the past couple of days....

i know i said this blog was for the ups and downs of my artistic pursuits, but sometimes life gets in the way. with my trip to portland this weekend, i had set the goal of have 200 hats done!!
and then this happened.
friday night my fiance, who is a stock car driver on the weekends had a race, so i went. and he was being a guy, pissing me off, so he and i get into it at the track. not that big of a deal, right. not untill his 14 year old son, that's right, i'm a step mom to a teenager, gets in my face and runs off. we figured he'd return after the races were over, no. so we had everyone looking for this kid, town police, county sheriffs, other parents and friends. finally he is found, and doesn't want to come home, because of me, i'm the evil step mom. that is really hard to hear, especially when you've opened your home, and cooked and cleaned for him. so it's me, the problem!! finally we get home, try to work it out but to no avail. have you ever tried to make a teenage boy talk, i'd think it be easier to pull out my own teeth.
ok so the weekend passes, i'm trying to make up for lost time, then this morning i'm up and working, feeling good and productive. then i see a county sheriff wrapping the yellow crime scene tape around my neighbors house, suicide!!! this guy has three young children and a wife and he kills himself, they think last night. i'm watching from my window, the wife pulls up, screaming and crying, i don't know where the kids where, but how terrible. in their house too. it actually makes me mad, how could he leave his kids like that!! then i feel sooo sad for the wife!!! just offal. some other neighbors were coming home and there we were all standing in the street, watching as they took his body out. and they're all talking like they knew it was coming, did anybody do anything?
this morning had really shaken me and changed my perspective on suicide. i can hardly get any work done, because i feel so distracted. i don't have much else to say, just needed to get it out of my mind

here it is

here are some photos of my shibori dyed wool felt. i have mixed feelings about them, i think once i get better with color and how the dyes interact, i will like the shibori wool better.
the rest of this and next week are commited to nothing other then sewing my brains out. i'm going to PDX for a wedding on the 27-30 and would like to have any hat that is laying around my studio, sewn and done. GOAL: 200 hats done before friday 6/27!!!!!

back at it

its monday morning and i'm am currently unemployed, or maybe its self-employed, not sure. i decided it was time to retire from the bar tending and get serious about making work, especially since i'm down to about a month before the big sale.
here's the stuff i'm working on now. today i hope to get it all sewn together, so tomorrow i can start felting again. this week should be fun, since i've decided to do a full 50 hats with shibori-dyed wool felt.
here's a photo of some of my first experiments. for those who aren't fiber nerds, shibori is an ancient Japanese form of tying and dying fabric, similar to tie-dye.
i'm also liking this two tone hats. people have commented on the monochromatic aspect of my hats, and after trying two tones, i do like it.
well enough for now, back to the grind stone

night out

isn't it amazing how a little hang over can make anything you've been feeling sooo much more exacerbated! i went out the last night and today feel even more unmotivated to work. i also find it interesting that after you've quit smoking, how much more it bothers to go to a smoking bar. (don't forget i live in wyoming) i think i'll go into town, do a little thrift store shopping, maybe that will help.

heat wave!

i'm soooo sorry for all of you back east: ohio, north carolina. i heard the temp. there is out of control. and you know whats really crazy, its snowing here today.
here's a photo of my mint plant, with snow

here's from my studio, my mountains have disapeared!!!
i ran into a friend yesterday how told me he went skiing yesterday!!! ITS NEVER GOING TO END!! alright, enough about the weather for today.
so as i sit here in the second month of this insanity of getting ready for my first professional sale, i'm dealing with some heavy stuff
1. the burnout, i'm tired and ready to start making new and different stuff, but feel like i can't cause i've put myself on such a tight time line. i have decided to scale back from 250 hats to 200-220, and put more time into making pins and other hat accessories. that was one of my original goals, have hats and pins to offer multiple price points. i feel that the pins will be as important as the hats and need an ampule amount of time as well.
2.my job: i gave my notice yesterday at my job as a waitress/ bar keeper. i'm leaving so i have more time to work on my craft, also because i drive 30 miles round trip and with gas...do i need to explain further!! also i'm over the drama of a restaurant. those who've work them know what i mean!!! i have enough stress, i don't need any more.

3. so now i have about 90 hats done, and am sewing 60 more by sunday. hopefully i will have the 200-220 done by the first week of july, then spend the rest of the time on pins, my booth, getting more cards printed, appling to more stores here in town... you know all the other stuff!

here are some photos of a new style, called the 'judy' named for my future mother-in-law. it's a very veristile hat that can be worn different ways.

this is my favorite!
(yes, that is a bottle of antifreeze in the background, and no, its not for the irony!)
to all the fellow artist in the struggle, keep on!

feeling ill

as i lay here on my couch in my self-pity with a cold, i'd thought i'd give you all a little update.
i finally got a website!!!!! kristagorrell.com with the help of the nice people at otherpeoplespixels.com. check them out!!!!