All In A Day's Work

(Image from workwhilewalking.com 
about  "Sitting Disease". It's really a thing described by the Mayo Clinc.)

There is really no such thing as a "normal work-day" at SheilaLynnK Art Studio. A big adjustment for working with arachnoiditis - as I am sure I have mentioned in other posts but cannot remember which ones - is that the need to change positions and allow enough recovery time between tasks results in a work day that is sporadically distributed over the course of each 24 hour period. At 9pm I might be doing the work that others would be doing at 3pm. I have mostly gotten used to this but, it requires some creative planning if I am trying to coordinate tasks/meetings/activities with other people on a completely different schedule. I imagine people who work second and third shift or night crew jobs experience similar planning issues. 

 I crashed into bed late last night after working late on the rearrangement of the studio and office space of my house. This has been a long process but, I know that as I do it I am making it easier to make art. Each new workstation will have its own supplies to minimize the need to keep moving supplies, materials, easels, drawing boards, etc. each time I need to change working positions. Wet media projects will be COMPLETELY separate from dry media projects. Previously I kept getting bogged down with the set-up time between these transitions. Now, I will be able to just get started as soon as I sit/lay/stand at the workstation.

One portion of this wet media area is also designated as a children's art-making area for my Grandson and other visitors with children. I am also including the option to teach children's art workshops/classes here.   WOULDN'T IT BE SO COOL IF THIS COULD become the SheilaLynnK Art Studio Art-Party Center for children's birthday parties?...NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT ONE BEFORE! Now I actually have the space for that! Would we call it a Birthday P-Arty?!  Parents could rent the space and cover cost of materials without needing to worry about the clean-up! I could offer assorted P-Arty Packages.... I am very excited about this idea. Watch for more to come on that later. 

After getting my required 5 hours of horizontal time (a.k.a. "supposed-to-be-sleep") I got up this morning to trek to the Notary Public at the bank. This Notarized Affidavit of Mailing to the Appellate Division of the NYS Supreme Court is, hopefully, the last page of my battle for accountability and awareness about the medical injury that took place in 2007. After confirming the Fax and dropping the hardcopy in the mail, not a moment too soon; I trekked back home to my heating pad, medication, and sleep so that I could resume regularly scheduled studio work this morning. This week, talking to my publisher about how much of THAT adventure to include in the Book.  

And Justice For All...

Fight, Flee, or FLOW  at the Art For Arachnoiditis Project. Sharing my work on The FLOW:30 Day Journal, by Lisa Sonora continues. 

Getting set to finish the Survivor Portrait for Melanie Lamb and post the final video-hopefully, WITH music- of this work in progress. Starting the next conceptual portrait for recipient/volunteer/arachnoiditis survivor, Karen Kovacik Early, as soon as I we make choices about the concept and reference images. After that, there is still room for one more survivor portrait to be finished in time for the FIRST Public Art For Arachnoiditis Project Exhibit.

The Call For Entries ends Feb. 15, 2015. 

Building my agendas and support for SWAN Day 2015 party and the Art+Adaptability=Healing Workshop at the Opening Reception of the project Exhibit. Don't forget, RSVP/pre-registration is required for these events respectively. We will be hanging the show April 10th. The Art For Arachnoiditis Project Exhibit will be open to the public during regular business hours and by appointment at the Fountain Arts Center during the month of April 2015.  

Follow this blog and artforarachnoiditis.org for more news in 2015. 

A Mission For Wellness

Directory of Resources to Expand Your Well-Being

WELCOME TO THE WELLNESS UNIVERSE LAUNCH!

Efforts at the studio to contribute 

to a better world have been recognized. 

Dedicated to the Wellness and Empowerment of Arachnoiditis Survivors, the Art For Arachnoiditis Project at SheilaLynnK Art Studio is an official Member of this Directory. 

At no cost to this charitable project, this directory makes the Art For Arachnoiditis Project and other valuable Wellness resources for Arachnoiditis Survivors available to survivors not currently subscribed to Facebook. 

The Wellness Universe.com website launches TODAY! 

