Three Days in the Studio

Yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

I did not get a whole hell of a lot done in the studio yesterday. Sometimes a whole day just gets swallowed by minutia: grocery shopping, scooping the litterboxes, checking the oil, calling my mother, making a pot of soup. These are all important and valuable accomplishments, but so mundane they sort of leave me with that where-did-the-day-go? feeling.

I did unmold and slice a new loaf of soap, called Stormy Night; taught my evening class; and wrote a blog post for Wicked Cozy.  I had forgotten how hard it is to gain readers! I see some of you have given me a leg up, G+ing the new blog for me. Thanks for that. The new post will publish on Monday.

I think to have fewer of these "lost days," I need to get back in the habit of to-do lists to keep me on track. I always seem to overdo the lists and put like fifteen items on them, which I then inevitably fail to accomplish. So, trying to keep it in the realm of the doable:

• Finish leatherhard ware
• Clean studio! It's getting to that point where it's hard to work because of all the stuff just laying around, in the way. 
• Throw mugs to get a jump on this year's Mug Season 
• Go to the gym. This is not my favorite thing, but it's part of the holy trinity of self-care - sleep, nutrition, and exercise - that keep me out of that dark place where my mind sometimes falls. (I'm good today, though. Think things are on the upswing.)
• Make at least one follow up call to the emails I sent to stores last week.  Man how I hate to do those calls! But emails alone are almost never enough. I get myself to do it by promising myself I only have to do one. Sometimes after the first one it's easier, and I continue. But no pressure!
• Put together a Thursday Inspiration post.  If you squint your eyes a little, any day can be Thursday.

And tomorrow:

• Sort pots into Best, Pretty Good, and Bargain bins. I am starting to get a crazy-lot of pots in that last category. Nothing wrong with them, just that they are demos, so don't fit with my body of work, or the color didn't make me happy, or I'm just tired of looking at them. This year's Maine Pottery Tour is going to include a giant clearance table. 
• Put handles on those Mug Season Mugs. 
• Go the the gym, again.  That pesky chore just will not stay done.
• I hope to have a couple of hours of unfettered studio time to just make whatever comes to mind. This is my reward for getting the rest of my list done!