a few things

I know, that second picture has nothing to do with model horse tack. It does, however, have everything to do with my life now. I never understood why an art career has to take a back seat to children. I do now. Munchkins need constant supervision once they learn to crawl, and one is so mentally tired when munchkin goes down for a nap that doing art, or anything for Mom is really put on the back burner.



I did play around with my new alpaca yarn and making a cinch. It's been about 2 years since I made my last one and it's taking me some time to figure it all out again. I have no idea how long this cinch is going to take me but it'll be cool when it's done.



I haven't had the time or the mental capacity to learn spinning yet. There are several ways of using a drop spinner and it's going to take me a few hours of focus to do it. Problem is that I just don't currently have a few hours of focus to give it.



I was feeling very very creative yesterday for a few hours and I sat down and did a few sketches. nothing earth-shattering, or even good but I do see how photography has taught my eye to see much better. When I turn back towards model horse tack and saddle patterns I can see that I'm going to have to redo them.. again..

NO ELECTRICITY

Unfortunately, as of today, I've been without electricity for two days! It stinks!! Especially for an Internet junkie like myself! THe POer Companjy says it could be yet another 7 days before our power is back up. This is due to the 71 MPH winds that came through our area on sunday. These winds were the remanants of Hurricane Ike. There are 260,000 people in Louisville without power and unfortunately, I am one of them. All of the houses around us on different streets have power - it is very frustrating. We are fortunate though, the trees behind our house withstood the winds just fine and our house suffered no obvious damage.



Luckily my husband bought a small power supply a couple of years ago so that we can have 25 - 30 minutes of internet a night.. Our home network is down though so I can't tweak any photos during this time. The good thing is that I can work in the studio in the mornings when my son sleeps because the sun shines right into it. I haven't gotten a lot done because I am spending time looking for some of the supplies I need, but hopefully tomorrow I'll be more productive!

Overwhelmed

I have to say that I've felt pretty overwhelmed over the past 8 or so months with the birth of my son, not being able to go back to work, taking on a new career and not having enough time to myself. I think that there are a lot of things that people just don't talk about or admit to when they have a munchkin enter their lives for fear that people will think they're not good parents. I love my son more than I've ever loved anyone or anything in my life. That is absolutely for sure the truth. That doesn't mean though that it hasn't been a rough adjustment.

Because of all of the above change, I've really struggled to redefine who I am in my own mind. I haven't come to any conclusions yet either

Lately I've been in the studio a few more days than usual and it's felt really good to sit and work with my hands on something tha I KNOW I can do. I don't get a lot of time to just sit and create and it feels really good to be back at the bench.

My desire to become a better photographer hasn't waned at all, much to my surprise. The more I learn about the business of photography, the more I realize how truly difficult it is to make a living as a photographer. Right now, I'm probably just too stupid to realize that I may not be able to do this so I just keep pushing forward

This weekend is the Rare Breed Expo put on by the Rare Breed Trust at the Kentucky Horse Park. I can't wait to go and photograph some of the horses. This includes caspian ponies, Akhal Tekes, Dartmoor ponies and more!

ON my workbench are work boots for my roping set that I'm still fooling with. I've also bought a Drop Spindle and some unspun wool. Yes, you read right, I'm going to attempt to spin wool. Why you ask? On the Advice of Jacquie (sp?) that I met at the Artisian's hall, I'm learning to do this to make my mecates more realistic. I also think that If I learn to spin my own string/yarn I can make a realistic string girth for my mother hubbard II set. (Bless you Robin S. for being so patient with me! I really think that it'll be worth it in the end!)

Thats the one thing about making model horse tack that I love - a Never Ending learning curve!!