"What seems like a brilliant, keyword searchable catalog of pages in this online directory are far more than that. The actual people creating these pages come together to better the world through their individual efforts, as a whole....TheWellnessUniverse.com is a natural solution to search for content people want to see." ~BBC Record London Soul Ventures Corps Launches Directory of Facebook Pages

"The Wellness Universe answers the need for an organized resource where the public can reference any topic related to wellness," states Michelle Gould. 

Launching Today

Resources for your Well-Being,www.TheWellnessUniverse.com Launches 11:11 am EST 1/23 . Join us! Find Love, Support, Hope, Inspiration, Education from the BEST PAGES of Facebook heart emoticon

Wishing you Wellness in the year to come! 

Out with the Old in with the New

Getting my house and studio in order... 

 A new order is coming...

Some people can create in the midst of organized chaos. Some even do their best work in such an environment. I am NOT one of those people. My physical surroundings frequently reflect my internal sense of order and vice-versa... 
Like many artists, for most of my life, I have felt that I must have all of my "real" work done before I make art. 

Although I am increasingly viewing my art as my "real" work, this lifetime of conditioning still gets in the way. 
By necessity, this is a live/work environment. Often, I am able to subconsciously construct a scotoma to some messy aspects of living in order to do my art in the time that it needs to be done but, there is a tipping point in which all I am able to see is the OTHER WORK that needs to be done BEFORE I can feel free enough to do the art. That is where I am at right now. The art I try to make in this state ends up being forced and contrived without inspiration or movement...lifeless.

What am I doing to "get my house in order"?

Managing the tangible:
I am vamping up my efforts to create space in this environment which is  ONLY for my studio work. This is a physical way to more effectively compartmentalize as I would have done when my source of income and my domestic responsibilities were not so closely intertwined. Working from home makes this a much-needed, too often neglected, exercise. Towards the end of 2014 I lost sight of my goals to simplify my life. Although I am technically an empty-nester, I returned to an old favorite, Simplify Your Life with Kids, to remind myself how I was doing this. Some other useful tips specific to studio organization:
Art Tip: Organizing my living room/studio
Organizing the Art Studio at Live Simply with Annie
11 Things You Need to Know About Organizing in a Small Space


Feeding my spirit:
Bringing Ancient Wisdom into my Modern Life with Anne Hayman
Nurturing My Inner Warrior with Susan Jenkins
Exploring the ways of Wise Women with Susun Weed
Remembering how to allow my Creativity to FLOW with Lisa Sonora and sharing these 30 Day Journal discoveries with Arachnoiditis Survivors via Healing Art Activities at the Art For Arachnoiditis Project. 
Connecting with Community:
Planning 
Our local SWAN Day 2015 party March 21, 2015 RSVP by February 20, 2015 
and 
The FIRST Public Art For Arachnoiditis Project Exhibit Opening Reception and Workshop April 18, 2015. Registration Deadline: March 20, 2015.Registration Fee $15

Introducing B-Arter Bucks to keep art affordable and promote creative community action. 
You can earn B-Arter Bucks RIGHT NOW by becoming a blog follower, signing up for SWAN Day activities locally or in your own community, and/or participating in the Art For Arachnoiditis Project. 
  Revising the Moolah Map:
Planning and scheduling resources by revisiting the Moolah Map I created last year around this time during the Right Brain Business Plan E-course with Jennifer Lee.

Seeking Funding for the Art For Arachnoiditis Project via the New York Foundation For the Arts and other grant opportunities, crowdfunding options, and merchandise sales. 

Making More Art:
Technical difficulties with video stalled the work on the Arachnoiditis Survivor Portrait for Melanie Lamb right before Christmas.  Video capabilities are at a stand still. I had truly hoped to finish it in time for the holidays but, it just was beyond my capabilities. The Drawing will continue with digital photos to document progress until these issues can be resolved. 

Karen Kovacik Early is an arachnoiditis survivor and the next recipient of Arachnoiditis Survivor: A Portrait of Resilience Against Patient Harm In America.

Survivors are invited to sign up to participate in the Art For Arachnoiditis Project. Call For Entries Ends February 15, 2015.