Organization: Mission Impossible/Giveaway

When Mike and I were working together, we always prided ourselves on how the systems in our store were organized to facilitate as good a flow as possible. We pushed the staff constantly to document details and to prioritize every action taken in the office. Creating a well-oiled machine was the goal.



Ice Fog #1
Water Soluble Oils on Wrapped Canvas

And, while the store runs fairly smoothly, considering the volume of work and customers, it never has become that well-oiled machine we strove to make. Not everyone is naturally inclined to being organized and it is not a trait that can be forced upon an individual. 

String of Spring
Watercolor Pencil on
Strathmore 120#

The sad part of this is that I am not an organized person. Not naturally. Despite decades of trying to become instinctively tidy and timely, it just won’t come. Things are stuffed in drawers, never to be found again. I’m chronically 5-15 minutes late. Projects are never ending. I get so many things going at the same time that everything becomes jumbled and nothing is ever really finished.

I’ve done the list-thing, over and over again, to no avail. I’ve scribbled them and lost them. I’ve started pocket calendars repeatedly and promptly ignored them. I’ve created grids with weekly outlines that get buried under all the other papers I generate. As for the dry-erase board, the last entry I have on it is from before Thanksgiving. Of 2008.

The problem I’ve always had with lists and schedules is that they only work as long as nothing happens that disrupts them. You know: kids, parents, pets, illness, weather, etc. And while the spouse may be unbelievably supportive of your many endeavors, it’s impossible to determine, in advance, how much time you’ll need or want with him/her.

And disruption is not the only challenge. There is also the tendency to underestimate the amount of time any particular project may take. Something that might take your teenager 15 minutes on the computer will probably take you 2 hours. If you’re lucky. I’ve been cleaning my basement for the last 3 winters. I keep finding more things that need to be tossed, repackaged, donated, and cleaned. And we’ve only been in this house 7 years!

At this point in my life, though, I’m not sweating it anymore. It’ll get done when it gets done. I may not be any better organized than I’ve ever been, but I’ve gotten much better at prioritizing.


Ice Fog #2

When I was growing up, our house always had to be immaculate. Now, I tend to think my house is a disaster, but I’ve realized, when apologizing to service people for the mess, it’s really not that bad. There’s no vermin (with the exception of an occasional field mouse), there are clean dishes and linens, and the health department hasn’t shut me down. And, in the recent past, I hold onto this thought my mother expressed: “I wish we had spent less time cleaning and more time playing.”

String of Spring Detail

I’ll still make lists. I have to, otherwise, I’d spend most of my days scratching my head and muttering to myself, “What the heck was I doing/looking for/coming in here for?”

But the key element to what I need to get done, above and beyond the basics, is easy: Is it something I and my family and friends going to enjoy?

It’s no contest between lunch with the girlfriends and finishing organizing the basement. Or dusting the house versus dinner with my parents and husband. And definitely no conflict between spending time with the kids or staying late at work.

I like this new form of organization much better. It’s a much more natural system for me.

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Unfortunately, once again, the response to the giveaway has fallen flat. I do thank Carol & Joan for their wonderful responses. Right now, it's between these 2 lovely ladies.

In the hopes of gaining more responses, the giveaway for the Gift Tag for a Great Day will be continued through Monday, March 7th.

For those without your own blog, you can email me at bronsonhillarts@gmail.com or become a follower and leave a comment to participate.

And, even if you're not interested in the Gift Tag, it'd be nice to hear some uplifting messages about the good things in your life! So, show us that you're a fellow fan of life and join us on the Hill!

IF Swarm

The Cat Sitter, aka, Swarm
Prismacolor Soft Thick Lead Pencil on Canson Watercolor Paper 90#

Or, a normal scene at home every night (less 3 cats).

We have no idea how the cats can tell time, but every night, without fail, we are alerted of the eleventh hour of the evening. We are yelled at, stared at and attacked at times. If I go near the kitchen anytime within a 2 hour periemeter, I am petitioned. If I fail to comply, my legs are twined by a feline body so that my movement is severely limited.

This illo is another exercise for me. A few posts back, I included some illustrations I had done for my father and mother for a wonderful series of children's books they've written. But, I didn't like the way the colored pencil appeared in the blog. It was too sketchy and patchy.

So "Swarm" was an attempt to apply thicker layers of color to get a fuller effect. With a little help from a few tortillons, it did work better. I'm still working on lines and fill to avoid smudging, though. One step at a time.

Although, I don't think this cat-sitter can take one step at a time!

Giveaway: Celebration Time!

It's time for a GIVEAWAY! Friends & Fellow Fans of Life, as promised last week, BHA is introducing a new and fun personalized item which I'd love to share with all of you!

