When progress goes kaput…

Sometimes I liken my moods to a plane and I’m the pilot.

I’ve been really motivated recently. I’ve been getting a lot done, maintaining my house
really well, being very creative and focused. I’ve been keeping up my various social media accounts, updating them with pictures of what I’m currently working on. I’ve just been doing really well.

About the plane… For the past 2 days I’ve felt a descent. Not a gradual descent. More like
my engines suddenly failed. I woke up and the colors weren’t nearly as bright and vivid as they have been. Never a good sign.

A few things can happen. I quickly descend in a very rough way, unsure about the landing. Or I quickly descend in a graceful way, unsure about the landing, but able to control the plane enough that I have a chance of not crashing. Maybe I have time to plan. There’s still that uncertainty, though.

When I get close to land, I might be able to land the plane in a relatively safe way.
Certainly some turbulence and discomfort. The seat belt will undoubtedly dig into my thighs and leave some bruises, but I’ll be okay. Shaken up, but okay. Or I crash and burn. The plane is wrecked and cleanup will take some time.

I think I’ve been hypomanic. I want to believe that all of this progress I’ve been making,
all of this focus and drive is 100% me. I did this. I created and maintained this. I am
doing great. The way the plane is shaking, though, I think it might’ve been hypomania and I’m getting ready to descend.

So far, my descension isn’t reckless, so I’m definitely ahead. I’m noticing it rather than
my engines bursting into flames. I’m getting little warnings here and there, letting me
know something’s amiss.

I have a feeling I’ll land with some grace. My fear is that everything I’ve been doing will
stop. The motivation will stay gone. I remember, though, that the desire has not left.
That’s a great sign! Maybe I can work with that.

In the meantime, here’s a photo of my oldest boy, Patrick. He’s 15 and a professional. What is he a professional of? I’m not sure, he won’t tell me. It’s clearly something really
important, though.

As usual, it’s been awhile…

Typical Jenn. I always forget how long it’s been since I last wrote. I’m surprised by the amount of time that has passed. I shouldn’t be, though. Things happen, life happens, etc…

I’ve been working on boxes for the past couple of weeks. Little decorative boxes that I paint and sculpt embellishments for. I’ll post pics at some point.

For the past 30 minutes, though, I’ve been going through files on my computer. Specifically old artwork and photographs. I’ve been sorting through the past several years of my life wondering where I would be now, artistically, had I been able to keep my shit together.

Life happens.

I have prints of my ocean photographs on Fine Art America that I occasionally sell. I found the folder containing them and I wanted to share one of my favorite ones. It’s not the most colorful or interesting, but it makes me feel the most. It’s not anyone’s favorite, but mine. I call it “Pull” because that’s what’s happening. I was standing in the water at Topsail Island in North Carolina and the waves pulled back, my feet sinking into the sand. It made me dizzy, yet it grounded me. I love that feeling. I look forward to going back.

I’ll write again soon.

Pinteresting things with Pinterest…

I’m not known for being clever…

I received an invite to sign up for a Pinterest account back in February. I finally took the plunge a few days ago and created one. I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about it or even what I’m supposed to do. I keep hitting “Like” on images that I actually like and then I also pin them – frankly I don’t know the difference! Why would I pin something if I didn’t like it and why “Like” something if I have no intention of pinning it? Whew!

There was a very passionate and frightening discussion going on about artists using Pinterest and having their work stolen and something about copyright issues. They chose not to have an account based on that. It makes sense, of course, but the other side of it is that Pinterest seems like it could be used as a tool for promoting the work that you do. Since I’m still not exactly sure how it really works, I don’t know if the link belonging to the original image follows the image through being repeatedly pinned. I don’t even know if that made a bit of sense. Say I have a website (soon) and I decide to pin one of my images. The image is linked to my site, so if someone clicks on it, they can see where the image came from, yes? Does this go away as the image goes through the process of being pinned over and over?

Even if the original link was removed at some point and my image was just another image floating around out there, aside from typical concerns (someone taking the image and creating prints or printing it on t-shirts, mugs – making a profit off your work in some fashion), is there another reason to be worried? The idea that your work is no longer yours is a bit bothersome, but I’m not sure of the likelihood of that happening with my work.

I do have a great deal of fun looking at other artists’ boards, though! I have voyeuristic tendencies, so looking at images that a person has collected satisfies my weird-ass curiosity! In case anyone wants to peek into my head, my Pinterest is ItDoesArt (of course!). I can’t promise anything exciting and, as you know, I have a problem sticking with things so my…picture collection (what the hell is it called?!) is sparse and boring. Once my shoulder heals a bit, I will pin the hell out of the Internet…

P.S. Just so you’re aware, every time I say “Pinterest”, I pronounce it “Pin-interest” and it’s making me effing crazy…I don’t know why I keep doing that, but I do hope I’m not alone!