forward to and dread each year. And I know I am not alone, there are others (who shall remain nameless) that also celebrate the planner as I do. Everyone's perfect planner is different. For me...I prefer spiral bound. I have tried working with the various binder style planners in different sizes with all the cool page inserts...they never work for me. They are too bulky, the metal rings hurt my hand...they just don't do it for me. I don't like any color on my pages because I do all of the color coding and also if I erase it makes the color look all faded. And I love tabs, even if I have to make my own. A few years ago, I made my own planner and it worked great for me...but it was hard for me to figure out how to put it together...it took me forever. Plus, I made it specific to a time frame so if I were to reprint the pages I would have to go in and individually changes pages then print. So I started from scratch for this new DIY creation. For this planner...I wanted to create pages that I could reprint from year to year without having to stress about dates. I wanted a planner with big boxes in my monthly and weekly views, and lots of room everywhere for to-do's, doodles and dreams. So here is what I came up with, shown step by step with pictures and descriptions and links to the PDFs I created. NOTE: The pages are already set up in the right order based on printing them front to back.
Here are some additional pages that you could print out and include in the back of your planner;
Just to let you know, this did take me some time because I was creating the templates and figuring out how to put everything together, but it should not take you long if you are making your own, as I have done all the work for you (lucky you!).
And cost? Minimal! I printed the pages front/back on our (laserjet) printer at home, so that just cost paper and ink, which luckily we already had. (score!). I already have a ton of papers and collage items here from making art, but you can get a good selection of scrapbooking papers for under $5 from Michael's or your local art/craft supply store. I used the glue, paper cutter and scissors from Kinko's. The laminating and spiral binding were less than $10.00, also at Kinko's. So this endeavor cost me personally less than $10, but if you have get the pages printed and buy some decorative papers it might cost you $15-$20. Totally worth it. Special thanks to my husband for pretending to share my enthusiasm for planners, going to Kinko's with me and taking pictures for my tutorial...you're off the hook, until next year! If you want the original Word documents to edit them, please email me and I will be happy to send them to you. And if you read this post and make you own planner, please email me a picture- I would love to see it! (jll1203@hotmail.com) A fairly productive day...feeling better by the way, so I will count that as being productive.
I did some cleaning and organizing...and also worked on my personalized planner pages. The pages are ready to go, I will be printing them this week and going to get the cover laminated and everything spiral bound...going to wait to post the PDFs until I can do a mini tutorial in case anyone else wants to make a planner as well. Nothing too crazy, anyone could print these out and follow the instructions to make this planner, or at least that is my goal. I am pleased with the pages so far, I really tried to leave lots of empty space for artin' and making notes, and also create pages that can be used from year to year. If nothing else I am excited about my personalized planner for my own use : ) I also finished up my CED #193...and added some crystals. (Yay, sparkle!) I never really know what I am going to do when I start these, but I am trying to maintain some consistency in the overall series, so I am just taking small steps so that there is a good overall transition from one work to the next. Does it matter? To a normal person, no. To me- yes it does. I just...obsess. I really like to work a certain way, I like a bit of routine in my work...like, starting off each piece with the Graphitone figure...working with the female form...I like to have this consistency and then branch out, even if only a little bit at a time...that is how I seem to approaching these, and most of my works. Just a rambling observation. Psssst.... Hey you. Yeah, you. Shhhhh...don't tell...I think I am starting to feel better again. Well, kind of. More like normal..slightly sparkly but with a few aches and some crazy congestion and coughing but it's a little better than yesterday. Don't want to let the word out just yet because it might end the nice soups, teas and general TLC from the husband. Hope you can keep a secret. Poolside drawing...CED #192... Well, now that I have shared that...it's 2am and I am winding down from down from a day that really didn't start to get underway until after my late afternoon nap. I made it to the pool to start CED #192 once things cooled off, and that is the first time I have really been out since I got sick, and I think the fresh air was good for me. Might do that again tomorrow, weather permitting. (storming outside as I type this) Back to the art...went with my usual 'art start'...flipping through a magazine to find my 'model', just a picture that captures my attention, which I use that as the basis of my drawing, changing the proportions and, well, whatever else I want to make it work for the image that I already created in my head. I