It was business as usual until mid-March, when my husband, was called to Washington DC for a 90-day special assignment. Which became 180 day.  And has now become 12 months.  Fortunately he is able to live with our close friends in Virginia for the duration.  Unfortunately he can only get home for visits a few days every few months.

So the time I would normally have spent with my husband got redirected into my arts business. And none too soon. I had been working on an expanded version of my website since the day after I launched it a year before. I began working 12+ hour days, often starting at 4am (when Maggie would bite me awake) and ending when I could no longer even see my computer keyboard. Two months later, the beta version of the new site was ready for the public.

The other beneficiary of my newfound availability was the dj's touch Art Alliance. Shortly after I accepted the fact that my retirement into art wasn't going to consist of knitting quietly in a corner, I decided I wanted my venture to be of service to other artists. Probably because of all the years of management consulting, my approach to an arts business always included a very structured back office. In the beginning this took the form of spreadsheets and pricing formulas. As the business grew, I required a SQL database to manage inventory and sales. I quickly decided that, if I was going to spend this much time and money building an efficient administrative engine for an arts business, I wanted other artists to be able to benefit from it too.

And so, the idea of the dj's touch Art Alliance was born shortly after I launched my first website. I dreamed of the day when I could help other artists support each other and expand their reach through the dj's touch website and Aurora, Colorado boutique. In April, this dream took its first step into reality when Pat Rankin was invited to join the dj's touch Art Alliance.

Late in 2006, I became excited about the possiblities offered by polymer clay. Never one to do things in a small way, I purchased everything needed for a well stocked polymer studio. Remember, this was in the days when I thought I was just going to putter about making art for my own enjoyment. No teaching, no business, just fun. But life had a mind of its own and, with my foray into loom knitting and pottery, the poor polymer studio remained a bunch of stuff in boxes. I'd speak of it wistfully from time to time, but never had a chance to actually do anything with it. In March 2009, 7 months after unpacking all of the polymer stuff in my new 2000 SF studio (and, truth be told, buying some more just in case my original set up wouldn't be sufficient), I finally broke the seal on my first packs of polymer clay when I began taking classes with Liz Hall through the City of Aurora Arts Program. It took three weeks for me to find my muse and I was off and running. Traded in my original polymer oven for a much larger convection version. Added an under counter refrigerator to the back room workshop - not to keep cold wine and beer on hand as my friends hoped - but to chill the polymer clay when the warmth of my hands made it too soft to form effectively. Yes, there are a few sodas and some carrot sticks in the fridge too - wouldn't want hunger or thirst to interupt my creativity. Having fully outfitted four workstations in the backroom of my studio, in June I began teaching my first students - neighborhood children with the creative itch.
 
Meanwhile, my polymer studio wasn't the only aspect of my artistic dream that had been put on hold. I had also upgraded my computerized embroidery/sewing machine to the newest model. Then, because its delivery coincided with moving into the new studio, it remained sealed in the original packing box because drywall dust is the kiss of death for electronics. Many months went by, I registered for new owner's classes multiple times, only to cancel at the last minute because my other activities were making it impossible to focus on yet another art medium and another new technology. Finally, in July 2009, I began classes.

One of my biggest arts endeavors of 2009 was the line of Fair Trade Vintage Silk Wrap clothing I introduced in July. I became intrigued by vintage silk wrap garments during Summer 2008 when I encountered them at a kiosk in a suburban Denver mall. I got a little push when my friend Jeanne Sanderson said she would partner with me in the silk endeavor if I could make it happen (oh, I do like a challenge). For the next year, I interviewed manufacturers to identify those who could provide a high quality range of styles and sizes at reasonable prices with reliable order fulfillment. I selected Milliana Designs because, in addition to meeting all of our other criteria, their garments are produced in a fair trade relationship. The fair trade social movement and market approach helps developing countries promote sustainability by advocating higher prices for producers who provide fair wages for their workers along with higher social and environmental standards.

