My day at the Alaska Bead Company Trunk Show is this Saturday, March 24th from Noon to 5pm… I hope you will stop by and say hello!

I [...]]]> Every time I see my post “2012 Here I Come!” I laugh at myself. I had such immediate ambitions to hit this year running artistically… I expected to be all about creating and done with business. What I discovered is that there was much more “business” to take care of than I ever expected.

I knew I’d let a lot of personal life things slide while running the public studio and I knew I needed to take care of those things, was looking forward to getting to those projects and ToDo’s and such caught up. And I knew there would be work in closing the public studio to do also. I just didn’t realize how much of both there would be and much to my dismay I started this year with the same ‘torn in two directions’ life I had wanted to end once closing the studio.

The entire time the studio was open I knew my priority had to be “the studio” and doing my best to make it successful. But I also felt that I should be working on my own creative journey, not just because I wanted to but also because I felt that anyone who was teaching others about creating with glass should be doing some creating herself. But there wasn’t enough of me to do both well so I gave most of me to the studio. Even still, I always felt torn between the two desires.

So, with the studio officially closed and this year was about to begin I was all pumped up to start my full time creative journey and shouted it to the roof tops with my “2012 Here I Come” post. lol Errrkkkk…. (breaks screeching to a halt).

Ah-hem, Deb… selling off a studio takes a lot of time doesn’t it? Ya know, you REALLY have a lot of household and business things to catch up on don’t you? Bad Deb, you really neglected your Mom’s B&B website didn’t you. Do you know it’s already mid-February and you haven’t announced any new creations???

Still being stuck in the torn between two lovers mode (feeling scattered because while I was working on the “ToDo’s” I was thinking about how I should be in the studio creating)… I sat myself down and said “self” this isn’t working. What do you or should you be focusing on right now?

What “self” said to me was that I not only need to get all (okay, all may be asking a bit much but many would be nice) of these other life “things” done, caught up, finished, and out of my head, I want to. I want to finish the flooring and painting of my dining and living room that I stopped mid stream because I built a studio instead. I want to move my office into the other room so it is no longer in my bedroom. I want to set up my studio space so that it flows well for when I’m ready to create. I want to finish that darned fence this summer! And your Mom’s web site is a mess and summer is on it’s way!

So where did all this third person self talk lead me? To the realization that it was okay to give myself permission to take care of these things and not feel pressured to be at the studio working a full work week. That even if my intention in closing the public studio was to allow me to work creatively, if I have a lot of other work to do then that needs to be my priority for the moment and that along the path of getting caught up with other important things I’ll find my way to the torch and to the joy I feel when I am melting glass.

And ya know… just the recognition of that, saying it out loud made me feel so much better. It released the disappointment I was feeling in not having new art to share, or was it self pressure in thinking I should have new art to share?

You may wonder, what’s the plan Deb? Well… I’m happy to say that my hard work on my Mom’s web site (www.fallsinnalaska.com) over the past few weeks has paid off and it is looking lovelier than ever, functioning much more smoothly, and I am already seeing my SEO work bumping us back up the internet search engine listings! And as of this morning that BIG and long neglected project is complete!

I am close to having sold all my extra supplies from the studio but there’s a couple more LE sales to organize and post before I can call an end to that and turn my attention to other things on the list.

And the plan…

My day at the ABC Trunk show is March 24th, so I will be getting back on the torch to make goodies for that show. And I know it will feel good to do so.

But… After that I don’t have any glassy obligations (meaning shows or events planned) until the fall so I’m going to take whatever amount of time it does take to focus on “The List.” I won’t add any spring or summer events (which I had planned to do) until I have a good portion of “The List” complete. I’m not going to add any glass obligations to my calendar until I feel better about the rest of my life obligations.

Ahhhhh….. that feels sooooo gooooddddd!

And you may also wonder why I felt I should share this with “everyone?” lol – Well, there are several reasons for sharing. A big one I think is I’ve been reading other creative blogs and I’ve really enjoyed reading about their “truths” and how they manage their own struggles. One in particular is “The Fluent Self.”

