I woke up yesterday morning with a burning desire to resurrect the Forest Folk I used to make. So I pulled some of my cleaned native clay out and started creating some body parts. I’ve had that clay stored in a container for three years now. Surprisingly, it was still moist. I had a ball of commercial clay in there too, and that one had mold on it. I threw that one out. The native clay was still clean. Not moist enough, though. So added a little water and let it set a few hours. Then it was good to go.

These new Folk will be similar, but different. I used acorns and twigs for their bodies before, and dressed them in leaves and moss. This time, I’ll use clay for the heads, at least, so I think I’ll call them something new. They’ll be Ozark Folk. Or Wild Ozarkians. Maybe Wildlings? I don’t know yet. Once the first one emerges from the Cauldron of Creation, perhaps they will tell me themselves what they’d like to be called.

Staying focused

I’m working on a painting right now, so the Ozark Folk/Wild Ozarkian project is going to be on hold now. I just had to shape some clay to relieve the urge. And now the clay has been shaped, and I can set it aside. Once I’m finished with the bear, then I’ll go back to the clay. Here’s where I am with the bear today:

I’ll be adding the leaf beneath his paw today and might get to add the other one over his head. I’m a slow painter. Mostly that’s because I take a lot of breaks to step away from it. Breaks help me see it fresh after each little part done. I do have a self-imposed deadline on this one, though. So, I am trying to stay focused and get it done. If those Wild Ozarkians would stay out of my mind, it would help. Ideas for creating things are always floating around in my head. Sometimes it’s hard to keep them all in their places, haha.

It’s tax season, though, so I’ll have to work on that between doing the taxes.

Rob’s Creating, too

Rob has been busy putting together a part of his solar array project. The battery needs to be enclosed in a box, so he’s building that. I go down there and help him from time to time, too. This also allows me time to step away from whatever it is I’m working on. His solar project has been on the list of things he wants to do for many years. It’s good to see him getting to work on it finally. This was one of the main incentives behind the years of overseas work. Now he has all the components paid for and just has to bring all of the parts together. It’s a huge project overall, but when it’s done later this year, we’ll be energy independent with optional grid-tie.

So that’s a little about our lives as hermits in the hills these days. I spend most of my time creating things and marketing. Rob spends his working on his solar array. I try to limit going out for groceries and errands to once a week. But I’m debating on whether to go out today. We’ve got actual snow in the forecast for tomorrow. I doubt it’s going to stick around long, though, so I probably will just wait until next week.

What are you up to?