Musecatcher

I’ve been so busy lately with the 5 million projects I have going on at once. Lately, I am overcome by the frantic feeling that comes with realizing that I will never be able to execute every single creative idea that pops into my head. Ironically, this realization propels me and pushes me to at least try. So, I am sitting in the middle of a heap of ideas, some executed and some not. Many abandoned and many of which have jumped ship and died….and of course, way too many laying in wait and bothering me to work some voodoo and bring them back from the dead.

I have been really hung up on the sea glass lately. I think primarily because the process of finding and transforming them is a very peaceful and cleansing one. Spending several days a week walking along the seashore and finding the most beautiful little pieces of glass is not something that I think I could abandon anytime soon. This week, I finally bought a Dremel to drill pendant holes in the glass. The thing scares me to death (I am not a fan of power tools that could potentially cause harm…and my balance and steadiness are not good at all!), but V has perfected the pendant drilling process, so she is really helping me out. I’ve also settled on hand making the bails out of tiny seed beads. I think it matches the style and the spirit of the pieces. Not to mention, I am tired of spending way too much money on pre-made silver or silver plated bails. The more “handmade” that goes into them, the better.

Of course, selling these are important too. I have a shop on Etsy, but I need to market to local boutiques and shops in order to have any degree of bill-paying success. This is where I get stuck because I end up splitting my energy in too many directions. If I started focusing on marketing the sea glass, I would never be able to devote my time to my art photography and the marketing of that. I manage to squeak by on my EBay and other auction sales, but I really want to move my life in the direction of being able to get by on handmade and art alone. The creating part is easy, and the marketing part is where I get stuck.

I’m also feeling a bit irritated that I have not done a photo shoot in so long. I was having such success with my art, and I dropped the ball so hard. I have not had a new series since the Resurrecting Ophelia series, which was way too long ago. Lately, I’ve been feeling so restrained as I realize that there is not enough time or enough me to do everything I want to do. I wish there were a way for me to discipline my time and give myself a schedule. I tried that once not too long ago, but it didn’t work. I thought I could work solely on the photography one week, solely on bill-paying auction stuff another week, and totally on handmade things the next week. It doesn’t work, because I cannot create or do anything unless the muse is there. If it’s forced, it’s not real and it won’t reflect in the result.

I’m off to the beach before it gets dark. Maybe an answer will come from the sea.

In the meantime, here are two pieces that I made last night:

I also found a way to upcycle a lot of small silver plated bails that I have. They are too small and flimsy for pendants, but they hang the smaller pieces from a ribbon very well. So, I am using them in conjunction with the smaller, thinner sea glass pieces and offering a line of wine bottle charms. I wanted to have a series of items with a lower price point, so it looks like these are it.

I also have more new pendants posted in the Sea Glasserie.