Do you feel Guilty

 I have this wonderful old friend who feeds my "salvage" hunger.  Whenever he comes across something old and rusty, he thinks of me.  He brings me some of the most beautiful rusty things.  Items that most people would discard because the newness has faded and it has no sparkle left.  He brings me things that have the patina of time and life.  All of the dents and scrapes that it picks up on the way show up in its rusty skin.  All of this rust covers a mystery and shrouds the item in a cloak.  Where has it been and who did it belong to. Was it once a once loved piece which has now been discarded and replaced with something "new", something "better".  I prefer the old, rusty things with the air of history and mystery over the stamped out, over sold, cheaply made and imported "new" things. Maybe that is because it reflects "life".  We go through life getting bumps and bruises along the way.  Our  outer beauty fades, but internally we become more beautiful.  We acquire a depth and knowledge that we didn't possess in our younger years. We lose some of our sparkle but we take on a patina.  You can see life etched in our faces by the hands of time but there knowledge of who we are and where we have come from.  We begin to know what we want and desire.Maybe this is why I like old, rusty things.......


  That brings me back to the pieces that I have included in my blog today.  These pieces are composed of rusty old barbwire, old jewelry and cedar boards.

I made some of them for my upcoming shows.


I have a show the last weekend of May and have been busy trying to get some things done for them.  I love the shows, but I feel like I let them dictate my life.

Getting ready for them consumes my time and I have very little time for housework, yard work, etc....... That leads me to this--Do any of you ever feel guilty because you spend so much time on your art or your craft??  Am I alone in feeling that I am not pulling my weight around the house because most of my spare moments are spent on my art. 

 I know that I work full time, cook when I can, clean when I should and take care of the critters- but how much more do I need to do to "feel" like I am doing what I should??  Why do I feel so guilty??  Is it because I spend so much time doing what I love and my husband picks up all of the loose ends that I leave dragging??  Don' get me wrong.  He NEVER complains about the time that I spend on my art.  H mows the grass, helps with the animals, does all of the odds and ends that come with living out in the country and he seems to be fine with it.  It is me who has the feeling that I don't put in the hours that I should be.  That I am inadequate as a house keeper and do not have flower beds to rival Better Homes and Garden.......

 I don't have any small children to run after--they have all flown.  So, why can't I shake the feeling that I need to do more.  Do I need counseling???  Who knows.  I am not expecting answers here.  I am just wondering if anyone feels this way.

My life if full.  There isn't a spare moment in the day. When I leave work I go home.  Sometimes we eat on the way home, sometimes I cook.  Some evening I go up to the studio and try to squeeze in time but it is so difficult.


Are there answers???