Possible projects and next steps.

Okay, so now that I've de-foolished myself (at least for the moment, and on this topic), I'm still not sure what it is I will do next, but I have narrowed it down at least! I've ruled out both Art Escapes and Celebrate Your Creative Self, which didn't seem to suit me that well. I'm not primarily a drawer/painter and I just wasn't interested in what they had to offer. (Who knows, that might change in the future; but right now it's the case.) Art Escapes also makes me boggle at Northlight books; those binder bindings look really cheap to me, a lot worse than a simple spiral bind without the binder would, I think.

Anyway, I'm still considering the other two books (and the magazine, though it won't last long, of course, having fewer items). Whatever I do, I am going to revel in my ability to ignore entire sections if I don't want to do them, just because I feel a bit straight-jacketed by the AW. Maybe that's bringing me into sanity and maybe it's not, but either way it's confining!

Other projects I have that may or may not get done and may or may not occur along with the AW:

• Take the ivy bowl and jar, and paint them brightly. See how they look with a light inside. This may be the solution to the fake tea lights, which could quite possibly look lovely if I couldn't actually see them.
• Get fake flowers in their vase with fake water, and see how that looks - again for the desk-brightening
• Use fake water to contain things in interesting shapes (must first get a container I can reasonably hope to remove from the water after it's solidified). I want to see if I can get a nifty paperweight or conversation piece. Worst case scenario it doesn't work, but it seems worth a try.
• Zen sand gardens. I got a kit for a coworker, but looking at what goes into it, I can make these at home for less than that. I've never wanted one for myself because of my fear I'd get sand in things (probably a realistic fear). But if I make it at home, I can make it with the sand stuck permanently in the shape I pick. If it works, I can make several with different layouts, and rocks that I can set on them to finish it (can even change the rocks to adjust the mood). I have no idea if this will work. It seems worth a shot, though. My current theory is to use cardboard jewelry boxes as holders, they are shallow/flat and available in the right size/shape, and I can use paint to turn them traditional-looking shades like black or brown, or I could get real creative and make them bright and gawdy.
• Throw pillows. I have some old clothes that are no longer suitable for wearing, but that I still love. They have enough solid fabric to make patchwork throw pillows out of, which I would rather do than entirely throw them away.
• Work on my poetry. I have several inspired seeds that just need me to come to the table and start writing from them to finish them. Others need editing - mindful editing, not critic editing.
• Send my poetry out. I want to find, in the next three months, at least three publications I'd be comfortable seeing my work in - then submit to them. (This limits the search to publications that accept unsolicited submissions, obviously; I'll do the first line of hunting from Poet's Market so I know which those are.) This is somewhat bounded by the fact that I must either buy Poet's Market, or drive to a library not in my hometown (it's a reference book, so I can't put a hold on it; and my library has the ever-so-recent 2001 copy - not so very useful).
• Not so artistic but badly needed: clean the computer room so that the old desk can be removed and the bookshelves and table put in.
• Find table to put in. After the bookshelves are in so that I can measure and be sure it will fit. Possibly get an old table and redo the top myself - that might be fun.
• Fix the tabletop fountain the DH's husband gave us. Or, rather, steal pieces from it; the pump's burned out, but I have another pump. Will need to move it to another bowl for that also, but the piece that goes over the pump is nice and worth saving.
• Possibly make other tabletop fountains since I do have the supplies.
• Finish decorating the journal I put together, and see if I like it. (I'm dubious, right now.)
• Consider playing with bookbinding (in what spare time??).
• (added later) Figure out enough about Blogger templates to redo this blog without the fixed-width stuff that leaves so much screen space blank on my (relatively small!) screen. Maybe add an image - maybe one of mine, even - to the banner at the top.
• (added later) Shadow art. I'm not sure if I'm gonna do this or not but I was thinking it'd be neat to take a photo of your shadow and write/draw/whatever the things you hide from yourselves and others (but want to admit in a picture, I guess!) in the shadow-space. (Thanks to Kara, whose post spawned this idea.)

And no, for the record, I am not expecting to get all of these done in a short period of time, or even necessarily to get all of them done. The computer room and the poetry are the two most important ones. None of these require supplies I don't have, so.... (The possible exception being the throw pillows - I may have fabric for more than I have stuffing for - but that would be after I made a couple, so.)