I am in a few book clubs and the books are mostly interesting but sometimes the book really hits home. And Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman is one of those. 

Burkeman does a wonderful job of opening your eyes to the fact that we all do have a limited time here and we should be doing what we really want to do. Don't settle and just plow through but set your site on what makes you the person you want to be. As Oliver Burkeman says " Your time is finite. Doing anything requires sacrifice. Ask yourself if the sacrifice is worth it. To make time for what matters, you need to give things up." Make sure you are not giving up the things that you hold dear.

I did the math to see how many week I have left, sort of weird but it made me realize I need to get my act together. There are so many pieces of stained glass I want to make, so many students out there that do not know I need to teach them so I can leave a legacy of more stained glass artists than there were when I started, the places I want to travel to, the people I want to be with and it goes on.

At this writing I am at 756 weeks left, not to sound fatalistic, but to be an eye opener! It is a wake up call- Kim get you bottom in gear and stop procrastinating! When I think of all the time that I lost doing things I did not want or need to do does break my heart. Now I just do what I want to do. There are some roadblocks preventing me from doing some super important things and I am working on breaking through them.

I love the Appendix: Ten Tools for Embracing Your Finitude. I highly recommend this book. There is a workbook that goes along that is helpful but not necessary in order to get the most out of the book.

If you have read this book or do read it, please let me know what you think and if it helps you with your life path.
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Today Heidi and came and we made wind spinners. They turned out pretty good for a first run! It was fun making them. We were working on our so we talked back and forth while constructing them. Some lessons learned moving forward with more designs.

What do you  think of it? Have you ever made a stained glass wind spinner? If so, please share photos.

Thank you Heidi for a fun day in the studio. Look forward to a Wind Spinner class in the future.
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Years ago a friend and business woman told me to " be seen, be heard and be remembered". I have a sticky note on my computer to remind me everyday. 

Do something to be be seen. Show people how you work, where you work and why you work.

Do something to be heard. Support a non-profit- by donation of time, money and social support. Let the world know where you stand. Share your art with the world.

Do something to be remembered. Go out of your way to help someone in need. Share your knowledge with others. Be an example for others.

It does not take much and the feelings and reward you get back is amazing.

So this weekend... be seen, be heard and be remembered!
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How do you honor your weekends? Do you have any rituals?

I love my weekends. My studio is open on Saturdays, so my weekend is Saturday night through Monday. I honor the weekend by do house chores Thursday or Friday, like cleaning, doing laundry, etc. I do not want to do any chores on the days off.

On Saturday I bake something yummy for breakfast Sunday and Monday- a treat for myself. Plus it makes the house smell good! 

I organize my home studio on Friday afternoon so I can work in the studio all day Sunday and Monday. I also clear off the work bench in my stained glass studio downtown and vacuum and clean the bathrooms so when we open on Wednesday it is all set to go.

I take time to read a little to unwind and I do journal to brain dump the past and plan for the future.

Of course Fred and I go for longer more frequent walks, good for both of us.

What are your weekend rituals? 

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I am always rearranging my desk and trying to keep it clear. Do you ever have that problem? I have stacks of papers to file, to read, to figure out what to do with them. Then one day it is clear? How? I just sit down and work through it until it is done.

There is hope. I hope that I have a clear desk every day.

Here is a photo of my desk right now, hardly any papers on it. I knew you would be jealous of my office assistants- Flora, Sean and Wesley!

Have a fabulous Friday and weekend!

It Years ago I had an idea for a workshop at Art & Soul, a rough idea but it felt like a great idea. I spoke to Judy about it and she loved it. I set out to put a design in place, and if you know me I can get easily distracted so I walked away for a while. Months passed and the project kept looking up at me from the work bench. Ok, ok I will work on you, I told the project. Originally it was called "My Story" but it has since changed to "My House.

The first attempt was not good, the paper sandwiched got wet from the flux and also the water from cleaning. When it tried to dry it ended up molding. I love experiments, they teach you to be patient and not make everything precious! I again put the project down for a prolonged time.

During this break I realized I did not really want it to be my story but how I became who I am today, like the foundation of me.

When I look at the photos below of the templates and see how clean my workbench was, wow, no burn marks not flux stains anywhere!

So back to the drawing board for me. I knew I wanted it hinged so it could open and close. And it had to look somewhat like a house. Not much to ask.

Now where to find the contents of the collages to go into the panels and to be two sided. Lots of paper snippets came and left and finally a few stayed.

Here are some more photos of the in process steps. I have to do some clean up and work on the closure.

It was a very cathartic project. Going back to my childhood and working my way forward. Reliving some not wonderful times and reliving the most amazing times.  It was an emotional rollercoaster.

When I get the finishing done I will do another blog with those photos and a video to go along with it.

Thank you for being part of the journey.

I do not know how many people have been coming in to see the progress on the Skylight Repair Job but, good news, Skylight #1 is complete! 

These skylights came out of a gazebo that met a pine tree. All three had broken glass and the frames were damaged. I have had a few hiccups along the way making this take way longer than I ever thought. I apologize to the homeowner for that. I did have to hunt down some glass to match as these were created in the early 1970's. I am lucky to have an assistant helping out, Teresa, she has been wonderful to bounce ideas off of and she did all the scraping off of silicone. I hate silicone with a passion!

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I can not wait to start my next project! Right now I am working through a repair job that involves three skylights. It is a challenge and I let my mindset lose positivity so I had to step away for a bit. I never want to work on any piece while not in a good place in my head, never want to send it off with negative vibes. 

I did not take just one day off but took off 8! I know that is crazy. I just needed to regroup and get back in a productive mindset. I had been feeling like I was drowning. I just needed a break.

So what did I do during my time away? I went from room to room at the house purging and organizing. I took 3 1/2 van loads of stuff to  donate to a thrift store. I filled the roll out dumpster twice. It felt great and very cathartic. I emptied mind space as well by letting go of stuff. I had purged before I moved here five years ago but somehow things have creeped in! 

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I did other things as well. Took a friend out to lunch for her birthday, finished reading two Book Club books, planted bulbs in the Botanical Gardens, made three runs to the vet for shots and meds for icky eyes, shopped for crystals (had a blast), handed off a potential commission to another artist (fused work which I do not do well yet), finished loaded 2022 in QuickBooks, watched movies with Fred and his cats. I need to make time for artwork.

What do you like to do on your days off?

Wish you all Happy Holidays! I want to thank you for your continued support and friendship. Enjoy the season and stay safe.

Hugs,
Kim