The 100-day Project, Day 17 — Finishing What We Started!

in GEMS9 months ago

And so, on to Day 17 of the 100-Day Project!

20240308_004141.jpg
The finished stone. Painted partially yesterday, and partially today.

Our son is visiting at the moment, so I am allowing myself to "slack off" a bit so we can have some family time.

He's off work at the moment (for the winter) but starts back to work next week, so we won't be seeing him much after that.

Most of today is going to be about finishing the mostly red stone I started yesterday... still determined to keep going with this challenge!

20240306_222405.jpg
Started yesterday...

Day 17 Stone Painting:

So, the photo above shows the stone, where I left off yesterday.

Much of the work today is going to be to retrace any lines that are "weak" in terms of color... which is pretty much a pain in the rear!

I don't often think of what I do as being "boring," but overpainting lines because a color's covering capacity is weak is definitely boring!

20240308_001650.jpg
Getting closer...

As I mentioned yesterday, I really don't like working with reds and yellows very much, for the very reason that I am yet to find a red that has really strong pigment. On the other hand I do like the aspect of red that the brilliant color really stands out once the stone is finished, and these stones invariably are also among the most popular and most quickly sold at arts and crafts shows.

20240308_002657.jpg

How do I know when a stone is finished?

I have often told people that "the stone tells me." And I still can't think of a better way to explain it. Because I am working with a curved and somewhat three-dimensional item, it's not like looking at a canvas which is two dimensional. So I just end up looking at it and there's a point at which it feels right.

Sometimes I even think I'm done with the stone and I'm getting ready to set it aside and there's some part of me that senses the stone saying "no, you're not done yet." So I do a bit more.

Day 17 Summary and Social Media Bits:

One stone finished: All in all, fairly pleased with this stone... will become a nice meditation stone for someone! At least that's the underlying intention.

Daily Twitter/X post: Check. Made a tweet about the inspiration found in nature.
Daily Facebook Page post: Fail. Out of time.
Daily Instagram post: Fail. Out of time.

Other Stuff: As usual, this Hive post; aside from that, more interested in family time. Daily shoutout to @gillianpearce!

Day 17 completed; feeling that time pressure again; feeling the tendrils of "obligation" reaching for me, one more time... as they tend to do when I have to much on my plate that everything starts to feel like a chore.

On a positive note, at least the crypto markets seem to be holding somewhat steady. Maybe there's a bit of light at the end of that particular tunnel.

I appreciate you coming to visit and please do leave a comment if you feel so inclined!

Thank You!

AS-0000-Spacer.jpg

If you enjoy painted rocks, do check out The Hive Rocks Project and help spread the word about Hive, while also being creative!

Because I am trying to make some semblance of income — a part time living, even — I now add this footer to all my posts, in the hope that someone, somewhere, might decide to take a further look at my work, and perhaps consider supporting independent art.

Thank you, in advance, for your consideration and support!

My Alchemy Stones Patreon appeal

Alchemy Stones web site and blog

Alchemy Stones on eBay

Alchemy Stones on Etsy

Alchemy Stones on Facebook

Regardless, your upvotes and comments are always appreciated!

Thank you for supporting independent art!

2024.03.07 AS-TXT-213/181

Sort:  

Glad to hear you're enjoying your family time as well as getting the project done. It's such a weird up and down journey. At least it is for me.

I had some nice family time yesterday as well. We went to see Abba Voyage in London which was mind boggling!

But it was hard to relax earlier on knowing I would be going out and staying out later. I would love to be at the point by the end of the 100 days that I've settled into trusting it will get done because, so far at least, it always does.

Glad you had some good family time, too! I've seen a few clips from Abba Voyage and it looks like a pretty amazing recreation of them, at their heights.

I keep reminding myself that the point of all this is that we're trying to develop better habits; create new neural pathways in our brains... and at the end of 100 days — when the sense of "obligation" falls away — we'll end up feeling like there's an empty space if we don't reach for our creative sides on a daily basis.

At least that's what I'm telling myself! 🤣

That'sn interesting aim you have there. I'm not really try for a habit that continues. My aim was to experiment with the coddiwompling and see what happens if I don't push to make things happen. The challenge seems to be being able to do that when there is a lot of other stuff going on. I managed it when I was travelling but I'm finding it hard when I'm at home with all the "should dos" in my head. The clearer the day the easier it is. Which makes sense. I would love to get to the end of the 100 days and have my busy days feel like my clear ones. 😁