My Bit of the Shop

Here's the current look of my bit of the shop that my sister and I are opening in our little town.

There's a small painting 'Flight of the Wild Geese', 

a bigger textured painting I was going to 'finish' with colors only to realize I had better leave it as is because nobody who looked at it saw the same thing in it, 

circles using the same texture and metallic paint, 

the Mamm Books, 

a few pencil sketches, 

a few 'scapes in acrylic on 100 year old cedar shakes that came off the roof of my house when I re-did it, 

a few miscellaneous things,

and of course the kid books!

The Circles of Dunnottar are here too; can't possibly do without them.

There will doubtless be many rearrangements of this little space - that's part of the fun of it!

Looking at it, I want to move the Mamm Books to the space beneath the Circles, which is where they belong. And that, naturally, will mean the whole of it gets moved around ... but not tonight I think.

We want to put a work station where the chair now sits, so we'll have a designated 'projects in progress' spot ... where I can, for example, set myself up a good light and work on sketches or sculptures or paintings or design for things that the Characters might want (Alia likes pretties, the twins want arm and shin guards, and Caileen and Talorc are nagging me to remind everyone to watch their step on the spiral and put circles on my crosses for pete's sake ... not to mention the Younglings ... ) My sister can use it for whichever of her projects she might find it useful for. That way our desk top can stay pretty much cleared but for our computers.

At any rate, it's pretty fun to see our things on display, and to watch them leave the shop with happy customers!

To be totally honest, a major part of the fun of it all is that for every item that leaves here we get to make more to replace it!!!

As my stock of 'scapes on cedar shakes has recently diminished (Yay!) I've been focusing on replenishing it. And getting another Youngling book or two done. I've also got to get a bunch more paintings done in the embroidery hoops as I'm totally OUT of those ... 

Well, Monday will have to be soon enough for most of that, unless I can manage some more yet tonight. Starting tomorrow it's four days of part time shift-work for this woman.

One thing I particularly enjoy about being up here at the shop is that we have unlimited internet so I get to listen to Celtic Thunder the whole time I'm up here without tapping out my own data access ... *big smile* ... thank you to the computer store next door!!! (Yes we kick in for the fee, but it's still great!)

AND ... lest I forget ... the gal who runs the 'Melding Pot' (I call it a Little Curiosity Shop) found a big kettle that I'm going to snag tomorrow for mine very own. 

*contented sigh*

I kind of wish I could just stay here all night listening to these guys' fabulous Voices. They take me straight back to the writing of the Mamm Books when those Voices were constantly in my ears as the Story developed. Elements of their 'Mythology' Songs are throughout the books if one knows to search them out and recognize them.  Parts of certain Songs led me into research I might not have thought of, and from there to the development of related scenes both 'historic' and fictional.

I wonder if music artists ever even know the effect their gifts have on some of us.  I badly wanted to put the set of Mamm Books into the hands of George Donaldson at the first concert I could get to once they were done - because he's the only Scot, you know - but ... well ... they're done but he's gone ... 

And on that sad note I'm going to close this post ... 'Voices' has just begun and I want to listen to it.