Spring has sprung...so...what does it mean for me as a metalsmith?

It's that time again...my Aspiring Metalsmiths team has chosen a topic that we will all write about it as a fun team project.  This time the topic is "How does the coming of spring affect your work as a metal smith?".

 I work in my garage with the door wide open because much of what I do involves fumes from a torch or other chemicals, so you can imagine how freezing cold my studio can get in Fall and winter.  So the arrival of spring means happy sunshine streaming in and warm hands to work with.  And what happens when the happy spring sunshine streams in?  It reveals all of the dust and dirt and that mountain of tools that never seem to get put back in their place.  Anxious to shed the cold, gloom and cobwebs of winter, on the day before the official start of spring, I did a major cleaning overhaul of my studio.  I even swept, and then vacuumed my studio floor, something I’ve been avoiding for a long time since so much of what I vacuumed up was probably tiny balls of real gold that have a habit of rolling away, or that itty bitty candy pink sapphire that flew out of my hands or that little handmade gold leaf that dropped with a tiny ping…to never be seen again.  But, ahhhh…it feels good to have a nice clean studio.   

Spring also means that I get to stare at beautiful blooming trees like this one that sits right outside of my studio door. 

  And staring at bright beautiful Spring flowering trees makes me of course….buy stones in bright beautiful spring colors.  These remind me of bright blue skies, fresh green leaves, and the raspberry pink flowers on the tree outside my studio door.  The freshly cleaned studio, the warm sunny days, the brightly colored flowers, the new stones…all lead to one thing…an explosion of new design ideas; enough to fill an entire notebook.  And when I don’t have my notebook, I scribble designs onto the backs of receipts and odd scraps of paper found at the bottom of my purse.

But...spring also brings something else…lots and lots and lots of extra curricular activities for the kids.  Some organized...

And some not so organized...mud soup anyone?
These new springtime activities mean less and less and less time to spend in my freshly cleaned sunlit studio happily creating jewelry with my brightly colored sparkly new stones.  Maybe I’ll have time to get to them next winter!

To see how springtime has inspired my Aspiring Metalsmiths teammates, click on their blog inks below:
Steph Stargell stephstargell.com
Esmeralda http://jewelry-by-silverblueberry.blogspot.se/2012/04/signs-of-spring.html
Pennee - All Wired Up Jewelry Designs allwiredupjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com
nancycreations nancysjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com
SerpentsDanceDesigns dancetothedoor.blogspot.com
Autumn Bradley autumnbradley.blogspot.com
Contemporary Jewelry by Beatriz Fortes cjbf.blogspot.com
Jessica @ Abella Blue abellabluestudio.com/blog
Sylvia Anderson sylviaanderson.blogspot.com
Gloria gloria-hemlockhollow.blogspot.com
Amy Estelle amyestellemetalworks.blogspot.com/2012/03/spring-has-sprung.html