I have been mentioning lately my lack of TIME. This is my classroom.....I drive to Kalispell 4 days a week, I am in 4 classes. There's so much to learn about metal, it's one of those materials with unending possibilities, It is such a deep water to tread.....the trick is to stay afloat! I am surrounded here by challenge and more challenge. All the courses I am enrolled in this semester are upper-level, and are VERY technical-based. I take Repair in the morning, where I rip apart perfectly good rings, set them afire, and then fix them back to pre-fire status. I am in Casting class in the afternoon, along with a rendering/jewelry design course (lots of drawing). And then, there's stone-setting....evenings every other day. Ugh.

I am not complaining. These courses are soooo valuable, so interesting, and are going to make me a better metalsmith. I mean, a perfect polish really has to be perfect, not KINDA-perfect.... and soldering is a skill you get better at only with practice. And actually, considering the courses, all the challenge involved is actually INVIGORATING. It's really a great feeling to come home from 8 hours of jewelry school, and still WANT to sit at my desk and do fun stuff, with stones I love, with metal.

I have putzed around the art department since I was in High School, I was the girl who ate lunch in the art room instead of the cafeteria. And I have putzed around Academia, all over the place, for long enough to probably have earned a doctorate... (makes me kinda sick thinking about impending doom student loan repayment......ick.) I once wanted to be a teacher, and then found I had very little patience for it, for the structure and politics involved.... I wanted to be a million things, and was in five million directions....I spent a lot of money in college learning how to BE ME. Art was always my "thing" but I never believed in the passion behind WHY it was my thing.....I didn't know where to put all those creative juices. And I eventually became very bitter in Academia. I bopped in and out of school because I think I never knew why I was there.....

What I am finding a renewed respect for in school is this.......College is really a great place to feed your creative fire, not necessarily build it into a huge bonfire.......It is a place where you can take what you learn, filter out the stuff you don't like, and keep near and dear to your heart what you DO love. There are a lot of students, all with different flair, different design aesthetic, different motive (that one is my favorite, it's one of my great pleasures to attend community college to find community) I love all the little old ladies who "just want a new hobby", the single moms who are desperately looking for a career in a fulfilling path, the young freshman who are "taking this for my art requirement", and the know-it-all twentysomethings (I fall under that category I think, only hopefully a little more humble and appreciative *wink*)

I love this program, it is all technical-based, all skill-set and practice....LOTS of practice. Even the things that I don't think I would use, or the processes I would skip, it is really the EXPOSURE that is the best part. EXPOSURE to different ideas, materials, and people.

ready to solder.......some more

?

staring at a bench pin for most of the day......not the worst thing in the world.....

My view from 9:30 to 5:00..........

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A little messy desk shot for you.....

So Until next time.....hopefully my brain doesn't explode.....and even if it did, there would be a whole lot of useful bits and blown pieces someone should collect and take notes from.

Studio in a day

Jesse is the most kick-ass boyfriend that ever existed. Here's some photos of things happening in the last 24 hours......

my man.....he is awesome.

front door to a soon-to-be-home for rag and stone!!!!

Reality has hit today.

After Jesse got home from a winter ski trip, he was into the idea of building a space, a portable,movable, draggable, towable studio built for my metalwork....and now it EXISTS!!!! Here's some shots of things happening.......I am still kind of in shock. I am now the proud owner of a 10x12 shed-type building all for ME!

I cant even express how thankful i am for Jesse in my life. I love that man. This is the coolest thing ANYONE has EVER done for me. I could go on and on about how special this is, how much it means to me, such an amazingly cool thing happening here.

A bit of background info: Jesse and I tend to move our lives around....a lot. We move every year, pack up all our stuff, throw it in storage, and take a trip (no rent paid means travel money!). Sometimes we just get bored with the place we are renting, and move to a different home, in an attempt to keep things fresh and fun. Moving is a great way to purge all the crap collected in the year, all the junk you have no idea why you still have, usually ends up in a few dump-runs to the salvation army, or a garage sale. Lately, it's become more than just every year, and we will soon have to move again in April. This all being said, I HATE MOVING. mostly its a drag, because of the studio. Having everything in my studio all packed up and put away is just about the most depressing thing I can think of. The first time I had to pack it up, I cried. Watching your space, your meditation spot, your hobby and passion all but dissappear is heartwrenching. Plus, it's just a bitch to move it all.....Oxygen and propane tanks have to be dis-assembled, things unplugged and packaged up safely, chemicals all put away, tools and anvils have to be hauled. It sucks. A lot.

I could care less about where we move, or even where we sleep (I've got a great tent, and we have the camper, not a huge worry) all that can be improvised.

But the STUDIO.....noooooooo. Not cool.

Solution: Build a studio, moveable by trailer, on skids, that can go on Jesse's dad's property (hiding in the woods and out of the way) and when we figure out what we are doing with our lives (hahahahah!) we can slide it onto some property of our own someday.

I have never felt so lucky. This is so cool. SOOOOO COOOOOOL.