Reclaiming the Basement

Two years ago, we moved into this house. Things we didn't know where they were going to go or what was in the box ended up in the basement. I've chipped away at it periodically, unpacking a little here and there, but it's driving me crazy. There's space down there that's supposed to be for dancing (it used to be workout space, complete with mirrored wall, stereo and rubber-matted floor; previous owners had a home gym). Since it's full of stuff, I can't dance, which makes me sad.

I've got art supplies, craft supplies, miscellaneous sewing supplies, fabric, etc. strewn all over. I can't find things I know I have, and that also makes me sad. Part of the reason I have so many UFOs is because I can't find the things I want/need to finish them. (The other part is because I have the attention span of a caffeinated hummingbird.)

This weekend is WorldCon/ChiCon 7, and my husband (whose office is in the basement) is going. Since he won't be home, I won't feel guilty about making noise and playing music he doesn't care for, distracting him from whatever he's working on. (He's a mad scientist, who knows what-all he does in there...) So given this opportunity, I'm going to work some more on getting that space organized. Which will mean making a bigger mess as I sort. I may run over to the dollar store and get some cheap containers to sort things into, that way if I can't finish, at least the piles are contained and sorted instead of heaps on the floor.

Once the mess is contained, I can work on (not this weekend, LOL) getting the newly emptied and clean space decorated. I have Pinterest boards for the dance side and the lounge side. And I really want to get started... It's really the last space in the house that needs to be finished, and it's kind of important to me that I have a place to dance again, since I my classes are too far to reasonably drive for an hour-long class. I'll also be able to do yoga and tai chi in that space, once it's cleared out. Health, exercise and sanity are all hinging on me getting that done! Perhaps a small exaggeration, but only a small one...

SO... with the idea of stating my intention to the universe (and by "universe" I mean "internet") as catalyst for actually accomplishing something, here's the current "before" pictures...

Mirror wall on the left, lounge area on the right, mess everywhere...

Sewing area left, drafting table (for various projects) center, more mess...

The black floor (what you can see of it) is the rubber floor matting), the goal is to clear it all.

Boxes of toys that need to be dealt with.

The wall visible on the left will be lined with bookcases, and my action figures will move to there.
They don't fit my dance theme, but they belong more on the "feminine" of the basement. I'll make it work...

Drafting table, and one of the natural light sources from a window well. (Need a sheer to cover the "view.")

Sewing area. Believe it or not, I have been using the machine like that, for small felt food stuffies
for my daughter. Imagine what I could accomplish if it were cleaned up!

The mostly-done lounge. The wall on the left of the photo (which is also the mirror wall)
will be painted red. All those DVDs will be moved to...

...where the action figures are now.

See? I'm trying to keep it all organized!

I really am! It will be easier (I hope) when I have everything sorted so I can find it all.

So there ya go, my in-progress basement as it looks this morning (Friday, August 31, 2012). I will update on Monday with what I got done. I'm kind of hoping to be able to show a ton of progress, but when I worked on it a few weeks ago, it hardly looked like I made a dent, even though several boxes of children's books made it up to the new children's library/guest room.

Altered Book, Continued

I had a flash of inspiration and have been working on my altered book again, after having set it aside for months. Frankly, it's about all I have the energy for at the moment, with a nasty cold that is keeping me from sleeping well, or breathing.

The new pages will highlight the computer journal entries I made when I started taking my belly dance classes, o' so many years ago. I prepped the pages with gesso, cut the pages so they're notched for each week of the 8-week session. Some weeks have more than one entry, so some pages have more than one page notched for that week. I then painted each week its own color, added the printed journal entries, set eyelets into the notches and added fibers and a tag to each.

It looks good so far, but the pages are pretty bare, so my next thing will be to figure out how to decorate the pages.

Altered Book

Whilst clearing out the things that ended up in front of the fireplace (so I could clean it out and replace the too-small grate), I unearthed my belly dance altered book. I knew where it was, I just hadn't bothered to dig it out, because I hadn't felt particularly creative lately - too busy feeling like a slug, I guess. Anyway, I do want to get back to that. I was so pleased with the way things were going, and then *SPLAT!* I hit a brick wall. I want to do so much with it, it's hard to overcome all that inertia.

It may end up veering in a direction I had not intended, in to Body Image territory. Like many women, I've struggled with self-esteem as related to physical appearance. It's hard to look in the mirror to see if you're doing it right when you can't bear to look at yourself! Added to that, some moves are obscured by  fat, and you can't see what the muscle is doing. I'm trying to get started on a healthier lifestyle, and that will play into dance, which may well end up in the book. Fortunately, it's a fairly large book, and I have room for that...

I didn't really mean for the project to be art-as-autobiography. I meant all along to include the few pages I wrote when I started taking Magda's classes, but I never meant for it to be just about my experience with dancing. Sometimes when I'm writing, characters take on a life of their own, and go in directions I hadn't anticipated. I can't decide if that's magical or frustrating because I've lost control of my own creation. *shrug* It's not a question I intend to answer today. Instead, I think I'll try to go vote early and beat the crowds.

Almost a Commercial Venture

Well, I suppose it's a commercial venture already, because I have sold a few cards already. Now, however, I have the right size bags, and the nicer cards, and the matted prints. I will work on the pendants tomorrow and get them done. I have a website, I have inventory, and I have a primo opportunity this weekend in the form of a good friend who has offered to set up that inventory when she vends at a good-sized event this weekend, up in Wisconsin - the Northern Lights Bellydance Festival (wish I was going...).

So I'm getting Shattered Photos off the ground, and will soon have the things I ordered for the Etsy for Autism and get those listed. The response from friends has been enthusiastically positive. I'm guardedly optimistic. We will see. If things go well this weekend, I'll have a much better idea of the commercial viability of this whole thing.

Dyeing Silk Veils

A veil can be a bellydancer's best friend, but whether she dances with one or not, I don't think anyone could argue how much fun it is to dye the silk yourself. Tonight I'm dyeing two more silk veils, but only one of them's for me. Mom wants one; she plans to wear it as a scarf/shawl.

My dance teacher's having a dye party, and the dye and processing is all done there, so I get to have all the fun without all the mess. Whee! I'll post pics probably Monday or Tuesday.

Here's an older photo I took of my teacher performing at a restaurant, with a hand-dyed silk veil. Nothing beats silk!

The first picture below was taken for my dance teacher by a professional photographer, who's also a friend, Alison Visona. I was telling Magda last night about my kaleidoscope experiments, and she asked if I could take that picture and make it a kaleidoscope.

Here is one of the resultant images: 

People invariably end up looking a little creepy through a kaleidoscope, but this one's not too bad. It's recognizable if you know what you're looking at (especially if you have the original photo as reference), but abstracted enough to be pattern as well.