Our vintage silk wraps are made from the fabric of recycled Indian silk saris. A sari (or saree) is the traditional garment worn by women of the Indian subcontinent. The garment is a very long strip of unstitched cloth, ranging from four to nine yards in length, which can be draped in a variety of styles. The complexity of Sari fabric ranges from a plain silk to elaborate hand-painted designs embellished with gold, silver, sequins and embroidery. Each piece is an individually made unique work of art. No two are identical (I couldn't get you an exact duplicate if my life depended on it).
 
My silk wrap clothing is offered on my website and by private appointment or group party booking in my Aurora, Colorado boutique. In order to effectively display the first 275 silk items I ordered, I restructured the boutique space to include 4 more spiral clothing racks and 2 full length mirrors (look out Saks Fifth Avenue). In August, we hosted two invitation only launch events, outfitted an East Coast casually elegant wedding party, held numerous private showings and began booking parties for the Fall.

When I wasn't knee deep in silk and clay, I was working with an animal behaviorist to help get my feral kitten Maggie's biting under control. Maggie had been biting me since the day she arrived in our home in early December. She never bit anyone but me. Everyone chalked it up to her feral beginnings and kitten hunting behavior and counseled me to be patient. Maggie's behavior improved in many ways, but the biting actually got much more serious. She always drew blood, because, having been captured by the shelter at just four weeks old, she never had a chance to learn from her Mom and litter mates the difference between a play bite and a kill bite. By June I was being bitten every day multiple times a day, including being bitten on the face while I slept. I began exploring placement options for Maggie that didn't involve her being returned to a shelter where, even in a no kill shelter, she would most assuredly have been put down (violence is the one trait even a no kill shelter won't accommodate). Relief came when my dear friend and partner in the silk venture, Jeanne, told me she would take Maggie to live with her (and her 3 dogs and 4 cats) if the situation became impossible for me. Jeanne and Maggie already knew each other quite well. As an animal lover and highly experienced animal rescuer (including fostering feral mothers and kittens), Jeanne was uniquely positioned to handle Maggie's behavior and, with assitance from her 3 dogs and 4 cats, possibly help Maggie recalibrate her hunting instincts into more acceptable forms. In July, instead of just fly by individual bites, Maggie began attacking me without provocation and biting me repeatedly such that I had to back out of the room to escape further injury. When the fourth such escalated attack occured in front of the animal behaviorist, I decided my work with Maggie was complete. She went to live with Jeanne that afternoon and, I'm happy to report, is doing well. Jeanne says I was just too boring for Maggie.  Her new home is a like a canine/feline frat house - always some dog or cat up for a romp or a party.  Maggie's integration into Jeanne's household of 3 dogs and 4 cats was a breeze and neither Maggie nor I ever looked back.

Only after Maggie left did I understand how serious a toll living with her constant threat of violence had taken. Though my friends rallied round me and my husband provided moral support by phone, I thought I might never adopt another cat because I was now afraid of them.  I visited pet stores but couldn't hold them.  First question out of my mouth was now, "Does he/she bite."  I browsed pet adoption websites but had trouble getting past my fear.  But those of you who know me well will have guessed the outcome. I lasted 10 days without a cat until I found Sid and Mortimer on the Cat Care Society website. The Cat Care Society is a cage free shelter in Lakewood, Colorado.  Many of their feline residents roam free in the large main office and visitation room of their facilty.  Others are arranged in smaller groups of four compatible feline companions, free to interact with each other and explore their semi-private group room without the stress of many other cats in a larger less structured space.  This type of cage free environment - with the ability to cater to those needing more private care - is much less traumatic for the residents.

Sid and Mortimer were 9-year-old siblings (part Ragdoll breed - think big, huggable and floppy) abandoned on the shelter director's front porch. IN the middle of July, someone had put Sid and Mortimer in a sealed carton with all of their cat toys and paraphenalia on top of them in the same box. It wasn't until the shelter staff got to the bottom of the box that they even realized cats were in there. They thought it was just a large donation of cat stuff. I became so set on adopting Sid and Mortimer after a phone conversation with the shelter that I braved the 60-minute rush hour drive to Lakewood, Colorado on a Friday night in the Summer to spring them. They are beautiful, loving, gentle, funny and grateful to have such a good home.  After just a few days together it became clear that I didn't rescue them, we rescued each other.