Make Me Change

14 Dec Make Me Change

I am open to change.

I am open to change.

I am open to change.

Does saying it make it so?

Whether spurred by  the choices of others, the flow of nature, or just the circumstances of life, change happens.

I find myself at the moment approaching the bench in a completely new way, after all these years. My health condition and the related risk of extensive bleeding means that I simply cannot cut myself. I have never had to approach the bench with such risk or restriction before, and I’m discovering that this reality is making me change the way I work.

This change was not my idea. And I confess frustration and anger related to it at first. But, perhaps this is a good thing. Perhaps I will discover that going slower and physically holding objects differently creates work that is more deliberate and thoughtful. Vice grips are my new best friend. (Metalsmiths, I know you know what I mean.)

The studio hasn’t been my only venue for change lately. For months I have known that I needed to do something about my website. The design was launched in 2008, and it was indeed beautiful. But, there were contact forms with dead destinations, and old inventory featured that I was unable to update myself, among other static issues. Either I had to find a way to update the site (which would have involved money being spent), or I needed to redesign while retaining editing capability.

Without going into lots of technical detail, I was experimenting with design templates (I don’t speak html), when I assigned the domain to a template. I didn’t realize that it would instantly kill my existing site without any “publishing” being clicked upon. Suddenly, I had no website.

I had planned to deal with building a new site in January, but because I had inadvertently massacred my stagnant site, I needed to do it now. So, I did. We did. I called in the reinforcements (my teenage daughter), and we had a new site up by the next day. And, I love it.

There are still a few “under construction” apologies, and certainly there is always room to expand. But the site is fresh, and is just right to reflect the change in my studio life.

Change feels good after all. Either I change, or I die a slow, figurative death of stagnation and motionless dormancy.

Image bar for new website