Each Day is New

Hi. Thanks for visiting my blog. My life as a wife, mother, sister, employee and artist has been crazy busy the last for months.

I began a part time job in April. I'm still not sure if I will continue with it. I like the job. Working from home, as an artist can be solitary and I miss seeing people so this job has been great fun. The problem is I haven't had a chance to make any beads or jewelry and I am sorely missing being creative. I am praying on finding a solution to this dilemma. I think if I put as much effort into my own business as I am putting into this part time job I could be successful. The problem is having enough discipline while working from home and being accountable to myself can be tricky.

My sister is successfully waging her own personal battle with breast cancer. She has made it easy for those of us that love her by handling the entire situation proactively with an amazingly positive attitude and an incredible amount of Grace. Yes she found Grace. I tell you she is an inspiration! If you are inclined to pray we would gladly accept your prayers on her behalf.

My second son graduated from high school! Phew!!! I am so pleased he is finally out of public school and will be creating his own direction and making decisions about his life. I think this is a wonderful place to be in life. I am excited to watch where he will go. He is heading off to college in the fall, studying film. Look out Hollywood....he will be storming your doors down some day soon.

Now with summer underway I hope I will be able to find some space to make beads and decide which direction I will take. I have decided I can't manage my family, manage my husbands business, work at a part time job as well as run my own business. Some decisions need to made...NOW if only I could decide.......



In the meantime....you can find my beads for sale in my Etsy and Artfire shoppes.

Dunstable Artisans 21st Annual Art Show and Sale

Earlier this year I was honored to become a member of the Dunstable Artisans, a local group of extremely talented and diverse artisans. This past weekend was the annual art show. I was honored to be a participant in this show, however, I have to be honest and tell you that I was more than a bit nervous. I have known of this group for MANY years and attended a show quite some time ago. I have always believed the individuals that belonged to this group were amongst the most talented artisans in the area. I could only hope to live up this reputation.

Back in August, it was with much trepidation that I began to prepare for the show. I have to admit that my expectations for myself can be high, so I push myself hard to be the best I can. I don't always love that about myself but it is what it is. Much would be needed; in terms of my work, I created as I usually do and even stretched myself to create some new products which have been running through my head for some time. Setting up a booth in this venue was going to be my challenge. I have done a lot of shows and fairs in the past but nothing like this. Almost all of the shows I have participated in the past have been outside venues. The one inside venue I participate in, is in a museum and only tables are allowed. Obviously vendors can not interfere with the museums pieces which are on display.

Preparing for a high end inside venue brings with it a whole new set of requirements regarding booth set up. I felt I would need to present myself , my work and my booth in a professional manner. The biggest challenge was going to be some type of wall system to define my booth. The Artisans were more than generous in their support, offering ideas and  even offering equipment used by others during their "first" year of shows. It was important to me to figure out something I could afford and that I felt represented me. I began to look into pipe an drape set ups and was astounded at the cost of these systems. This was not in my budget, not this year anyway.

My husband and I began brainstorming. I should tell you that my husband is a self employed electrician. He is a master at his work but he also has the ability of being the most fantastic handyman, I am telling you...he can fix or create anything! We took a trip to Home Depot and browsed the store trying to find something that would work as a pipe system. We settled on fencing materials and some items from the plumbing department to create my very own customized pipe system, at a price I could afford. I scanned the internet for some reasonably priced, suitable drapes. I was proud of the set up we ended up creating. I think we both did an excellent job. (I hope you don't mind me giving myself a little pat on the back)

For the record..my wonderful husband created the wooden display stand for my focal beads, the wooden wine stop display and the black boxes for my necklaces to be displayed on. I seriously don't know what I would do without all his help. I think I will have to bake him a cheesecake for all his efforts, heck, I'll have to bake him a cheesecake a month for the next year.

I learned so very much from the artisans at this show. There are items I know would like to tweak before next years show but for this moment I can say I was happy with the set up I and my husband achieved. I am grateful and thankful for the generosity and support of the Dunstable Artisans. I am also grateful and thankful for the all the wonderful people who attended the show and were willing to support their local artists. I also have to thank my family for allowing me the time to let it be all about me these past few weeks. Now we will all return to our regular schedules....ahhhhh.

Ema

My Life

I promised to share a bit of who I am so here goes....

First and foremost I am a Mom, the most important job that I do. I like the title Life Manager. I think this is an accurate title for everything that I do on a daily basis.

I am Mom to three boys, ages 10, 17 and 19. Yes I find it hard to believe I have a kid that is anywhere near 20 years old. I still think I'm in my late 20's on most days. Parenting teenagers presents an interesting challenge to me on a daily basis. That could be an entire blog story for another day. I am lucky enough to be able to say my kids are really great kids and they truly don't give me much to worry about.

I am married to a great guy. My only complaint is he works too hard. (I know...I really shouldn't complain about that.) My husband is a self employed electrician and I handle all aspects of the office for him (bookkeeping, bill paying, contracts, invoices, etc.). I also manage the household. I never thought job would require a title but it seems as my life has moved forward it is a huge job. I often think I should get a paying job but I honestly don't know how my family would function if I did. We would have no food, no wearable clothes and we would live in a pig sty OR I would be a stressed out mess trying to get it all done. I don't know how women who work full time are able to get it all done. I say that with the utmost respect and envy. I have no debate on working vs. stay at home moms. We all have to do what works best for us and we should therefore respect the other persons choice. Simple.

Finally, I love to create. I am not able to hold myself to just one form of art. I love to explore new mediums. So therefore I dabble in many areas of art, such as drawing, painting, quilting, wool felting, knitting, photography and so on. However, my love and source of never ending possibilities is working glass in a flame, a process known as lampworking. This is also my business. I create one of kind lampwork beads and jewelry. Many of my creations can be found at local craft shows and on the internet.

There is my life in a nutshell. So now I am off to create!

Thanks for stopping by.

Ema

Find me on Etsy