Balance, Equilibrium and Juggling

As I've mentioned previously, it seems I've become even busier than when I had a full-time job and at times I have trouble juggling it all. Thinking about how to balance everything-work, family, time with friends, and time for myself-has been on my mind alot. Part of the issue with being self-employed is that you're always at work and having an unfinished project or order in the next room is hard for me to ignore. I just can't shut it off at 5 or 6:00 in the evening and so spend alot of evenings with wire in my hands while I hang out with the fam. I have a feeling I'm not the only one who does this! When my lovely friend Wendi suggested that I include the word "balance" in one of my trapeze artist pieces because so many of us struggle to find it, I realized that she was right--I've been working on trapeze artists and jugglers without realizing how they were an illustration of my own life. Here are the new pieces-they'll be at the BMAC show in Feb. and at the wonderful Lizzie Lou's in Roundtop, TX in March.

new found freedom-volume 1

Lucky, the new boss
the satellite office
the studio

Well, I got laid off from my job this week. I was an art director at a "large Midwestern greeting card company" for the last 3 years but a designer before that for many more. I've worked there off and on for 17 years or and have had a chance to make some wonderful friends and learn more than they teach in any art school but the business has changed and the company is growing smaller to deal with those changes. Although I'm really sad to leave my good friends and coworkers, I know I'll see them again from time to time PLUS I have alot of orders to fill from the Philly show along with 4 shows lined up before the end of the year-so I look at this as a new beginning. Thought you all might like to see where I'll be going to work every day now-the commute is alot shorter (just down some steps), I'll have a satellite office when the weather is beautiful, and my new boss is also my running buddy. I began this first day by sprinting up two of the highest hills I could find with him, then he told me to get back to work. Here's to whatever lies ahead!