Too Busy to Blog

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The winter is ebbing, Spring is tentatively showing her face and there are signs of new life in my garden. Just as the energy of nature is increasing so, too, is the energy of my life. Things have been happening at a rapid pace and it seems that every day there is something else that demands my time and attention. I'm not complaining, mind you, just saying that I've been busy...very busy. So much so that I haven't been able to sit down and chronicle it all. It's been a very gratifying kind of busy.

I have continued my weekly crafts sessions at the senior citizen center. They had to be postponed for a couple of weeks due to a couple of unexpectedly heavy snowfalls in late February and early March but I picked up again when the weather broke. So far we have created two cards and have decorated a box that is the perfect size for storing those cards. The ladies apparently like what I'm doing to the point that they have been asking for me in my absence. They want to know when I'll be back again to continue our card making sessions. I find this especially gratifying since I was concerned that my inexperience in dealing with a senior population, some of whom have limitations, might prove more challenging than I could handle. Apparently I'm doing just fine. The seniors are happy and the center director is happy. I can't ask for better than that. Here's a picture of me and some of the ladies taken at our last crafting session. They are holding the boxes they decorated.

I will be entering in no less than three art competitions within the next month or so. One competition, sponsored by the FEGS Health and Human Services System, was brought to my attention by my senior center director. The winning artist not only wins a prize but the organization the artist represents also wins a cash prize to be used for its arts program. That would be such a bonanza for my center if I were to win. I have nothing to lose so I've already entered that contest. Fingers and toes dutifully crossed. Another contest is being sponsored by my husband's union local. The prize is a small one - a $50 US savings bond - but all entries will be exhibited at the local's annual spring art festival. I have the option of submitting up to four entries in various categories and I've already chosen some of those entries.

The last contest comes with a little story. I entered a few of my cards into a watercolor challenge hosted by a rubber stamp company. Turns out my entries were not eligible because of an oversight on my part but they caught the eye of someone at the stamp company who contacted me by email. It seems my entries were among the favorites. I was invited to submit more of my work using the company's own line of stamps and I was given the option of choosing any sheet of stamps from their collection. My work would be displayed at the company's trade show booth and on their website art gallery. In addition, it would be entered in the contest that is currently being hosted by the company. I figured I had absolutely nothing to lose and at the very least I gained a free sheet of rubber stamps. I'm currently busy designing some entries for that contest. I'll post those pictures in a future article.

On top of all this, I'm volunteering my time and talents to my daughter's high school for this year's graduation. This is a new charter school and it will be promoting it's very first graduating class of which my daughter is a member. The budget for this event is darn near non-existent so everything is being done on a shoestring. Furthermore, since this school focuses on sustainability and environmental careers, everything must be eco-friendly. To this end, I'm designing paper flowers that I will use to create floral decorations for the auditorium. My challenge? I know next to nothing about floral design but lack of knowledge hasn't stopped me before. I'll just fake it 'til I make it. The raw material for these flowers will come from the schools recycling bin so we don't have to purchase paper. How's that for being green?

So as I said at the very beginning, I've been busy...very busy...a good kind of busy.


Ballo ergo sum
- Gitana, the Creative Diva