Not so Daily Musings – Too Much Busy-ness These Days

It’s been a very busy November. Too much busy-ness. My ‘Daily Musings’ looks like it’s going to be a ‘Not So Daily’ Musings kind of post. Today, and every day for the past week or two… I can’t even remember how long now… I’ve been working on prints inventory. Mounted prints, mostly. I brought some to Kingston Square Arts last weekend, and some to War Eagle Mill’s gallery. Now I need some for the Holiday Gift Market in Fayetteville, to be delivered Dec. 1, and a bunch for the Little Craft Show on Dec. 7. Today I worked on a commission sculpture, and that was a nice departure. Here’s a pic of the mushrooms I made as part of that.

Some of the busy-ness today went toward these mushrooms. Sculpted with polymer clay, painted with Ozark pigments.
Sculpted with polymer clay, painted with Ozark pigments.

Then I worked on signage for my booth.

I’d placed an order for more supplies early this week when I realized I needed more things to make more mounted prints, but they didn’t get delivered today as I’d hoped. With Thanksgiving around the corner, I feel a time crunch coming on, offering even more than the ordinary amount of busy-ness that would be going on without a holiday thrown in for fun.

December is when I usually review my goals and ideas for the coming year. This is the first full year of staying focused on one thing for the most part. I did pretty good at it, but I feel myself beginning to spread a bit thin trying to build inventory for craft shows. The inventory I *want* to build is for art shows. That means original paintings. And to have time to create those, I have to stop spending so much time making prints. But I need to keep getting the prints out there, because that helps my work get seen by more people. And the little bit of income it brings is nice, too. So it’s a catch-22.

All of this ‘busy-ness’ is making me really think about my plans for next year. Some of what I’m doing now will not need to be done again. Like the signage for my booth. I can use these for every show I do in the future. I’m mounting them on foam core so they’ll be durable enough to last a long while. But I’m thinking I might not want to do many events next year.

Maybe I just want to paint. And make paints.

Anyway, there’s my musings for the day. All day I’ve been dreaming of not being so busy, haha. I have a garden to get ready for this coming spring, and art to create, and a husband in the desert to visit soon. December 7 is the last of the busy ‘inventory season’ for me, I think. After that I’m going to slow it way down.

What do you do to solve the problem when you find your days filled with busy-ness?

Comments

5 responses to “Not so Daily Musings – Too Much Busy-ness These Days”

  1. Lisa Avatar

    It’s definitely a vicious cycle! Being a rich-brainer I understand your passion to create. I also understand the need to be profitable…in order to fuel the right-brain passion! I love photography and find it’s very time consuming as well….not to mention expensive! But it’s my guilty pleasure and I try and squeeze it into my other *busyness* whenever possible. I wish you all the best on your juried shows for 2020. Thank you for taking time to visit me and leaving a nice comment.
    https://peripheralperceptions.wordpress.com/2019/11/21/thankful-to-be-home/

    1. Madison Avatar

      Hi Lisa, it IS a vicious cycle and they’re both important to each other, lol, so I see no way around it other than to just try and be better at my time management. Which is something I generally suck pretty bad at. And yes, photography can get very expensive as you desire to get better and better results! I had to just leave that one alone. You’re welcome- I enjoyed your light-hearted way at describing the unpleasant resort stay because sometimes I just don’t feel the humor when it happens to me, though I may think back on yours the next time it does. Thank you for dropping in at my little blog!

  2. Lisa Tomey Avatar

    I just do my best to lay it out and focus on one thing at a time. Lately, I have been pulled away from the desk and all I can think of is getting back to it and writing, then another something comes up. Flexibility and focus are my big go tos. And leaving enough space to breathes, sometimes easier said than done, but oh so important. The good news about being busy is that your work is being recognized for the beauty it bestows from your talented hands. I love those mushrooms, by the way.

    1. Madison Avatar

      Thank you, Lisa. I appreciate your comment. I think a large part of the problem with me is poor planning, lol. I didn’t realize how much time would be involved in the mounted print-making, and made that a large focus of my business on a whim. I still think it’s a good avenue to pursue, but I’m going to have to balance things out. Plus there were some unexpected demands on non-business time early in the month that couldn’t be avoided. That effectively threw a big wrench in the cogs and I’m still sorting out things from that. Next year I want to do more exhibits and less events. That sounds so easy, lol. But applying to juries is very time-consuming, and getting accepted is not guaranteed. They all cost money to apply, and if accepted, lots more money to get the painting delivered. Which brings me back to needing some income, which brings me back to making the prints. And I still need time to create new art. Oh, and do my income taxes. Sigh. I just need to get better organized somehow.

    2. Lisa Tomey Avatar

      You will, I know this for sure!

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