On the Horizon

Coffee in the Atlanta skyline mug, "Return of the King" by Howard Shore & Sir james Galway on iTunes. Coffee would have been in the Denver mug in honor of snow, winter, and Aunt Sheila, but it must be in the studio still. Today I reflect on January. The heart of winter. The month for the artist of rest and rejuvenation. Of preparing for the spring and summer season.... And then there's this damn book. The anxiety attacks have begun again. Little ripples and tremors catch me unawares and I am the deer in the headlights for a moment or two.

But the book is written, right? It's being copy edited by a very capable woman as I type, right? Well, yes. But this book isn't just words. Oh no, it is lots and lots of big, pretty, glossy, color pictures. Pictures of projects which aren't done yet. Pictures of stages of projects which aren't prepared yet. Pictures of tools and storage and glass in a pristine studio. The key word there is "pristine". My best approximation of the antithesis of pristine is slovenly, which is a step up from the current state of my studio. The photo shoot is scheduled in a tight three days January 24 - January 26. Period. And there is still that pesky wall sconce to mold and make...

That's just the book. The Art Institute has 17 pieces due before February 1. The wholesalecrafts.com website and my website languish untouched. The bookkeeping is still unstarted. The... *breathe*

I joined Weight Watchers again yesterday. When I look at all the weight I have to lose after 20 years of steadily gaining it seems an unachievable goal. But in WW you don't look at the whole picture at one time (let's face it, it's a pretty big picture). You put your head down and look at what you need to do to get to the first step. And then the second. And you keep on going, one little step at a time. You celebrate each step forward and you work through each step backwards. Now to apply that philosophy to January (music swelling in "The Black Gate Opens" also from the Lord of the Rings soundtrack).

And on the subject of the Dark Lord... need to fire off a letter to my editor about the wall sconce and a couple of illustrations. That's my first little step. Into the West I go.