Some new items I've been working on

 After "retiring" from production mask making earlier this month, I have finally found some time to work on other things which has been a lovely refresher for me.  I'm not into long-term projects, especially those that are repetitive... give me 7 or 8 ideas to chew on simultaneously, and I'm a happy camper!  So here's what I've been working on:

This is a commission bowl for a friend to give as a gift - she loved the autumn leaves on my regular autumn bowls, but wanted it in more of the Desert Sunset colors... gives it a totally different look!  So when I finished hers, I decided to make one to put in the gallery to see if anyone else liked the combination.

Someone on a facebook group I belong to posted a photo of bowls made by Crafty Patti (has a youtube video on how to make them)  and I fell in love with them!  They have no fabric covering the rope, and the painted wood beads (available on amazon.com) are a perfect focal point.  This one is sized to fit a flower pot that has a base of about 4", and I hope to find some artificial succulents I can put in the flower pot to make this a complete piece.  Fast, easy and IMHO, elegant!

This scarf has been a WIP for at least a couple of years!  It was a great project to pick up and crochet a few rows if I was sitting, chatting with friends or watching TV.  I love the soft, muted colors of the yarn... very unlike my normal "ALL COLOR, ALL THE TIME" mode, but I guess my palette has matured just a smidge.

Other than that, I have been doing the paperwork to reset the gallery for our next period, which starts tomorrow.  Sadly, we are losing a couple of artists who are not comfortable being in the gallery to work shifts do to Covid-19, but I'm hoping they will join us again when the virus has been conquered.  But we have some returning artists and a brand new artist coming in, so that will give our visitors new things to enjoy, an perhaps buy!  Once we get everyone set up I will take pictures to share... it's always a treat to see how the gallery looks when we are up and running, and we are able to add Wednesday to our days open this period... 5 days out of 7, that's progress!

Oh, and one more thing... Artists Coalition of Flagstaff has an e-commerce page that I am selling from since about June, and I have been blessed with several sales from the page so far... thanks to all who have browsed, and those who bought as well!  Here's the link if you haven't had a chance to check it out... we have several artists selling there, so it's worth a visit!

https://www.flagstaff-arts.org/the-arts-connection-online-gallery.html

Milestone and more...

 As you will recall if you have been following my blog, somewhere in March, I began making face masks - first a batch to send to a friend who is a Nurse in a remote community on the Navajo reservation, then a few batches for a group in town that was making masks to donate to various front line groups that didn't have PPE, then I began making and selling some to friends, then my friend Joyce who sews professionally, asked if I would like to collaborate with her to make masks that would be sold at local truck stops and mini marts.  Five months and hundreds of masks later, I finally cranked out the last order today, to be delivered tomorrow.  I am FREE again!  That's the Milestone!

I actually made less in this order than I had planned... I think Mask fatigue hit and I miscounted, but I still got 35 done, so a nice finish to a long run!  I'm sure there are more masks in my future, but hopefully smaller orders here and there, not 50 a week!  I really do want to make other things!  Now I'm working to finish an order for a friend, who plans to give them as gifts.  Here's one:

The next bowl will be in pinks, reds & purples with matching autumn leaves... ready to begin tomorrow.  Then, something I have been wanting to get back into for awhile, just haven't had time.  All the fabric scraps I've accumulated forever are waiting to be used, and my first project will be making covered writing journals.  I'm really excited to work on these, and hope that will be my focus by next week.  Will post pix in a future post.

Meanwhile, on the gallery front, Arts Connection has expanded to 4 days a week this month, and we are working to get back to a 7 day schedule staring in September!  We've given the "new normal" - mask wearing and social distancing and hand sanitizer, oh MY - a trial since late June, and it's working.  The Flagstaff Mall, where we are located, requires everyone to wear masks, and we do too.  And we keep everything wiped down with disinfectant wipes to make sure our artists who work shifts are safe, as well as our shoppers.  So far, so good!  

Last but not least, I'm trying to gear up to catch up with neglected housework... hope to have it done before the first snow fall, if that tells you anything!  Other than a lick 'n a promise here and there, I've been wearing blinders for months, but my excuse (mask making) is no longer there, so I'm praying for motivation!  Anyone out there get that?  Betcha!  

Okay, time for a little break, then maybe I'll figure out something else to do until time to fix dinner.  Enjoy the rest of summer wherever you are, and keep fighting the good fight!  Make ART, it helps!