Bad Hair Day Life and Art School Update

I made this page with my hair affliction in mind, which is that I just have bad hair. Period. And, when I have the supreme luck to have my hair look good, it's all gravy, baby. Looking on the bright side.

I used collage sheet images from Nancy Baumiller's Collage Play with Crowabout challenge group. And my painted background is another page in my Kelly Kilmer monthly ning class A Prompt A Day.

So, a little art school update: I have winded down on doing art journal pages, as I am worn out from it. I pushed my envelope, enjoyed it, challenged myself and kicked my art up a notch due to it. But I had to just stop this past weekend, enough being enough. I needed a break and I did nothing artistic. That behavior bled into this week, and last night I realized I could keep it up even longer, which will really blow my schedule all to hell because I am already behind in multiple classes. Time to get a grip.

My adjusted gameplan is that since I created 12 journal pages in 24 days and that is an average of one every 2 days, I plan to continue output at that speed or maybe 1 every 3 days. Yes, 1 every 3 is the plan. This means I will continue to do September prompts throughout October and that is more my style. Since each page usually takes me 3-4 hours start to finish, you can see I was doing little else when I was churning them out.  I would dearly love to do a page a day, but I like my pages to be just right how I like them and mean something, like collages in a book, so they do take longer. That's just the way it is and is going to be. I'm embracing reality with a smile. We won't even factor in my physical restraints.

I should be on Lesson 3 in my Suziblu class; instead, I've barely finished Lesson 1. Suzi cleared me to go to Lesson 2, but I really don't feel she should have (how is that for confidence?). I shall advance anyway, and if it bites me in the butt I will start over, no problem. She recently extended our stay in our class until the end of December, so that means we have a lot more time to do the course. Was that a prayer of mine being answered? No, she has a book deal and magazine and all kinds of famousness brewing, and has to juggle that and her classes. Whatever the reason, I'm happy. Another reason I am happy is that I realize now that I can draw those doll faces. I have Suzi's pdf's and videos that teach how, so I have accomplished my biggest goal, which was to discover the secret to it and find out if I could do it. Again, the quality wil be mine and not hers but I never ever expected to have her quality. I actually enjoy her method as there is a surprising amount of geometry involved, and I'm always up for a good game of math, you know. ;-) (Sorry, I cannot divulge any more technique secrets as she will have me killed if I do -- proprietary info and all.)

I haven't even begun my friend Linda's altered tin and cards class and we are in the 2nd week. {Hanging my head in shame, but I know she forgives me...that's what friends are for...let's not forget I didn't really need the class, but I wanted to support my friend, plus I am taking it for the motivation to make Christmas presents, and it'll probably be one of my more enjoyable classes, too.}

I hope to concentrate today and catch up quickly, so all will be perfect. Since we are to do only one tin in there and I am going to do a minimum of 3 (and since I basically knew how to do it -- I am emphatically not saying they'll look great, but I do know how to alter a tin), I think I'll be caught up by Sunday. I have to cover my tins and then do my dividers that go inside. I wasn't motivated to do it before, but now I am actually looking forward to it.

I wish I could say the same thing for my Paint Shop Pro classes. I just cannot seem to get past my fear and my lack of desire combined. I'm going to do a few lessons this morning before altering my tins, and if the feeling continues, I'm dropping them. I am so unmotivated to learn so many of the things PSP does that I'll never do, just in order to learn the few things I do want to know, ya know?

The free Taking Flight book study began again over on On the Wing ning, and since I blew my first chance to study Kelly Rae Roberts' awesome book, I really have to do it this time. My lovely friend Teri has decided to lead it again, but probably not 3 times. My realization about being able to draw petit doll faces will only help me with Kelly Rae's faces, which I love equally, so strike while the iron is hot, I say. I should mention, this was not on my original class load, so it's an Add. Dang, I'm an art glutton.

While we are on Adds, I had counted the Lynn Perella Artists' Journals and Sketchbooks book study group over at Artists Round Table (where I did the Gwen Diehn class), but now I have finally decided to audit this, if only for the section on decorating slidemounts, which is my favorite part of the book. We will see how it goes, but I've decided to sign up today.

Well, I'm worn out talking about what I'm gonna do and now need to rest in order to actually do something. Doncha love it? Onward Christian Soldier! LOL Here's to Don Quixote and Windmills! Laterz!