Clearing A New Path

Posted on by Sandy Webster

This little fellow showed up yesterday with his twin to pick through the greens in the front yard. They did not eat that much and I find it matters less if they do. I am thinking within the year I will have moved from here.

Marla and I walked the trail and looked up toward the studio on the right side of the lower level. We cleared out so much from there that went to the trash or into her car to take back north.

There is even a weaving loom and accessories in there. The things not in the car went off to the trash in two trips. We made a list of the furniture that will go with me and the pieces that won’t, the artwork I want to live with and the pieces that go elsewhere. We removed the gate to prevent Lee from falling down the stairs in the night.

In between we had wine, scotch, fairly good food and lots of laughs. I also showed her how to do white line printmaking so she could have her own interpretations of our two different morning walks.

 

I patched the wall and thought of all the other patching that will have to happen before I sell the house. It has had so many fun memories for me and now should start to make more for the next occupants. I have picked a new path and intend to step slowly and carefully along the way. Many months ahead of more sorting and packing before I leave this behind.

Next thing on the list is finish digging out whatever I put under my work tables in the studio. The Richeson etching press will not be going with me so I will sell it. The bed is 13″ by 36″ , comes with the stand and I am thinking $1200 is a good price. There are still two flat files of papers to go through. Why do we think we need so much paper! When I was teaching workshops at home and within driving distance it seemed practical to have some handy but not now!

So now my mind is on fresh starts.

And remembering and recording the past.

It is time for lunch and a good ponder on where to start next. Or maybe I will just ignore the clearing and cleaning today and write. It has taken me a while to get used to options again.

Til later….

 

 

 

Way Too Much Stuff!!

Posted on by Sandy Webster

Since I did this journal entry four days ago there has been no time to get back to it.

After our early morning walks alternating between the river and the dam……

it has been sorting out my studio closet! What a mess! I collected so much thinking I might just use it one day. The first thing to pack up was all the pigment processing equipment and the collected colors from all over. Once I separated what I would take with me, the rest was boxed up for an enthusiastic student who has gone on to gain a reputation for processing and painting with earth pigments. I am so happy to have her grateful acceptance of so many travels, colors and materials.

Next to come out of there was everything related to sewing. What I will keep with me is in this antique shoe makers trunk filled to the brim.

When emptying out this trunk I found these.

Remember those Friendship Coverlets where everyone in the weaving guild wove a square with the idea being they would all be pieced into a coverlet. Well, thirty years later and they were still waiting. My daughter will get these now and hopefully will enjoy putting them together onto a backing fabric.

All of my prints from printmaking have been corralled into boxes and I will try to sell my Richardson Etching Press. I have a small tabletop X Cut to do whatever I need in the future.

Now the only thing to come out of that closet is the large flat file, three heavy duty shelf cases that will work out well in the new garage, and a work table for the drill press, etc.

I have lots of paper to go through and dispose of. Some will stay in the flat file to be taken by the fellow who is getting the board shear, some I will give to a friend who has been helping me do this and some I may keep.

So far today three more bags have been added to this lot of five headed for the garbage.

Also found in the back on a top shelf was a box of artist book sculptures. One I will keep, one goes home with my helper and two were tossed. This one was never exhibited. It was a found book about being a good preacher, an advice book of sorts that was quite anti gay. I shredded each page keeping them connected to the covers and spine to make this very large nest. The “egg” in the nest of misery is a book written by Joan Biaz in the days of love and acceptance. The red ribbon book mark is for the pain and loss through bigotry.

Why did I think I needed so much! One bag and one carton ready for a weaving friend to pick up and about three cubic feet of “possibles” for the friends from St Louis coming next month.

Marla who has hauled and helped me get moving on this project will be heading home with a carload.

I have taught her how to do white line printmaking and today she seems hooked. We are going upstairs to have a bit of libation before starting again tomorrow.

Til later

Reflecting

Posted on by Sandy Webster

This is me now, reflecting and seeing things from new perspectives.

I am getting it together and readying myself for changes…fresh starts.

I took the above three pictures on my walk at the dam this morning. It is such a lovely place to get some clarity.

There is nothing that comes close to the stacked blues and greens of where I live.

A friend arrives today from up north to help me get some control over what goes and what gets thrown out or given away. There are so many things in the studio that I will likely never use. So much fabric, papers, books, bits and pieces that looked so promising when I brought them home. I will pawn off as much as I can on this friend and then try to find others who might see the potential and take them home to their own studios.

I will spend the week getting things in boxes and stacked in closets but only the things that will be passed on. Then I will be able to assess what is left on shelves and walls and plan on where they go when I sell the house. It is a big adventure that seemed so daunting just last week, but I am ready to get busy.

Speaking of busy….

New scraps are now in the journal.

We are treating ourselves to a day in Asheville this week. Just three of us going there to have lunch at an outdoor restaurant and keep our masks handy for any trips inside shops. I will not be buying ANYTHING is my promise. There is no room for it here.

I will be back in a few days to report on our progress.  Here is the last day of July fading off to the west.

Til later….

 

Drawing, Sewing, Thinking

Posted on by Sandy Webster

You would think mornings like this would encourage you to make changes, do something different, make a fresh start, something!

But I remain as still as these ducks on the river.

I called a developer of a retirement community in the area.

Me: “Do all your houses have to be lined up close together?”

Him: “Yes, that is the ordinance. But there is twenty feet between them.”

From where I am sitting, that is across the room.

Me: “Couldn’t you put one house away from the others?”

Him” No, that can’t be done.”

Me: “Can a person change the floor plans you offer?”

Him: “Not by much.”

Me: “Are people happy there?”

Him: “Happiness just depends.”

I thank him for his time and call the Senior Assistance Center to talk with a woman who apparently knows quite a lot about the area and senior’s needs.

Me: Hi, it is me again. What do you know about senior communities in the area.”

Her: “There aren’t many. Actually other than the one you talked to this morning I can’t think of any. Let me ask around the office.”

Me: Waiting.

Her: “Well there is a place in a town not far from here that rents cabins with a view. They are just two bedrooms and cost close to $3,000 per month. It is a religion affiliated community.”

Me: “Do I have to be religious?”

Her: “Maybe.”

I am passing on the idea of finding anything local. It was just a thought that I could keep all my doctors of near thirty years and still downsize. I will reconsider that. I did look at the website of the local senior housing development to see that someone from Florida was moving into their new house and saw how excited that made another resident. Florida has one of the highest percentages of those refusing to be vaccinated and takes pride in their support for putting imbeciles in office. I will still go down to Greenville SC and see what is there in possibilities.

And I would miss this:

Eight new adolescent turkeys in this group and four in another that come by later.

I walked the dam this morning before the humidity set in.

And photographed this folding Queen Anne’s Lace to draw later today.

This kudzu vine ended up on the latest page.

And I could not resist the latest condition of the bergamot.

I need to spend the day cleaning up my sewing area from making clothes for a friend. The tiny linen scraps will go into new bits of thread work for the journal.

Nothing else going on here. Too much thinking at times. Missing someone to bounce ideas off of. Talking to myself and asking questions does no good as we share the same opinions. I might need to get out more but now putting the mask back on and staying away from people is looking the wiser choice.

Til later….