One of the negatives of working at home, and living alone, is that I no longer have that daily interaction with other people. I can go for days without speaking to another human being. There are days, like today, when I roll out of bed right into my computer chair, and stay there all day long. I only get up to take care of the necessities: eating, letting the dog out and such. And yes, I’m still in my jammies…
Right before I left my last real job six years ago, I made myself join a local mixed-media art group. We try to meet up once a month, to share, make things, and just generally get out of the house and spend a few hours with like-minded people. Never underestimate the value of having a circle of friends who don’t look at you like you have two heads when you say you’re an artist, or that you found the coolest rusty piece of metal yesterday. Priceless.
So. After several months of not managing to get to a meeting, due to weather, or cancellations, or whatever, I finally hooked up with the local arty chicks on Saturday. There were six of us, and we met up at one member’s studio to make art dolls from—yes, those of you who lived through the 80s are seeing this right—shoulder pads. I don’t generally participate much in the making things part of our meetings unless I’m teaching, because seriously, I make things all week long, and usually need a day off, but I couldn’t resist this project. It was pretty perfect for chatting and telling stories, and in about an hour, we all had clever little dolls made, and I got to know two newer members I hadn’t met before.
Mostly, it was just good to get the heck out of the house and talk to real people…