snatching moments

Things have been crazy busy around here. Last year I volunteered at school for an hour for an art enrichment programme. It was such a great little programme (we show the kids some paintings and encourage them to talk about what they see) that I offered to help out again this year. Somehow that has translated into me running the whole 4th grade programme. And while that only means 4 hours of "teaching time", it has meant HOURS of organising the folder, copying the information, working out which paintings we have, organising the parent volunteers etc etc. Add to that all the other end of year school things, sport, (not to mention housework- I hate to mention housework) and I feel like I have to snatch moments to myself.

Moments when I can go to the gym, moments to check emails and blogs and, EVER so rarely, moments to create. And yesterday I managed one of those rare creative moments. I went to the craft store to get some of my art work framed. I have NEVER paid to have anything framed before, but I was motivated to do so by the local art show which is coming up. I nearly gagged when he told me how much it was going to cost- I kept thinking "I shouldn't do this; it's just MY art, it's not worth it". But I did two of them. Took me AGES to decide, and even then it was with the basic frames (basic= cheapest). The other two I bought pre cut mats and frames on sale- much better. I can only put 2 pieces in, so I'll make that decision later.

But while I was at the craft store, I bought some polymer clay. I've been wanting to have a play with polymer clay for a while. While I LOVE my ceramic brooches, I don't have access to the pottery studio any more AND they really are heavy. I wanted to try and produce something lighter- and something I could produce at home.

I am very pleased with the results. These are drawn onto before they are baked, then painted with acrylic paints, embellished with a little gold leaf and then sealed.

See the little necklace frame? I will definitely have to get some more of these.

The round ones I will make into little brooches.

The other benefit of using the polymer is that it is chip and shatter resistant. I had an OH DEAR moment a few months ago, when Hilde and I had our lovely day in the city, when my ceramic brooch came off in the MET, of all places, and shattered all over the floor. So I've baked a few more and I will snatch a few more moments today to paint them today. When things settle down a bit, I will put these in my etsy shop- along with a few more things I've been working on. We have one month of school left; one month of art enrichment and sport and ballet concerts and celebrations and all that to get through. And then...AND THEN...I will have so much time on my hands. BLISS!