Yet who would have thought
the old man to have
so much blood in him?
...so asks that naughty Lady MacBeth after her conscious finally
starts to creep up on her for having convinced her man to kill Duncan.
My post-punk Lady MacBeth is the first in a series of Shakespeare
characters I'm working on for my first official shop update. I find
the whole business of editing photos and posting my items in my Etsy shop
the least fun part of having an online store; I'd much rather be making
things. So I'm taking a page from the book a few others clever Etsy sellers
who have shop updates. Basically, it involves listing several new
things all at once, rather than here and there, which is what I've
always done in the past. I'm hoping getting all my photo editing and
listing done in one big batch will make it seem a bit less tiresome. 
The update will take place on Friday, July 17th at 6:00 p.m. EST,
but I'll be posting about it again before then. I'll also be sure to
post pictures of all the items that will be included in the update: at least six new dolls, one bust, a few new prints and three new pendants. I've tried to make things in a variety of price ranges, so hopefully there will be something for everyone (everyone who likes Shakespearean characters dressed in decidedly non-Elizabethan costume, that is... I'm being inspired by the 20s and 30s at the moment, as well as the British fashion magazine Lula.)
Have I mentioned yet that I am freeeeeeee? Free of academic drudgery, free of three hours of reading per day, free of essay-writing, free of schedules. Free to make dolls and write my book all I want. The other night, a friend asked me how "the old novel" is going. The old novel indeed. I've been working on this book off and on for so many years I'm too afraid to actually count them. But it had to be finished by December if I ever want to graduate, which I really do. I'm actually hugely relieved to have a deadline in sight, as deadlines have always been very good for me (maybe another good reason to go the shop update route?) Anyway, just to give you an idea of how much material I have generated over the years, I took the above picture of just some of my files and notebooks...truly, this not all of it. Rather than feeling good about this mass of material, I find it very daunting because there is just so much to go through and edit and finally type (yes, I write long-hand - with a fountain pen , no less! - a fact that elicits utter amazement from most people. I'm the world's slowest typist.)
Old novel, I will tame you.