Lampworking day #121. Know when to say no.

I've been having kind of a rough few months... That's actually how the lampworking craze started.  It's got to do with motivation, drive, passion, job satisfaction, life frustrations... It's a story to be told, but not tonight. 

Last week I ran out of gas for the first time since I started lampworking.  I didn't "get" to lampwork because I just didn't have gas until Thursday.  Then I had a crazy weekend full of events that didn't "let" me lampwork until Sunday.  Then, on Sunday I said... I MUST WORK.  I MUST WORK LIKE CRAZY AND I MUST MAKE A LOT OF BEADS. 

I got to work.  And I made quite a few beads.

But when you just don't have the inspiration, or when you're tired... or when you simply aren't in the mood... then just say no.  Go look through some magazines.  Do something... to spark that creativity.  Play some nicer music... you know?  Do it for yourself.  Because otherwise... it's just not worth your time. 

I've been having such a week.  I don't know how to recuperate my energy.  It has a lot to do with my stress level at my day job but for the most part I just have to get my inspiration back.  No matter how long I drove in traffic that day.  You know?

In the end lots of these beads were not what I had wanted.  I tried making two hollows that failed miserably, I had beads that cracked, I had beads that got stuck to the mandrels... I'm at such a lack of motivation that I haven't even bothered to keep trying to take some of them off the mandrels.  Do you ever just have times like that?

Do I need a break?  What is it?