"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…"  Charles Dickens - A Tale of Two Cities
  

This sucks I know I'm right there with you!  Although there is a lot (A LOT) of negative and negativity surrounding this pandemic I am trying to keep my focus on the positive, the silver lining, the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.  I'm trying to keep my vibration high focusing on all the good we are doing for one another and not getting mired down in all of the stress and sadness of it all.  Because if I allow myself to get pulled down into that deep dark again I won't be creative and I won't be ABLE to create and I won't be ABLE to shine my own light or send out the positive vibration that we all need to be sending out right now to heal.  I see it all and I'm staying home, and I'm praying, and I'm sending out loads of love and light daily in meditations.  I'm doing my part for the collective and I'm using this time as a reset button for me.  Like so many others I too am unemployed at the moment, besides my own website of course, but I'll get back to that.  The art gallery where I work and sell my jewelry, as well as the shop on the Island of Venice where my jewelry is also displayed, are both closed for the foreseeable future.  However, with all other "distractions" now forcibly removed, I can turn my attention on all of the unfinished projects so long pushed aside because something else required my attention and then something else and so on and so on.  The list is LONG so I plan to pace myself and make a list with the most essential items first (yes, I'm one of those list makers and it feels so good to cross each item off).  There will, of course, be some "me" time scheduled in there as well.  Self-care especially now is super important!  We have to make ourselves priority #1 to stay well, positive, healthy, and safe.  I gave myself a long-needed pedicure just last night and I'm going au naturel for a while since no one else will be seeing my feet for a bit.

My first order of business (I'm going into my second week off now) has been to re-organize my studio.  I simply cannot function let alone be creative in a messy chaotic space it makes me feel like my whole life is out of control.
 

I'm also very much looking forward to creating again just for the fun of creating and being creative!  I feel as though I've just been sustaining for quite some time.  Creating just to create will be like coming home and I can't wait... Guess that's next on the list LOL

I will also be returning to social media for a bit (mainly Instagram).  I've been absent these past months because I simply could not find balance in all of the hats I wear.

Now getting back to my website, this will be a major focus! Building and running a website, especially on my own has been more difficult than I imagined.  Large companies employ scores of people each with a specific focus like photography, item descriptions, social media content, sourcing, accounting, etc...  As a self-employed artist, I do ALL of this work just me in addition to running a household and working for someone else.  Don't get me wrong I am not looking for sympathy here. I do all of this because I literally need to be creative it's like the air I breathe I need it to survive and it fulfills me!  I'm merely giving you a peek behind the curtain, so to speak.  In the beginning, I sold on Etsy and did so for nearly 10 years and while time-consuming it wasn't nearly as all-consuming as strictly selling on my own.  I parted ways with Etsy not because I wanted to, but because the rules had changed so much and so often that our "individual" ideas of what constitutes as handmade were too drastically different, and they seemed to have lost sight of what was really important, the art and the artist.  Selling on my own was a goal I had, but not one I had planned to be forced into and definitely not so soon!  All that said this hiatus from the world around me will allow me the time I've needed for so long to focus on my website giving it the focus it has always needed...
 

Basically, I've (we've) been given time, so long as we stay away and stay well!

  We are all in this together and it may be difficult, it may be oh so very difficult, but we need to focus on the good and help one another and we will get through this!

❤️ Be Safe and Be Well 💋 We are ALL one Family 🌎

What are your plans for the time you now have?  If you're bored, or lonely, or just feel so inclined please feel free to reach out and chat. 🌞