Happy Friday! Whenever my mom visits, she’s a little wistful that she’s unable to paint in Seattle. I get it — she doesn’t have her usual supplies, her routine is completely disrupted and most of all, she says she doesn’t feel like she has a space of her own, mentally or physically. Still, she’s an artist through and through so when a watercolor set happens to be lying around, she’ll whip up a painting like the one above while chatting to K. This kind of painting doesn’t count for her though; it’s just distracted doodling and not the sort of focused art-making she does in her own home.
She’s been back in Los Angeles for a month now happily painting away, but I’ve been thinking about that sense of space, the need for routine and grounding to make things. My daily habits are completely out of whack these days and the house is in need of yet another purging. For someone who relishes minimalism and is always trying to tidy up, why is it that my house is perpetually in a state of mayhem? I’m almost done reading this book (love it), and I sometimes wonder if I’m just destined to read one decluttering book after another while I watch piles grow like weeds in my house. Maybe the very nature of crafting is incompatible with keeping an orderly home. Or maybe I’m just making excuses.
Anyway, these are my thoughts as I head into another weekend. M has been on an epic solo journey on his bike (his idea of fun), so I’ve been single mothering it for the week and that might also explain the mess. He’s supposed to be back in a day or two, and I’m looking forward to that. It’s quiet without him. He’s our main source of jokes and liveliness, and though K and I have a lovely time together, we miss him.
These were the outfits
for week three of Me-Made-May
Handmade every day!
Here’s a rough sketch I drew in my notebook today, trying to recollect all the outfits from the week.
Day 13: Romper
Day 14: Striped Renfrew + Black Gingers
Day 15: Blue and Silver Gingham Tova
Day 16: Black knit top +Black Gingers
Day 17: Nani Iro Free Way Top
Day 18: Indigo French Sailor Top
Day 19: Stripey Batwing Knit Top + Indigo Gingers
My Ginger jeans are getting a whole lotta wear, and it’s obvious that I need to make more because the pockets refuse to lay flat with the current two pairs I have and this limits the number of tops I can wear with them. But first, some more purging/cleaning….
I hope you have a wonderful weekend, my friends!
I love your mom’s doodle-y-do of a painting. My first thought before I read the words was I love that painting, I wonder if Sanae is doing something new? Ha.
I know what you mean about minimalizing. I think crafting makes this hard unless you have space for a separate studio elsewhere! I knew this woman who is an artist and had a studio built in her garden. It is a heavenly space that’s essentially her playhouse!
Happy weekend, Sanae!
Thank you, Melissa, I hope you had a great weekend too! A studio in a garden sounds like something I need, though maybe I have to wait a few years…
I am currently in the trenches of a massive purge. The goal: A reduction of possessions by at least 70%. We are relocating from Iowa to Tennessee and from a 3 level house to a studio apartment in a 2 car garage. I can not wait. I have felt like I am drowning in our clutter and “things” for a year now and I spend some much time “cleaning and organizing” that I haven’t had the time my heart desires to spend with my daughters and model and creative and simple lifestyle. But the downsizing process on this level is brutal. Thankfully I can see the light at the end of the junk filled tunnel. We move June 2nd!
Good luck, good luck Crys! How exciting that you’re moving, but yes, downsizing is a beast of a project! You can do it!!!!
I love your Mom’s painting. I would love to get lost in art that way. Good job on the May outfits!
Thank you, Greta! It’s so funny, I’ve grown up with my mom painting non-stop so I’ve always assumed she could paint anywhere and feel content. It’s been eye-opening to learn that her surrounding affects how she feels when painting, though of course that makes sense!
Oh I love the idea of M being your main source of jokes! That’s my brother in my house
M is a riot and keeps us (and everyone around him) in stitches.
It’s always good to have a funny guy around!
When we moved a couple of weeks ago we gave away an entire moving truck full of stuff!! It was pretty unbelievable….and we are still finding that we have to get rid of more as we unpack. It is a fairly painful process right now but I know it will feel good when we are finished! I dream of having a place in the country with a dedicated art/sewing/making studio…
Wowza! It’s really amazing how much stuff we can all accumulate, isn’t it? You will feel SO satisfied at the end of this, Kelly! Your sewing space looks great, and though I totally relate with the dreams of a studio in nature, there’s something to be said about being resourceful and making things happen with what you already have. Brava!