Here I am....blogging

I'm blogging and I should be jogging. Well, actually it's 11:08 P.M. and what I really should be doing is sleeping. I'm blog-challenged so it took me the last 2 hours to get to here.

As I've already been 'sort-of' introduced by my daughter I'll just say 'That's true' to everything she mentioned. Seldom do I go looking for junk....it just seems to find me. Now that the business is an actuality and not just a "we're gonna do someday" discussion, I may start doing more looking. Right now I don't have far to go....my garage is crammed to the hilt with junk, closets are stuffed over-capacity, the shop is a collection of 'one of these days' items in various stages of repair....well, that's not exactly the right word. When you're planning to re-purpose (a new buzz word that is popping up everywhere these days) an item, it's condition is immaterial....just that it exists is enough. And, exist they do....cabinets that look like fire wood, chairs with and without seats/legs/backs; and if what we're adding on a regular basis isn't enough, cleaning out the stuff left from my father's wood working/furniture building days isn't going to happen. I thought it would and I would be able to 'lighten my load' but then, along came Junque Rethunque...and now everything, I mean EVERYTHING 'may' have a life beyond what it is today. So, who am **I** to stop the transformation and life going forward of that rusty bolt, nut and washer I found in the dust layered box sitting right where my dad left it 12 years ago when he shut the door to his shop for the last time.

The shop is once more open for business and Junque Rethunque is resurrecting the dead!!!!!!!!!

Narrowing it down

Yeah, we all have things we need to narrow down. My waistline, for example. And the number of activities we volunteer for, for some of us... What I'd like to know is this: How did you narrow down your hobbies and your artistic interests and settle on the thing you're doing now?

As I was growing up, and in my early 20's, I dabbled in floral arranging, decorating tee shirts, creating greeting cards, making jewelry... pretty much whatever came along. I took watercolor classes, thought about becoming a graphic artist, made my daughters sweet little baby clothes, hand-decorated baby onesies with fabric paint. It seems like I don't run across a craft idea that I don't like.

For me, the biggest filter is time. I don't tend to want to do anything that will take hours and hours to get from start to finish. If I'm sitting down at my craft table, I want to pick up some stuff and make something and have a finished product to show for my time when I get up. I think that's what draws me to sewing. Although I sometimes have to leave finishing bits for later, when I'm making my Snowfolk or tote bags I can get quite a bit done in one sitting.

I'm going to be getting started on some collage and assemblage art pieces in coming weeks, and I anticipate a lot more time spent on these. I work best by just sitting with my supplies and getting inspired - but there will be a lot more detail involved with collage work, so it will likely take me a while to complete one. But that's okay, I'm looking forward to something new.

What made you choose the craft or art you make? Or how did it choose you?