I know it doesnt look like I've gotten very far....

But I really have done a bunch of Behind the scenes stuff. 

I wanted to show the real color of this saddle first of all. For whatever reason my point and shoot camera with the macro adds a lot of red to the photos of this saddle.  It's not that red.. I'm using Fiebings Dk Brown with antiquing paste but the camera things it casts more red than it does in "real life"

I am working on a pattern for stirrups made from leather.  I haven't done this in the past because my results had been disastrous but for some reason my brain "gets it" now.  I've also been futzing around my studio and organizing it a little bit and putting stuff in boxes and rearranging.  I've also been reading about Sheridan style tooling and I understand it a lot better now.  Once Again I'm scrapping the pattern and I'm going to redraw something better.  Lots of jumps forward lately.

I've also finally broken down and bought some plastic stencils for geometric shapes.  This should help me tremendously with getting my lines a little more straight and even.

I'm battling full out with some depression issues related to grief about my dad's death.  I'm in "stage two" of the stages of grief.. I'm out of shock and fully into dealing with my loss.  Lots of mood swings going on with me. (more so than usual.. scary... I know) It's been healing though for me to be in the studio creating.  I've put on weight because I'm just so tired all of the time after coming home from work and taking care of my mom.  I just don't have the energy to walk every day but that at least leaves more time for the studio.

My family is more precious now and I'm finding I've become more frank and blunt as well as more forgiving.. I hope that part lasts :-)

I upgraded the template of my blog here but I haven't had time to read and figure out how to customize it more.. so forgive the blandness of it..