...unquiet minds Need to Keep Their Hands Busy...

I envy the creative people who can focus on multiple levels: the project at hand, plus the long term discipline and planning that Several weeks ago I got the proverbial wild hair up my butt to get back into making things by hand, after a long hiatus. Poetry has been spotty for awhile, as well. With writing, I'm the most inspired & prolific when there's drama in my life. Drama gets old! I love playing with digital images, but now I've got a silly number of gorgeous, weird, high resolution images on my desktop. Until they're printed on something, the ephemeral images technically don't exist in the real world. Consequently, that specific process of creation became unbearably dull. By unbearable, I mean I haven't been back to deepdreamgenerator for a couple months. Under my bed and in my closet I've a secret stash of ephemera accumulated over years: leftover beads, feathers, vintage fabric & ribbon, sterling wire... I even have lots of broken ceramic doll parts rolling around the bins in my closet.

There was an organic train of thought that led me to trying my hand at some introductory leather working projects, specifically #MedicineBags. I'm on a fixed income, and enjoy the challenge of sourcing supplies and knowledge for as close to free as possible. (Nearly 20 yrs ago I spent popped less than $200 on beads, sterling wire, pliers & a card table and built a silversmithing/lapidary hobby that paid for itself over several years. I made a lot of unique art jewelry, but sold it at no profit. When I worried about more than break even, it became a drag.) Leather turns out to be a blast to work with. Minuscule budget? Industrial offcuts from furniture & garment manufacture by the pound on eBay. I've got some gorgeous suede & leather jackets from the thrift store waiting to be dissected for parts as well! Tutorials on social media. Way, way, way too much fun.

Well, shit... it's so much fun that now the little bags are breeding like #Tribbles. Every one is unique, made with loving intent. Maximizing the size/quality of the offcuts means every bag, pouch, bookmark, bracelet virtually unreproducible. The leather (omg, some is hair-on-hide!) dictates the project. As I type this, the mental inventory of supplies in my secret stash, that could potentially enhance future projects, is running in the background.

I'm NOT a socialist, but I sure suck eggs as a capitalist! Making things by hand (food included) is elemental to human existence; sacramental, even. Yesterday I walked through the toy section at some generic retailer with my nephew. Aisles of dead, extruded plastic plaything trends in expensive boxes. I want to make something that matters to the person holding it. Naturally, the pouches, bags &and what-nots need to be filled with meaning, and objects upon which we can hang our intent and sentiment: sage, gemstone chips, religious medallions, found objects or mementoes. 50 years ago my dad would take me out to the desert, with a gunnysack, to look for "pretty rocks." I've got some pretty rocks for these: tough tanzanite, green garnet, sapphire, ruby, peridot, ethiopian opal, quartz points and native copper nuggets.