A Work in Progress

So much has happened since my last post. I've been a busy bee and am so thankful that I have the time, energy, and endless support from others to keep doing what I'm doing! There have been new projects and exciting new opportunities to participate in shows. Between starting up my small business, working my day job, and creating, I feel like I'm constantly on the move. I have to remind myself every once in a while to stop, jot things down, and share. So where to begin? Well, let's start with the here and now. Today I went to Salvation Army with Thom. 

He was on a top secret mission that involved a cool sound coming from a meter in the basement of the store. To his great disappointment, there was tape across the entrance to the basement and from what we could see, all the housewares in the lower level were all emptied out. After some investigation and casual conversation with the staff, we discovered the disturbing reasoning behind the closing of the basement: someone had been using the housewares department as a private bathroom. Depending on who you asked, the evidence was found in coffee mugs and/or Tupperware containers. All the remaining uncontaminated items were relocated to the upper level, where the furniture is kept. Since the folks at Sal's cannot afford to keep a worker in the basement at all times, it looks like everyone will have to go upstairs for housewares from now on. 

We headed upstairs to check out the new setup and to be honest, it just wasn't the same. There were fewer items and the juxtaposition of the housewares and furniture felt "off". After years of exploring all 3 levels of the store, it was a little disappointing to be pared down to 2. At any rate, we poked around and Thom found just the piece of furniture I needed to organize my jewelry supplies. It was a two-shelved backless bookcase. There were lots of dings and funny stains on it, but we knew the dimensions were just right. It didn't have a price tag on it so we asked how much it was. The guy said they almost didn't put the shelf out on the floor because it was in such rough shape. He said, "ten bucks" and we said, "sold!"


We brought the case home, gave it a good scrub down, and I spent a good part of the afternoon stocking it with my supplies. All things are not in place yet, but I am very happy with the bookcase so far!  During the process, I even got over my disappointment about the changes to one of my favorite thrift stores and started two new pieces. 

Moments ago,I disassembled an old broken tin car (undercarriage and wheels removed) and fastened it to a vintage rhinestone belt. Then, I remembered acquiring a bag of pink plastic figurines and felt inspired to do something with them. While poking through the bag of toys, one of the pink girls reminded of the work of Henry Darger. I attached her to a vintage brass drawer pull and surrounded her with leaves from an old plastic floral candle arrangement. I hope to turn both into necklaces soon.

Though my life is currently filled with lots of loose ends, and nothing is 100% done, I am find comfort in constantly being surrounded by possibility! Back to work...