04 January 2009

Busy-ness


A few of you have written to gently scold me. You've let me know I’m slacking off – letting too much time go by between postings since I got back from the U.S. in November. Mea culpa… Don’t I know it! Look – four days have already passed since Baby New Year arrived, trailing his “binky” in the snow. Well, I’m gonna pull out that great, vague, status-rich New York City excuse: “I’ve been so busy!”

Busy?! “ you might well retort, “But you don’t even have a job!” Right you are – not a regular job with obligatory hours for suiting up and showing up. But still, I’ve been working everyday.

Perhaps most important, each month I have been living here, I have spent more hours working in the studio. Does that translate into more work produced each month? Oddly, no. But I’m more than satisfied with my progress. (You can see a piece of “white work” called Wandering Cherubs here. It went home in my friend “E’s” suitcase!)

In November there was preparation for the show of my boxes. Remember: half of that work was created between mid-June and October. The other half was completed in less than two weeks, and I had to go out and scrounge the posters to do it! Of course, everything for the show took longer than I expected. And then came the effort to get the Venetian gallery community to go and see the boxes. That took awhile because I was timid and I dragged my feet a bit.

Those first boxes led to… bigger boxes. I have nearly finished one. I am working on two more, a set. The effort required to complete a box increases geometrically when its foundation size increases. The design problem changes dramatically with the additional square footage (inch-age?) to be covered.

Also in November I began the start-stop-start footwork to attempt to get this blog into print. Today the prospects for blogbooks are dim, even dangerous, but someone I know here who knows a thing or two about the subject said, “It will only take one successful one to open up the field.” If you have any thoughts, please share them with me. Meanwhile, onward & upward!

December brought a flurry of visitors with their delightful distractions and some nice social engagements. Places to go, things to do, delicious meals to eat, fabulous wines to drink, great conversations to ponder. And shopping to the point of dropping. OK, I admit it – I had a great time behaving like this is one big Venetian vacation.

Around this time there was some time-and-energy-sapping wheel-spinning to be done to investigate two possible business ventures presented to me – one sublime and one ridiculous. Ready for a big shock? All my good faith wheel-spinning aside, neither one of them panned out.

Also around this time I had an unforeseen and very unpleasant set-to with a friend here, although it’s inaccurate to call her that anymore. In my adult life I have learned that conflict, while lousy, can actually make one's relationships stronger. But this gal is still punching, even though I left the ring three weeks ago. How sad. Loss is tough going, and that takes time, too. (Call it luck, but I also had a handful of new friendships take shape in December and January. I guess when one door closes… )

Before I knew it, it was Christmastime. Even holiday preparations as minimal as mine take time, if you do them right. You’ve seen my tree and you’ve already heard it was an altogether wonderful season.

Last but not least, I have launched another blog this week – one in which I will share my Venice “insider tips” and (with luck) begin building my private concierge enterprise. Check my profile here and find the link to it. And tell your friends, especially the ones coming to Venice!

So, you see… busy!

I’d like to think I will be a more consistent blogger in January, but I have another “expiration date” looming (March 1st) and I think it will only get busier here. I have decided to stick around for Carnevale after all, and this time I will have a costume… which must be created. I have a small gig as an English teacher starting soon, as well as a student for private lessons, maybe two. And, of course, the hunt for a job or business opportunity continues, in both Venice and (necessarily) New York. Add to that the drive to be in the studio as much as I can and…

Well, I’ll do my best!