finished the figure poolside, then after a trip to Michael's (been a long time, friend) I started working on the halo, painting it with acrylic, then adding gold pigment, then a dusting of fine gold glitter, then 'drawing' with a clear glue and adding tiny gold beads and then more sizes of gold glitter for variety. In my head I see these 'halos' progressively getting more embellished, and then maybe changing in size and their importance/role in the overall composition and in relation to the figure. But I want to continue to work with graphite/Graphitone. I love drawing. Love it. I think there might be a slight digression...here it is...Something that I started yesterday and hope to complete tomorrow is creating my own custom planner. Being the total nerd that I am, one of my favorite things to do every summer is to search for the perfect planner. I love to plan. I love my planner. This is a major search for me every year. A few years ago I made my own and I think that was the best one I had. I feel like I have specific things that I want in a planner, the basic monthly and weekly view, but then also areas for goal setting (short and long range) keeping up with my art, teaching and cheerleading commitments and room to doodle and dream. So, that is what I hope to finish up tomorrow. I will post PDFs of what I come up with in case there are any other planning-obessessed folks out there reading this. But that is tomorrow's task. If I can't complete it I at least want to work on it. (End Digression) Inventory Madness. Tonight I worked on inventory. My word...I have made some art since January of this year. I literally have piles of it everywhere, despite my giveaways and work sold at shows. There is art everywhere. And sometimes I can't remember when I made it, or where it is...so last night I decided I needed to create an inventory of everything. So I did. Well, I started it....quite an undertaking. And tonight, I finished it up through June. I am about to fall asleep on the keyboard here, and my hands hurt from typing, but I did it. I inventoried all of my work created since January of this year. I will post a sample of this tomorrow, but I basically made notes for what the themes, etc. were for the month, then listed every piece that I made with details about materials, subject,size and the location of the work (i.e. 'In Stock' vs. 'Sold' or 'Collection of...') I am looking to update my Etsy shop, and upload work to my Society6 account and I have got to get a better handle on all of my work. It was getting out of control. I do not work well when I feel that things are too chaotic, and that is how it was starting to feel. ...literally falling asleep. Here are some screenshots of my inventory, more details to come tomorrow...its, like, 13 pages right now. Holy cannoli... Just for fun...while I was working on my inventory tonight, I posted a link to the slideshow I made for each month as I completed the inventory. Here are all of the links (below). It was kind of fun to revisit the work that I have made, each monthly series has its own personality, and so do the slide shows. Make sure your volume is on and enjoy! January 2012...'New Shoes' February 2012...'Hearts' March 2012...'Mixed Media' April 2012...'Sweet Thangs' May 2012...'Monochromatic' June 2012...'Bettie Page' Ed and his fiancé Sarah, went back to New Jersey today. After a fun week hosting out of town friends, fourth of July festivities and general merrymaking...it is quiet here at casa de Gironda, except for the occasional meow from one of the cats. By the way...posting in purple in honor of Ed, a fellow ECU grad (Go Pirates!) Visitors or not- I still made time for my art, and I am proud of that. I just finished up CED #188, and now I guess I am deciding what to work on next.... Some things that I have been thinking about...
...so that is just me, kind of creating my little list of what I need to do...not sure what I will start on first... CEDs 144-145 are posted, shown (left) on my drawing table...which by the way, is getting out of control...don't believe me, check out the picture below. The last few days of school...wow, they sure do sap your energy. Maybe it's just me? I was exhausted this afternoon, took a 2 hour nap. I am looking forward to the weekend, donning a bunch of baubles to art it up with my fellow Tipsy Art gals, sleep in (well, for me anyways), maybe draw some at the pool...I am inspired by my friend Jess to maybe go and by a... REALLY BIG CANVAS!!!!!!!!! ...and paint something. Anything. Maybe on the porch. Gotta start this summer off right, folks. Well, I do still have to work on Tuesday, but for me...summer starts tomorrow at 2:40. Bring it! I love to organize...sometimes as much as I love to make art. Maybe in another life I would have been a professional organizer, but on a budget, one that would come in and help you organize using mostly what you already have. Sigh. Yes, in another life. I love order. I like to create calm among the chaos...and I have alot of stuff so it can get a little crazy. I like to organize by size, shape, color....even the color value. I love to organize my jewelry and accessories, my classroom, my own art studio space at home...which was my task yesterday. So...I put together a some images below that show my love for organizing. Today I am on to the next thing...going through some random stuff that I need to file away or trash...and some art time, of course! |
AuthorArtist and Art Teacher
|