I’m full of ideas, big and small, possible and impossible, trivial and important. You could say I’m an idea person. If I took action as readily as I came up with ideas, oh, my! Here are a few of them:
- A carriage house. About the same size and shape as my own house, and sitting a little to the south and west of my house, on the other side of the driveway. Half of the ground floor would be a one-car garage (for my one car); the other half would be my artist’s studio. The second floor of this story-and-a-half structure would be a small apartment. I could live in the apartment while my house was being (finally, for once and for all!) finished. Then, I could decide to live in the house or stay in the apartment. I could rent out whichever one I wasn’t living in. This idea would involve more funds than I have now, or anticipate having, ever (unless I win the lottery, which, damn, I have to remember to buy an occasional ticket, to keep that dream alive!), but what a great idea!
- A quilt, made solely of the little printed silk tags found in the back collar of clothing. I actually have a little collection of these, in preparation for this project. With what I have so far, the quilt would be less than 6 inches square!
- I have the idea that I am going to have to change my way of speaking to the dogs. I’m used to saying “good girl” as I give Darla or Rosa Parks a rub behind the ears or a treat. It seems to me, then, that when I offer Blackie Chan the same attention, with a “good boy” for him, that his face reflects a little disappointment. “Am I not a good girl?” his expression seems to ask me, “have I done something wrong?” Now that we have this new little boy in the family, I should really come up with a sex-neutral compliment. I’m practicing with “good doggies,” but it’s hard to break a habit…
- I’ve been working on an idea – in my mind, only – for several years now, that involves re-working mounds of old drawings and paintings on paper into large, rounded, closed basket-forms. I imagine them hanging from the ceiling, with bits of their history visible in the woven bands.
- An exercise room. Where I could lay on the floor for yoga or pilates, sit -ups or weight-lifting without dogs, or the fur they leave behind. I love my dogs, but really. Darla thinks, whenever I drop to the floor, that I have done that simply to receive a hundred dog kisses to my face. Rosa thinks I have done it to give her another surface to climb on. Both of them shed their fur so readily, that I am assured of getting up with my clothes covered in it.
- A neutral home, with changing displays to celebrate the seasons. Candles, pillows, artwork and other incidentals would brighten the space and acknowledge holidays and the passage of time.
- A series of encaustic works that would encapsulate and display items found through the course of each day. From scraps of paper to dried leaves to butterfly wings, I’m sure something beautiful could come of whatever the day offers.
- A bead board ceiling in my downstairs, and the same bead board lining the walls and ceiling of my little office cubby.
This is just a sampling, mind you, of the ideas that occupy my thoughts. I think my next idea should involve bringing other ideas to fruition!
cindyricksgers 