I few weeks ago, my friend and fellow artisan, Stephanie, of Crystal Allure Jewelry, asked me to design a custom gift tag for her niece, Nicole, for her upcoming 5th birthday. Stephanie had seen specialized gift tags at various places, but nothing handmade & personalized. Always in creative mode, she said, "How about...?"

So a handmade, personalized gift tag was born:

But before it was colored (Nicole loves pink & princesses), I kept a copy of the sketch with the thought that future tags can be custom colored in addition to custom lettered.

And what about a boy? Thus, an all-boy themed tag was added to keep our "princess" company.

Any theme should be able to be designed. Color combinations can be selected. Sizes between 2x3 to 3.5 x 5.5 can be specified.

The price would start at $5 plus shipping. Size and complexity of the tag  and design will influence the final cost. I'll be more than happy to put together a quote for you. A 3-week time frame should be given for design, execution and shipping.
                           

The tags are printed on pastel-colored cardstock 110# (color would be determined by the design), inked in permanent marker, lettered & decorated with quality scrapbooking stickers.
Tags will be packaged in acid-free cello from Bronson Hill Arts.

The rules for the giveaway are simple:

1. Leave a comment telling us something great about your life today. If you wish, you can leave your message anonymously, but be sure to e-mail your info so you can be entered to win!

2. Get an extra entry if you sign up on BHA's RSS feed.

3. Get another entry if you leave a (nice or neutral) comment on any of our pieces on  Flickr and/or Etsy. You can  access either from the sidebar of this blog. Double/right-click the Flickr Slideshow and/or the Etsy banner.

4. Let me know for what occassion you would want a gift tag. If you're suggestion is drawn, I'd verify your "request" before a design was started.

A winner will be drawn on Monday, the 28th of February.

So, thank you for participating and good luck!

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And, check out Cactus Monday while you're visiting Flickr. Yes, I have a painting posted, but, there is just such cool stuff from everyone!



Sedona Cactus ©2011
 General's Kimberly Watercolor Pencil on 90# Canson Watercolor Paper



Happy Cactus Monday!

IF- Layers...



Layers and Layers of...mmm... Lasagna....mmm...

 As covered in the last blog, been busy, busy. I had ideas for the last couple of Illustration Friday topics, but put off making any of them.

It changed this week. I just couldn't say "no" to this one.

When I was growing up, my mother, an excellent cook, tried and tried to get me into the kitchen. And the garden. And to clean my room. Actually, to get me to find my floor in my room.  But, no. I had no interest in any of those boring things. I had places to go, people to see. Where we sat around and did mostly... nothing. It was boring on my terms, though.

Digress and redirect: Over the last 10 or so years, though, I've discovered a fondness for making comfort foods. My waistline can attest to that. Even Mike's starting to show it around the belt area (and, that is not an easy accomplishment, I assure you!). I enjoy taking a recipe from a book or a magazine and modifying it to make it my own. Sometimes I fall flat, but I do have a decent record of success with this approach.

Yep. Lasagna is one of my better concoctions.

This weekend, we're celebrating a significant birthday for my father. There comes a time when there are no more gifts to be bought. The needs are few and usually covered. The wants are fewer or just too expensive. And, please! No more knicknacks!

So, lasagna and apple pie is it. A meal made with love. Love for the process and, above all else, for the recipient.

Mmm....Looking forward to celebrating love in sooo many layers!

Oh, My, Oh, My!

“I’ve got to get back…to the house on Pooh corner by one. You’d be surprised, there’s so much to be done: Count all the bees in the hive; chase all the clouds from the sky...”- Kenny Loggins

That’s been life lately. So much to do, so much to enjoy. Oh, it’s been dappled by a crisis or two. But nothing that didn’t have that little bit of silver edging on the cloud. No destructive storms have swept us away.

In the huge world of internet art and marketing, the options have been overwhelming. There is Etsy, Artfire, Ebay, etc. There are smaller avenues such as Daily Painters that offer marketing exposure for artists, as well as other blogs that offer segments that feature fellow artists. I’ve only signed on for Etsy and Artfire-so far- but, being new to this medium, it takes a good amount of time to get things initially organized.

Honey Bunnies Summertime-Ahh...


Along the way, I’ve been working on some new items. There are new note cards designed and a new painting in progress. There’ll be another giveaway starting Monday, February 21^st for a new, and we think, fun item that keeps with our goal of customizing art for you.



Honey Bunnies Autumn-Sharing

Please check out the buttons on our sidebar for the Etsy and Artfire Studios. I’m still ironing out some details, so bear with me. And, please let me know if you have any suggestions. A second, or third, or fourth, set of eyes is always a great source of information.

Despite having had much-too-much of the white, icy stuff this season, I’ve had this photo that my mother took for a few years. I’ve wanted to translate it into a painting all that time. This is a peek at the first steps of the process. It’s a water soluble oil painting on a 5x7 wrapped canvas.

