As you know, Dancing Monkey Jewelry is the name of my studio and I'm located in Tacoma, WA. My studio is very small but it has all the comforts of home, because it's in my home. My house is this delicious 1915 Craftsman Bungalow. Very charming houses with 9 ft tall ceilings on the first floor and the second floor is usually a converted attic. Why am I telling you this? Well, you shall see when you look at my studio is located on the 2nd floor - tucked up under the eaves. It's very cozy - nice in the winter but not so nice in the summer.
It's not a solitary existence in my studio. I do have co
mpany. Bruce is my constant companion - he's my much beloved canine. A little background on Bruce: We adopted him from the local animal shelter. My husband actually spotted him first. He said Bruce's calm nature is what appealed to him the most. I personally think it was his pedigree that really piqued his interest. According the paperwork at the animal shelter Bruce is supposed to be a "Pit Bull/Dingo Cross". Personally, I don't believe it. He's not built like Pit Bull - he's actually very slim and sleek. And the likelihood of him being a Dingo is quite remote. I just think he's a cute little orange dog (if you can call a 60 lb dog small) with pointy ears - but then I'm a bit biased. What I do know is that he's great company and I do find it very companionable to have tuck himself under my bench. My cat's will join me sometimes, but they would rather be sleeping on my bed or lazing over the heat vent.
mpany. Bruce is my constant companion - he's my much beloved canine. A little background on Bruce: We adopted him from the local animal shelter. My husband actually spotted him first. He said Bruce's calm nature is what appealed to him the most. I personally think it was his pedigree that really piqued his interest. According the paperwork at the animal shelter Bruce is supposed to be a "Pit Bull/Dingo Cross". Personally, I don't believe it. He's not built like Pit Bull - he's actually very slim and sleek. And the likelihood of him being a Dingo is quite remote. I just think he's a cute little orange dog (if you can call a 60 lb dog small) with pointy ears - but then I'm a bit biased. What I do know is that he's great company and I do find it very companionable to have tuck himself under my bench. My cat's will join me sometimes, but they would rather be sleeping on my bed or lazing over the heat vent. Lastly, for me to have a truly creative night I have to set the right mood in my studio. How do I do that? Well, I've got have a cup of tea - it gives me the a great excuse to sit back and ponder my next move (such as: "What stone should I use?" or "This is cool. What am I going to do with this."). Then I like to have a candle burning - patchouli is my favorite scent - it's just smells nice and the candle light is nice. However, the most important that I need to set the right mood is having the TV on. It has to be something that doesn't require much attention from me - I usually watch movies. Some of my favorite movies to have on while I'm working are "Mystery, Alaska", "When Harry Met Sally", "Under the Tuscan Sun", "Big Fish" and especially "Sex and the City" - those girls are my muses. For some reason, I get a real creative flow when I'm watching "Sex and the City". It must be Carrie's wonderful, outlandish outfits. I actually created a necklace that was inspired by a necklace Carrie wore in an episode titled "Boy Interrupted".
So that's it for now. It's now almost 2 hours into Sunday and my 2nd wind is now but a memory. I hope that you enjoyed reading this post and learning a little bit more about me. I'll think of more scintillating tib-bits to tell you about in my next post.
Until then, take care.
