Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah

That's how I feel. It's the let down I know from getting ready to teach and the traveling and the teaching and the seeing friends that you miss and the coming home and the rain that keeps falling and the no progress on the lawn that is now growing weeds around the standing water that has become a breeding place for frogs that we can hear croaking at night.

It's the fact that I did not leave anything on the design wall to come back to which always helps me transition back into my life.

It's the fact that when I left, I left my studio space in a mess and the thoughts of cleaning it before I could begin anew did not appeal. But I got to it and got it done yesterday.

It's the fact that before I left we had someone put in a pull down ladder and flooring in the space above the garage so we could get all the stuff that is in the garage that makes it unattractive and cluttered looking, moved up into the space, only to find that we have more stuff than we had flooring put down to accommodate so it will be the middle of next week before the remodeling contractor has time to come back and put down more. So it will be days longer that I have to look at the mess in the garage and not be able to get to the work area I made for myself out there for doing wet work. Now mind you I don't know what wet work I want to do, but in my head the fact that I cannot get to the space is bugging me more than the fact that I don't know what I would do if I could get to the space.

BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH,

It was the anxiety of making a piece of work for charity and not knowing how it would be received and what it would bring at the auction. You know we artist need to feel validated occasionally. It did well, but not what I had hoped. I learned that it will be hanging in the waiting room of a local plastic surgeon's office. I know in my heart the money that was raised will help some child, maybe its visibility in his office will bring me some commissions. Even in the best of altruistic hearts there are some self serving chains.

I added to the blahs by trying to decide what to send to the gallery to supplement what is already there for the month of May when I will be one of two artist being featured. Of course the advertising postcards came while I was away. When I got back I saw they sent out ones that have a picture of one of my least current works on the front which means it must be included in my selections. So yesterday at the mid point of cleaning my studio space, I took the time to get my stuff out and cut sticks to measure so that four more of my quilts can be displayed. I drove the quilts and the sticks into town (all of seven miles) so that they could be hung in time for the first Friday of the Artrageous Fridays Gallery Hops.

I put on a comfy dress, a Chinese red thing suitable for going into town, but that didn't help my mood and I came home , climbed back into my sweat pants (black) and a comfy t-shirt (orange) to counter-act the black. Ate some ice cream. The blah got a little better.

Today the sun is shining and the earth mover is sitting in the middle of the back yard, but the landscaping crew and trucks of dirt have not arrived. "They say" (the weather-man) we are in for several days of no rain, sunshine and warming temperatures. Maybe there is hope for a green lawn this summer after all. After I finish my cup of tea and blogging, I am going to go leaf through my sketch books to see if there is anything that catches my interest. I plan to bring out only yellows and reds and oranges and purples and greens to work with.
Hopefully chasing the BLAH AWAY one glorious piece of fabric one after another.
Here are some candid shot of the class I taught for the 54/40 Quilt guild in Hampton, Virginia a week ago.