Welcome to Day 37 of the 100-Day Project!
In today's episode, I am trying to find some sort of "creative equilibrium" as I wrestle with the reality that my life is already far too filled with things clamoring for my attention to take on additional challenges.
Finished last autumn
My wife is actually our of town for a few days, visiting our daughter and son-in-law in Seattle. Oddly enough, that will actually make it more likely that I will have a few better days with this challenge.
Yes, we're "one of those" couples who actually like spending time with each other... so when she's not around I actually end up with several hours I end up spending, doing different things.
But that's not normal life, and I don't actually like spending that much time alone!
A view of the "main" stone I painted today
Meanwhile, I am really looking forward to potentially getting my first batch of "finish work" taken care of, this weekend! When I refer to finish work, I am talking about the process of signing and numbering the painted stones, and then applying about 8-10 ultra thin coats of extremely tough high gloss finish.
This not only serves to protect the painted design, it also really makes the colors "pop" and makes the stones very touchable, as well as durable.
It also means I will have new subjects for photography. I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to presentation, and a lot of these late night "process" shots are not making me happy.
Today's effort towards the "Retreat Order"
Day 37 Stone Painting:
So, today's painting efforts started with the obligatory Chakra Stone for the "Retreat Stone Project." All in all, I'm not unhappy with the way it has been progressing. I'm still estimating that I will be done by about mid-April, and the order is not — technically speaking — due until May 10th.
But I like to give myself plenty of slack time for things like this, just in case something goes wrong, or something has to be changed.
Today's stone is pictured above.
"Indigo, gold and purple... and then a white contrasting star. Taken earlier today, during daylight hours.
After that, I found about a "medium sized" blank stone that had snuck by my previous search for the smoothest stones.
So yay, I have one more "really good" painting stone.
Decided to go with something bluish and darkish for this one, but with some eye-catching contrast.
The same design progressing... this photo taken after dark, with artificial light
I wasn't sure I was going to be able to finish this one today, but I decided it's about priorities, and today I chose to prioritize some creativity.
Folks occasionally wonder if I "don't get tired" of doing what seems (to them) like the same thing, over and over and over.
The truth is, no I don't.
The finished stone... it will be more vibrant, yet, after it gets a finish coat.
The thing is, I've been drawing these same doodles as back ink on paper since I was a teenager... and it offers me a sort of "meditative peace" I actually don't find from doing anything else.
Of course, it doesn't hurt that I have somewhat OCD-ish tendencies in some of the ways I approach life. The very organized structure of the stone designs appeals to me.
Day 37 Summary and Social Media Bits:
Finished another two new stones today: up to 13 stones completed for the "Retreat" order, and this slightly larger stone turned out quite well, and will become a nice addition to spring/summer stock.
Daily Twitter/X post: Check. Sharing a stone from a period I was doing photo experimentation; pretty and artistic.
Daily Facebook Page post: Check. Using the same photo as above.
Daily Instagram post: Check. And one more time, because I'm lazy! But at least it is getting done.
Other Stuff: As usual, this Hive post; spent a little time looking for events and fairs in our area that we might participate in this summer and fall. Daily shoutout to 
Day 37 completed; another day that left me pressed for time... I really do hope this is helping me build some productive habits that will result in some long term gain, of some sort.
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2024.03.27 AS-TXT-228/198