I haven’t done much in the clay studio this past week – but I have been engaged in other activities, some creative, others not so much.

Creative endeavors:

I’m taking a plants class this summer through the University of Colorado at Denver taught by an alumnus of the graduate landscape architecture program. While some might not think taking a class creative, this one is using both my right and left sides of the brain. In addition to the reading & lectures, I am able to fuel my amateur photography habit by visiting various green spaces including the Denver Botanic Gardens. Plants, plants and more plants – what’s not to love? I’m not saying I am any good at photography, but I do enjoy doing it so much so that I have decided to buy myself a new camera this year.  I am going to upgrade my old Olympus C7070 Wide Zoom digital to a SLR – make and model to be determined.  If you happen to own one over which you wax poetic, please share….  The class participants are also required to keep a visual/written journal which is a beneficial activity for me – I already keep this digital journal and going analog is a good exercise. There is a quality that pen to paper brings such as seeing the hand writing, cross outs and rendered drawings that is missing in the digital realm.

Iris & Grasses – from sketchbook – watercolor crayon, mylar, pen

A side benefit to this class is that the material, discussions and field trip will certainly inform my own humble landscape which I have yet to touch (other than a little weeding) since moving in last summer.  I’m pretty sure my neighbors are more than a little skeptical when I tell them that I’m studying landscape architecture. ;D

Not so creative endeavors:

This past week, I have been whittling away at my pile-o-papers filed on the kitchen counter over the course of the past 10 months – a promise to my husband that the pile would be gone (or at least severely diminished) when he comes home today from his weeklong man adventure - Riding the Rockies.  On Sunday, I finally filed my 1st Q taxes, albeit extremely late (good thing I didn’t have any sales), renewed my retail sales tax license, along with all the other necessary paperwork & fees to the City of Denver & State of Colorado in order to once again sell my work legally online and the occasional in person event. AND – my dogs are also “legal” again…unfortunately, I also missed some great art events happening around town thanks to my haphazard filing practices.

Feels good to feel like I am catching up to my life again.