School ate me for a bit there (again). I emerged covered in the gastric juices of academia, then promptly fell into a dank hole of revisions. Isn't imagery grand?
I finally got my own woodburning kit, which has been fantastic. Watching it in progress, you'd think woodburning would be a stressful art form. Your fingers clamp around the hot cork handle of the pen tip, applying consistent pressure to get an even line from the red-hot metal just beyond your fingertips. If you're working at a high temperature on the dial (which is necessary for certain woods and impatient artists), that metal tip occasionally blurts out a tiny puff of flame. Your fingers are always an inch away from a bad burn - don't even think about dropping that thing in your lap - and there's a constant stream of smoke drifting up into your eyes. It seems like woodburning would cause more stress than it diffuses, but no - of all the types of arts and crafts I've attempted, it's by far the most calming. There's something very cathartic about the permanence of each move. And if you're working with cedar, the smoke smells wonderful.
Currently working on:
--Core (book 2) revisions
--various woodburning projects
--YA fantasy novel on the backburner