Ice Fog Beauty

A second set of note cards are ready to be sold, the beneficiary of a portion of the sales being the Humane Society of Livingston County. I’ve shown some of them throughout other posts, but am happy to officially present the 1^st Honey Bunnies Collection. 

The Honey Bunnies Collection is a set of 4 blank note cards printed on 110 lb. matte white Avery notecard stock with matching envelopes. The price is $10.95 for all 4 plus shipping or $2.75 each plus shipping. The goal, again, is to raise monies for our local animal humane society. At this time, they only have foster home facilities, with which they do wonderful service. Their plan is to raise enough funds to build a medium-sized central facility so that they can help that many more animals. We hope to be able to help, in no matter how small a way, with this effort.

That being said, thanks for your continued visits and support! And, Christopher Robin is waiting for me, so I must be off! Ta-ta!


Honey Bunnies Winter- Almost Done!

 

Honey Bunnies Spring- Yayyy!



It Can Be Done!

I was born a bull. Yes, a Taurus (though, now I’ve no clue what sign I am since that new sign has been introduced and skewered the entire alignment). I believe in quite a few different forces moving through the universe that do influence all things. The horoscope has always been a decent starting point, I thought, for personal awareness, but not complete definition of self.

When I was younger, I had about half the traits of the sign. I hadn’t discovered gardening or cooking yet, but I always loved art and music. And the stubbornness…well, yes, I am definitely stubborn. Was then, am now.

There’s a negative connotation to being stubborn. I don’t buy it, though. Determination can be a synonym for stubborn. And determination sometimes is the only thing that gets us through the day or tough times. (Really. That’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it!)



To Sing at the Met Someday!
Illustration from ©"The Adventures of Little Blaze Berner, Oh, Dear"
by Fred & Kathy Fierthaler



At the age I and my friends are, it is pure determination that drives us. Starting new ventures, taking our hobbies and attempting to make them our businesses. Keeping our balance between two generations that need us more as each day passes, our parents and our kids. Controlling our environments enough to be able to still enjoy our significant others, making time for our friends.


When youth is ours, so is immortality. There is an endless amount of time to do everything, sometime down the line. There’s always the future. We spend that youth creating careers, children; building homes and happiness for all. The next thing we notice is that the infinite allotment of time is running low. And there is still so much to do yet.

Just Another Day of Chaos!
Illustration from ©"The Adventures of Little Blaze Berner, Oh, Dear" by Fred & Kathy Fierthaler

The temptation is to just stretch out on the couch, pick up the remote, and zone out of reality. But we are… determined. This is our time. We’ve earned it. And we’re going to use it. Using it to our advantage often enables us to give more than we thought we ever had, back to those we love and who love us.


Oh, to be able to be so lazy...
Illustration from ©"The Adventures of Fuzzy & Kumquat:The Tree House" by Fred & Kathy Fierthaler



Our determination can bring the world to us. Then we can give the world back all the talents we’ve set aside all these years.

Ah, Home of My Heart!

I rediscovered a world that I had inhabited decades before like a bear in his den in winter. It has been there all these years just waiting for the prodigal daughter to wander back to her woods. And, I did. And I was enthralled once again, just as I had been way, way, way…well, you get the idea…back.

I rediscovered the public library.

Oh, Such Joy! Let's Frolic!
Spring from the Honey Bunnies Collection Notecards

It’s not a “wow” for everyone, but it always has been for me. My mother had taught me to read before I entered school and it’s been a passion ever since.

I lost the passion for a few years as it seemed I simply didn’t have the time to read. I got into a rut of buying my books because it could take me half a year to read one; I allotted no time for this undeniable pleasure. But it became a quandary as I went along because if I didn’t care for a book, I couldn’t bring myself to give up on it: it cost me money and I was going to get the whole product! That attitude cost me even more as I got bored with the stories and almost gave up on books completely.

My mom has been an avid reader and patron of her public library system for as long as I can remember. She kept after me to just follow her lead. I was concerned, though, that I would have all sorts of late fees and wouldn’t be able to get to the library with my schedule.

It dawned on me a couple of weeks ago that I drive right past our local branch 5 days a week…twice. The hours are great and renewal is simple. There went all my excuses! It was almost breath-taking stepping back into that world, into that part of my life again.

When something that’s an intricate part of who you are resurfaces after years of dormancy, there’s an actual sense of rebirth. It may not last long, nor make the rest of your life new again, but an invigorating moment like that can give you back a small amount of the joy just living can bring.

What Gifts Are Before You?
Autumn from the Honey Bunnies Collection Notecards

What do you think would give you that sense of joy? Would you be able to reopen a chapter in your life that would have a positive effect on your current life? If so, why not do it? I’ll bet your excuses would be moot if you looked at it honestly. Don’t lose the parts of your life that make you happy. Keep them active and keep your being alive!