Puttin' in the Time

I do it to myself all the time.   I say I'm going to do something and then I don't follow through.  (I suspect that I'm not alone in this.)  Here are some examples.


Tomorrow I'm going to lose weight.  Okay, how about next Monday.  Wait, how about the beginning of the month.

This week I'm going to get up early and take off running,  (Well, actually what I'll be doing is walking.)  And then I have a bad night of not sleeping and any energy that I planned on having for a workout is spent sleeping in.

I'm going to start eating more vegetables and fruits and less junk food.  (I think the blob in my vegetable bin use to be pears.  Now I have to clean out my fridge.)

I'm going to keep on top of the paperwork for my business.  Once a week I'm going to enter the purchases and sales into the computer.  Once a week I'll take pictures of all the pieces I made during the week and enter them into the pages for my photo folder; then print them.  Well, I guess my weeks are two to three months long.  Because that's about how long it's been since I entered any business info into the computer.

Procrastination results in hours and hours of time spent getting everything entered.  It also is cause for such questions as "What was that?"  "What did I mean when I wrote that."  "Where did that come from and where is that?"

Well, I am now all caught up.  It may not be January 1st but I am making a resolution right now.  I resolve to keep on top of the paperwork by entering the week's business every Sunday night.  (So help me God!)

Still Anal in 2013

Tax time comes around so darn fast and like most artistic people my focus is on making art........ not keeping records and tracking every little detail related to the business end of art making.  (Although I do try..... really I do.)

One of my first orders of business is inventory.  I swore I would not be as anal about counting every little jump ring and bead as last year, but that is a hard habit to break.  So....... I've been spending days playing with numbers, not making art (it's killing me.)   Luckily, my cousin comes up to the studio to help with it.  (She can't believe I make her count every last one.)

I try to keep up with it all .  Every year at this time I resolve to spend time at least once a week and get my paperwork in order.   (That usually lasts about a month.)  Preparing my reports for the tax preparer is mind boggling.  It's okay if the numbers work out, but they never do.

It wouldn't be so difficult if what comes in equals what goes out, but art doesn't work that way.  Pieces don't work out (got a jar full of that stuff.)   Things get lost (still haven't found the piece that shot off my flex-shaft.)  Some pieces get made with materials I've had for twenty years (how would I remember what they cost?)  I can't remember what I had for breakfast!  Sometimes it's hard to figure out exactly how much polymer clay was used or how much wire.  (I finally put wire down as an overhead item.)  Then I have pieces that are unaccounted for.  Where did they go?  I do know that a few were stolen, along with a display piece I had sitting out.  How do painters ever figure out their expense sheets?

Oh well, I am trying to do it right.  Anal or not, it's who I am.

So, I'm including a picture of young artists working in my home studio.  (I'm so jealous!)