Done! Check! Finito!

Oh boy, that was a LOT of work! And I enjoyed every minute of it! (I lie, there were a few minutes that I didn’t enjoy as much, and those were coming up with names towards the end).

Seriously, sitting in my studio with a good audio book on and a hand full of hot glass is just the best way of spending time. It’s true about creativity, the more you do the more you think of. Coming up with ideas was no problem at all. I still have lots of half finished projects that will appear at some point.

I did this project for a few different reasons. One reason was to come up with new work for you! When you make the effort to visit my craft show tent, or look at my website, I want there to be lots for you to look at. My goal is always to have something new for you to discover.

The main reason I do this is to give myself time to play with my medium of choice. Sometimes I get so caught up in living my crazy busy amazing life that there just isn’t time to sit down and play. As much as my life looks like it’s all play the reality is that I run a business in order to fund my life. Running a business, even a creative one, takes a lot of boring paperwork and business work.

For every hour I spend creating I spend 4 hours running a business. Yes, you heard that right. 20% of my time is making work, 80% of my time is running a business.

With that in mind, when I do get a chance to sit down and make, most of the time I have to make the things that sell and pays the bills. Slipping in time to make a bunch of work that may not work out, or might not be popular, or might be seriously ugly doesn’t always happen.

I think it’s really important to give myself this time. Without it, making beads and jewelry could become just another run of the mill job. When it’s just a job and you’re pumping out the same stuff over and over it shows. This is not a job where you can fake it. As an artist if you are bored with what you are doing, it shows.

I love my work, I love glass and jewelry. I love making. I want to keep that love alive. I want to wake up everyday and be so excited about coming to work. I want everyday to be an adventure where I get to discover something new.

Playtime is important, it keeps life exciting and new. Everyone of us should play.

What are you playing with today?

To check out what I came up with in the 2015 30 New Pieces of Jewelry in 30 Days, go here.