I worked over at the shop again on Sunday afternoon after we got back from the Orange Show and Smither Park, this time working mainly in the space to the left of the studio room sorting through boxes, setting up the display stands we used during our open houses for more shelf space in there, moving the 'keep or give away' stuff from there into the studio like all the games and puzzles, craft materials like yarn, cookie cutters, tie dye squeeze bottles, container of my kid's crap from school, etc. Some of that stuff is going to the grandgirls, some to my daughter, some to SHARE, some to the resale shop, some, very little, I'm keeping and will take back to the house. Then I started making a pile in the big bay of stuff getting thrown out. I took no before or after pictures until the next day and by the time I took this picture Monday morning I had already cleared out about ⅔ of the boxes in that space.
Monday I continued to haul boxes of stuff from our etched glass days and the early days of the pate de verre to the trash pile in the big bay like all those rubber reproduction molds of the sculpted small bowls which we will never use again and other molds made for particular pieces.
After changing my mind several times about what to do with all the open weave and lace fabrics I used to glue onto the glass and then sandblast over them to create texture, I bit the bullet and threw them away. I sorted through two footlockers and threw away life vests and other crap like the first aid and survival kits from my river guide days that's been stored for nearly 20 years, sorted out the camping gear that is still usable, gathered all the fishing crap from Marc's fishing days for any of my friends who fish, and finally used the shop vac to suck up all the accumulated dirt.
I ended up with 3 and a half big bags of trash and a pile of boxes to get rid of and the worktable in the studio cluttered with stuff while I determine its future. And that's just the stuff from that one space. I haven't really even begun to sort through and get rid of all the etched glass stuff like the stencil material, adhesives, cleaners, protective tapes, glass jewels and bevels and dicroic glass and clear textured glass that I used for laminating, the crates of samples, etc.
Tuesday I moved the drill press, band saw, radial arm saw, and a miscellaneous small motor off the counter in the back storeroom into the big bay so as to dismantle the cabinets and countertop where we used them because the wall that separates the studio from the storeroom has had a supporting post fail and the plywood on the storeroom side needs to come off to get at it.
I did not work over there Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. Went to the chiropractor Wednesday morning and led the yoga class Wednesday evening dragging my brother along. He was a good sport about it, didn't seem intimidated by being the only guy there. Thursday, of course, was my SHARE day and he came along with me then too. He volunteers at a food pantry warehouse up where he lives. Friday, as previously posted, we went to the beach. And Saturday the only thing I accomplished was getting my pea plants in the ground.
So now today is Sunday and I'm not working over there today either because the cool weather that enabled me to work over there is a memory. The last several days were 90+ and next week, high 80s though I'll probably get back over there tomorrow. I'd say the only thing I accomplished today was washing the pile of dirty dishes and cleaning up after brunch except that then I cleaned and refilled the hummingbird feeders, took out the compost, used a hammer and putty knife to remove some of the built up crud on my two oldest cast iron skillets until I got tired of banging my knuckle with the hammer, used the little leaf blower to clear the deck and the concrete apron in front of the garage of leaves and acorns, and replanted the pot on the little boy's head with alyssum to replace the trailing petunias that died this summer.
The rest of the day is going to be spent sitting on my butt.
Amazing what is left when it's over! Every time I downsized, I let go of another old chunk of my life. It got easier and easier.
ReplyDeleteWhat a huge cleanup the workspace entailed. A lot of history there.
ReplyDeleteExtreme old age encourages these sorts of purges. If one were given to cliché one might say they solve the problem of not being able to see the wood for the trees. In my case I've always found it necessary to despise nostalgia and its stablemate sentimentality. Purges can be salutary in this matter since they often prove I am also guilty of these corrupting practices. Hurriedly I destroy the evidence and re-emerge as the hard-nosed, cynical - if now retired - ex-journalist. And that in itself may hint at sentimentality.
ReplyDeleteIt’s amazing what we collect and hold on to, isn’t it? Perhaps it’s better not to even look at the accumulated detritus of a lifetime, and ruthlessly just get rid of it.
ReplyDeleteI am reading this with careful attention as there is soo much clutter waiting here to be sorted out despite the fact that I started on it years ago! I remember the great sense of achievement when I chucked the ancient but worthless Encyclopedia Britannica, all 20 moldy volumes, into a container at the local waste depot.
ReplyDeleteThe beauty of just letting go...
ReplyDeleteBut also, extremely hard work both of the physical and emotional kind.
You have definitely been busy! I love the alyssum on the boy's head.
ReplyDeleteCrafters, quilters, and artists of various sorts do collect a good bit of stuff! Of course, collectors do, too. My mother collected depression glass and pottery, and my dad collected coins and stamps. Getting rid of that 'stuff' was an enormous chore once they were gone. My mother's twenty-seven huge tubs of yarn were easy -- that yarn got sent to knitters all around the country, and most of her needlepoint supplies were given away to local shops. I'll say this: running around with a camera doesn't require nearly so much equipment!
ReplyDeleteI just gave my cousins (who were visiting from out of town) some of my pottery. It's all over shelves in my little apartment, and I said they were helping so much. If they liked it please take it. When I'm gone, in a few years or so, whoever cleans out the apartment will not take time to designate who to ship what to...it will just be tossed. I know my sons. Maybe their wives would care more about distribution, but I doubt they will be among the ones doing the clearing task. I no longer work in clay, so these are all artifacts!
ReplyDeleteYou really got so much done there. I think I need to change my blog's name from Dharma Bums to Lazy Bums. How do you do it all? I'm beginning to think it's the bleak weather here that keeps me inside just looking at the computer and hoping for some sunshine.
ReplyDeleteOh, is THAT all you did? :)
ReplyDeleteApplause. YOu can come over here anytime and I will cook for you! I just decided to sort my sock drawer. If you laugh I will take a photo!
ReplyDeleteGot back last night from my long weekend in Manvel, TX. Saw the Houston Space Center and the Natural history museum. Also got to watch my grandson play soccer and hockey so the days went by quickly. We lucked out with nice weather.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been to the museum since the kids were in school and have never been to the Space Center though we did drive out there in the horrible traffic to see the first space shuttle all those years ago. glad you had decent weather.
Delete"our etched glass days". I'm trying to imagine which was the equivalent period in my life. The nearest I can get is when - in my youth - I kept a white rat as a pet. Down in the cellar with a wire netting area for his exercise. When I came down the cellar steps he rushed out into this area, begging to be cuddled. Removed from his cage he would run up my arm and nibble - painlessly - on my ear lobe. Etched glass must surely be an aesthetic matter, the white rat was merely emotion. Puts you higher up the social scale but seventy-five years later I still wonder at his being able to show affection with those otherwise very sharp teeth. But, obviously, a dead-duck subject at cocktail parties.
ReplyDelete