Chipping Away

I had intended to post again before now, but last week was a very tough week. I spent most of it running back and forth to the hospital and doctor's appointments. None of it was pleasant. Basically, I am still having issues with my wrist, which I broke a month ago. There's something wrong with one bone (the pisiform, if you really want to know) and tendon which attaches to it and it's so painful.

In addition to that, I also seem to have injured a calf muscle and the result is that it's having a trickle down effect on my foot muscles. I am limping and in pain a great deal of the time. Nothing to do but ice it, take ibuprofen and wait for it to heal. *sigh* I have no idea how I managed to get either of these injuries and I am *so* not amused.

Anyway, enough griping! What I want to talk about is art! Last week my friend Karenann sent me a wonderful collage, A is for Anatomy. (I'd have posted a pic here if my battery hadn't died on my camera just now.)Karenann is so lovely and thoughtful. Over the years, she's sent me so many amazing pieces of work. What I love best about what she does is her layering. She's so masterful in her use of colours, materials and mediums. Every time I find an envelope in my post box with her name on the return address, I know that it's going to contain some really yummy eyecandy.

Karenann proposed that we do an exchange of alpha cards, the idea being that when we have a spare moment and the spirits move us, we will make a card for the other and send it out, back and forth till we complete all 26 letters. I think this will be alot of fun-it will be like an art conversation between two friends. I've wanted to do something collaborative with her for some time so when she said she wanted to do this, I jumped at the chance! I am going to be working on my letter A shortly. I'll post it when I get it finished.

I am also going to make a concerted effort to begin working on my Olympic journal. I want not only to blog about my experience, but to record everything on paper as well. I must admit that I am not so much a paper journaller, (which is kind of ironic as I am hopelessly addicted to buying and collecting paper journals) as I am a blogger. I think it has alot to do with the speed at which my brain runs and being able to type and have my hands keep up with my train of thought. I really do like the idea of keeping a paper journal for this once-in-a-lifetime event though.

I plan to incorporate alot of ephemera into my journal-apparently each day of the Olympics, there will be a newsletter I will be getting as I arrive at the venue each day. I will try to snag a spare, if possible, so I can cut one up to add to my journal and then keep one "as is". If I can't get a spare then I will just make do.

I bought a large red Moleskine to use for this project and I am thinking about either altering the cover or sewing a slip cover of some sort. I haven't made up my mind yet which I prefer. I need to get moving on it soon-I already have lots of things I want to remember. Olympic training start this Thursday and I am so excited!

Okay, back to work for me!