Patty Kelly... the Art Files

Lets try this again. With a kind of new focus. I'm still selling Paper Art on line - or should I say I'm still listing Paper Art on line - selling...well not so much.

I still have 6 cats, though not the same 6 cats I had 4 years ago: Curtis, Nimue, Frankie, Whitman, Blossom Scarlet and Tula Jane, 2 dogs: Failte & Ciara, 1 (the same) chicken: Snowdrop, and a replacement rabbit: Venkman.

I sold my 850 sq ft house in Ojai and moved into a 320 sq ft studio in Santa Paula. Why? Because in mid-July 2012 I went on disability for Fibromyalgia, collagen vascular disease, chronic kidney stones, migraines, bi-lat carpal tunnel - and my personal favorite...Extreme Fatigue Syndrome. And no doubt more things I probably don't even know about.

So lets explore the life and work of someone so 'afflicted' (lack of a better word). That should be fun. The truth is that I am probably the only one who reads this blog. But maybe, someday, someone may stumble in who has the same issues that I do. And if so, I'd really like to hear from that person.

Today is a perfect example. I went to bed last night with a mild headache but slept well. Woke up this morning, drug myself out of bed a half hour later to feed the brood, clean cat boxes and fill water bowls. Then went back to bed with a cup of tea.. So today was hard. I didn't accomplish anything and I have fast approaching Art & Craft Fairs I'm committed to. I feel guilty, even though this happens at least once a week. All I can really do is hope tomorrow will be better.

You'd think after all this time (7 years since symptoms first started) I would have learned to follow a schedule that won't wear me out, cause me headaches, and make my hands cramp up with pain. The truth here is that I know all these things in my head. But on those rare days when I wake up feeling good, I try to cram everything I can into that day to make up for all the stuff I couldn't do the day before, thereby guaranteeing the next day will find me unable to get out of bed...again.

So I thought that maybe, if I recommitted to this Blog, I would have to try and follow the schedule that gives me the best chance of having more energy and less pain. Because I'm assuming that anyone who wanders in may want to she some pretty stuff too. And I can't make pretty stuff if I'm in bed with pillows over my head.

So lets see how it goes. I can't promise to post everyday. But I think I can manage twice a week. I can post some of my work, discuss my plans for producing multiple project from one illustration, and then maybe save my hands to be able to draw, fold, cut, mold and glue later - and make more pretty stuff.

That's the plan.