I must have been a crow in a past life, because I am inexplicably attracted to bright, shiny objects, gathering and stashing my little treasures everywhere I go. I see creative possibilities in things that were once beautiful, but now have been worn, used, tattered and discarded. I see what they could be in a new incarnation Someone else's discards are my canvas for altered art.
I am especially drawn to thrift shops and the unexpected joy of discovering no longer loved but once beautiful fabric and chotchkes. An arm missing on the sad but beautiful old dresden figurine? No problem... tucked in a wreath, coyly peeking out from a jungle of vintage millinery flowers snippets of decades old lingerie lace, her injury is obscured.
Who would guess this porcelain princess's handicap! Beautiful old hand painted dinner plates once proudly placed on elegant table settings, but oops! carelessly chipped and now abandoned, are a heart fluttering joy to find. The possibilities are inspiring. In the past, "alley shopping" was a great and rewarding pastime, but as I have reached saturation point with my clutter-monkiness, I no longer indulge in this pleasure.
I will stop to point out that past and imaginary clutter monkeys invade my world daily. They are the mischievous, grinning little creatures on my shoulder that convince me to keep accumulating or sharply turn my steering wheel to that estate sale or thrift shop even though I need to use my money to pay bills and have no room for one more thing.
Stay tuned as I embark on my journey to organize and rid myself of the negative aspects of hoarding and maximize the artistic and potentially profitable possibilities for dealing with the chaos which I have created.
