I guess it's the equivalent of writer's block. And it sucks...
I think I am finally over it though; in the last 3 days I have felt my brain shift from Park to Neutral to Drive again. I owe a lot of this to my friend Janet, who was kind enough to spend some time on the phone the other night just chatting and working her subtle magic that gets you feeling so good about what you do. She offered advice, as well as a few new ideas that really got me thinking again and pushing me over this little hump that I was up against. She always knows how to make me laugh and which buttons to push to start the creativity machine up in full swing. Thanks my friend!
Yesterday helped out a ton as well. In the morning I was out and about running some errands and enjoying the new warmer weather. Considering that I had to be home and on the road for a daytrip by noon, I got a lot done. I stopped by a little shop that I have always wanted to go take a look at and never made it to; it was worth the stop! Orange Poppy Gifts was an amazing little place, and actually not all that little; it's one of those shops that just seems to go on and on, filled with all the neat little stuff that you never knew you wanted or needed. I might approach them about carrying some of my stuff once I get some new designs put together. After there, I went to one of the stores that I get some of my supplies from and picked up only what I needed from there (since my other supplier doesn't carry it). I took a quick browse around, and, while it's a handy place to pick up what I can't get at my other place, it just reinforces why I buy supplies elsewhere. This store has outrageous mark up on things that I KNOW are a lot cheaper elsewhere, sometimes to the tune of 40%. It was a good store to be in when I started my journey in glassworking, but I've kind of fallen out of love with it. Oh well...From there I went to my favorite bookstore and picked up a couple of magazines that I buy regularly, one being a glass one and the other a arts/crafts/design one. It's almost sad the tingle of excitement I feel when I pick them up. After grabbing those it was back in the truck and down to my main supplier of all things glass. I ended up spending way more time than I had planned chatting with the owner and using a couple of the coldworking tools there. I rushed home, D and I had a quick lunch, then were out the door to meet up with our friend for the road trip.
As it was a 2 hour drive, I had lots of time to browse through my new magazines. It's funny how looking at pictures of things that aren't even vaguely related to what you do can trigger inspiration and thoughts for new designs. Needless to say, I now have a newly rekindled fire in my belly to sit down at my bench and get working. On that note, I bid you adieu, and will return in the next day or two with some new pictures...
This little vase was something that I had been exploring last year. I kind of got away from the design, but am seriously considering revisiting it, especially with the promise of spring flowers...and the compliments of it by Miss J...
