Thursday, May 08, 2008

My Little Corner of the World

Copyright Tattered Edge 2008
So how are things with you? Yes, I really want to know! I have been having a bit of a break this week from most of my usual routine. I think I'm a bit bored. Okay, truth be told, alot bored. I'm the kind of girl who need to keep busy and when I am between things, it makes me very restless.


Fortunately, this week is spring pick up, which means I've spent the last few days busy spring cleaning and moving junk out to the curb. Not that we had alot of junk-I very carefully weeded most of it out prior to packing for our move-who wants to spend time and energy moving junk?! Mainly it was stuff that has either died or outlived it's usefulness.

The funny thing about spring pick up is everyone participates in this ritual. Then we all spend the week of the pick up driving around looking at other people's junk! Yes, it's like a giant curbside free for all. The rule is, if you put it out, it's fair game for anyone who wants to rescue any of it. There are scrap guys who come around to salvage anything metal. It's comical because one year, we put an old defunct BBQ out on the lane way and over the course of 3 days, it disappeared. First, the lid went. Then the next day the inner workings went. The final day, someone sawed off the body of it and all that was left was the legs. It was as if metal rats were nibbling on it in the night.

Occasionally someone puts out stuff that really should just go to a local thrift store. Once in awhile, you can find good art fodder. So far this year, I haven't seen anything worth stopping for. My son said one of the houses in the neighbourhood near his school put out a perfectly good DVD player. His buddy took it home and there was nothing wrong with it! One man's trash...

I cleaned out the closet in my studio which is about to have a bit of a reno. (The closet, not the studio.) I have a stack of stuff in the dining room that I am trying to decide what to do with-it's art stuff I haven't used, nor do I think I am going to. I wish I had sorted through those boxes prior to Artfest-it all could have gone to the art asylum. Oh well, I will figure it out eventually!

The studio closet is going to get some shelves built in shortly. My friend Lance was over last night and measured it. He's going to help me so I can maximize the storage space. As I think I've mentioned before, everything in the closet is in big boxes so any time I need something, it's always on the bottom of the piles and I pretty much have to empty the closet to get to it. It's driving me mad, so it's time to build some shelves. Then I can go through everything in the big boxes and sort them into much smaller (and prettier!) boxes with labels and shelve them. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's wasting time looking for things. I would rather spend my time making art than looking for what I need to make it!

Today I am off to Vancouver to teach little kids at an elementary school. I've taught there before. The school is an old one and reminds me of my elementary school. It's stone and 3 stories and situated right in the middle of an old established neighbourhood. It's all stairs so I always have to think about what I am packing and taking with me for my class because I have to carry it up and down 3 big flights of stairs. Art is not for wimps! *grins*

So what's happening in your world? Do tell!

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