We are now coming to the end of January, one of the longest months of the year. Although logically, I “know” December should appear the longest, having the Winter Solstice and 31 days; January is for me much much longer. The days are lengthening, but that is offset by the obligations the month brings. Obligations which send my artistic time into hiding.
In January 2006, I created this Journal Quilt piece for the Journal Quilt Project that year. It described perfectly, what a typical January feels like for me:
And why you ask does this happen? Well, my husband and I are both self-employed, in small businesses. Businesses big enough to support us, but too small to hire office help. So, at year end, all the paperwork must be finalized and checked before the spread sheet is sent to our accountant. At this point, I have actually made major progress on this. Although to look at the current condition of the office, you would wonder:
Do you see that cardboard box by the chair? When I started, it was overflowing with recheck items, it’s now only half full! That IS progress!!
And in the meantime, what have I accomplished artistically in the last week? Only this:
This is the central figure of a new piece. The title of which is “Flora”.
Flora, the Roman Goddess of Flowers, was considered to be a minor Goddess, but for me, with my love of flowers, could be considered a major one. The fiber art group I am a member of, FAB, is working on a current challenge. We each picked a theme for our piece, created a layout pattern, and completed one section. This is then passed on to the next person in line, until all five sections (there are five of us in this group), are completed and returned to the original artist. At which point, the original artist is to finish their piece, as they see fit. So, it will be quite a while before I can share this piece again, but when it returns to me, I will.