Havi Brooks, of The Fluent Self, focuses on getting “destuckified.” Destuckification is working through the stucknesses that get in the way. And I’ve definitely been stuckified.

Another is to let you know why you haven’t seen any new creations from me because I get asked what I’m working on a lot. And why not… I did announce that 2012 should look out! lol

And in speaking my struggles and intentions out loud I remove some self imposed pressures and free myself to move forward in whatever direction I feel is necessary instead of what I feel is expected. My Mom always tells me I expect too much of myself and I may, kinda, sorta, maybe, agree with her.

So, consider me on the road to destuckification!

I’ll post again once I have some goodies for the trunk show to share, or if there is something else important to share. Until then, I hope my Alaskan subscribers will continue to visit all the lovely ladies who have a trunk show at ABC ahead. Here is the official list:

Feb 18 – Danica Curtright
Feb 19 – Susan Costello
Feb 25 – Carol Jones
Mar 3 – Simone Lange
Mar 17 – Laurel Christians
Mar 18 – Susan Kaplan
Mar 24 – Yours Truly, Deb Spence
Mar 25 – Terri Atwell
Mar 31 – Elise Strauss

And let’s not forget that Michelle Pearson and The Hot Headed Honey’s organized a wonderful Beads of Courage fundraising event where Alaska bead makers of all mediums (glass, clay, metal) will have one of their beads run the Iditarod which will then be sold at auction to raise money for Beads of Courage. So sign up for their newsletter to keep up to date on that event.

Until Next Time…
Blessings to You!
Deb

Despite the sticker shock of being in the 12th year of 2000 I’ve been a busy bee thinking, working and planning the year ahead. After my holiday season respite I feel raring to go and [...]]]> Can you believe that we are two days away from 2012??!! I think I’m still somewhere in 1989 lol.

Despite the sticker shock of being in the 12th year of 2000 I’ve been a busy bee thinking, working and planning the year ahead. After my holiday season respite I feel raring to go and am looking forward to a year focused on creation.

There is still some studio dismantling chores to take care of and some supplies and glass to sell but I’ll work on the remainder of those tasks in between my new goals. But if you are local and need supplies I may have what you need and hope you will touch base. And if you haunt the LE garage sale you will see listings as I organize for shipment sales.

If you are wondering what my new goals are… I suspect some will be defined as the year moves along, but others are; continuing to settle into “my” personal studio space, setting up a sandblasting area, exploring boro color and tubing and preparing for the 2012 shows I will be participating in.

The first of which will be the 2nd annual Alaska Bead Company Alaska Lampworker’s Trunk Show Series which will begin January 21st and end March 31st. ABC’s “brilliant” general manager, Linda Myers, came up with the idea last year where each weekend a different Alaskan Lampworker is featured in a trunk show. My date is March 24th. To stay informed on this show series you can visit Alaska Bead Company’s website to see what other wonderfully talented local artists will be at this show and when.

I will fill you in on what else is in store for my new journey along the path. Until then…

Many Blessings to You and Yours in 2012!

With Love,
Deb

I hope you join us for lots of great deals on tools, equipment, supplies, and GLASS!

Some discounts include:
104 Glass Color 30% off
Silvered Glass 20% [...]]]> The BIG Sales Weekend starts this Friday (Nov. 25th), termed “Glass Friday” by Liz, at noon. The sales runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday Noon to 7pm!

I hope you join us for lots of great deals on tools, equipment, supplies, and GLASS!

Some discounts include:
104 Glass Color 30% off
Silvered Glass 20% off
Bullseye Odds 30% off
Bullseye Color 25% off

Other items up for sale, a little smith torch, a brand new Mini CC, a used Minor Burner, Brass presses, rubber stamps, tools, tools, tools, frit, glass powder, jewelry displays, comfie working chairs… the list goes on and I hope you stop by to see what else I’ll add before Friday!