It's time to get your

It's time to get your act together. get off your butt and conquer the world...sheesh... seriously already...

trying to survive but more interested in the prosper part!

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Reading how to survive & prosper as an artist.

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Has been found by students...weird...well

Has been found by students...weird...well while u r here...go paint something ...sheesh!

It's snowing!

It's snowing!

Karma

I have been very fortunate in this part f my journey as an artist to have run into people, or have friends, who have tried this path before me. I am an obsever, and an interviewer sort. I ask questions. And have been blessed by the honesty that people are willing to give of themselves.

I  believe in Karma. what you put out into the world comes back to you. And as a result, i try to freely give out information i have found helpful to me as well. Each time a friend gives me good info, i think to myself, " they must believe in Karma as well..." or " they have good Karma and good things will come back to them"....

As an artist, I have heard stories of people who do not share their info with other artists...because they don't want anyone to get ahead of them...to me, this just seems silly. Because it is fear-based living. And not something i would personally enjoy. 

Recently, people have started sending me articles they have found, about being an artist/crafts person and selling work on Etsy. Another dear friend told me all about how she works as an artist/craftsperson from home. Another artist revealed that while they have artistic success, they have no insurance and are concerned about this now that they are aging. Actually, a few artists have told me this.Another artist, shared with me where to find business cards. Another, shared how they teach their classes. Another, shared about their life and the importance of having their own space, and how they felt that as a creative person, no matter where they are, they have to create something, so they make the artwork fit the moment in their life, whether it be small, portable, or a different media alltogether than what they prefer simply to be able to create int he life situation they are in..... 

I have taken all of this into consideration...and am still pondering....

I have setup an Etsy account, though i have not taken that leap into actually using it....yet...

I made the business cards using the site that i was directed to...and was quite pleased...

I have started carrying yarn around with me everywhere so that i can crochet or knit when i am stuck somewhere and cannot possibly get away with anything else...i feel a yarn evloution coming on...

I have allowed the idea of no health insurance shake me to my core and recognize that there is no possible responsibleway i can knowing put myself in that situation due to being a parent....

and i am grateful to those who have shared their insights with me....and i hope their Karma cups spills over....

Crocheting in the dark is

Crocheting in the dark is not easy yet....

coffee drips and ink stains

Paper mosaics

Evidence of creativy

Just for dad....
.

twelve scarves down.6 more to

twelve scarves down.6 more to go today!

Art Con 5 Shift 4,6:30- 9:30

This is my finished peice that is in the current Art Con 5 event. This is the first year i have been a participant in Art Con 5. I think it was just sheer luck of the universe smiling on me that i got into it. And I am grateful for the opportunity t participate and to support charities in my community.

I said before how difficult it can be at times when you feel isolated as an artist. This event was something i needed. A warehouse full of artists, sitting on the plastic covered floors, making art. Creating in one room. It was nice to be in a space charged with the energy of people simply wanting to create.

Art con 5 is going

Art con 5 is going to be awesome!

Art con 5 2009

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where i grew up...

 i don't get to go home like i would like, but when i do,i try to get outisde....it is one of the few places that gives me peace....and i am often overwhelmed by the beauty of Home... it is here that i learned about the world, obsevered the wonders of it all. The quiet of the country, which, in my teen years, was agonizing at times, but the quiet now and memories of childhood are what shaped my world views on life...when i got back now, things have changed, like they do...trees have grown taller, the feild where we flew kits is no longer a feild but a sprawling tree farm, and the danger of wild pigs makes it difficult to take the quiet walks in the woods like i like to...neighbors are building, grandparents are long gone, elderly neighbors grow more elderly, and childhood friends have grown up and moved away too...no one i knew as a child are still there, except my parents....

and when i walk into the woods to gather pinecones and take pictures, i have to stop , and weep...

as i said, it can be overwhelming....

and even difficult to write about now...

so, every time i go back, i try to take new pictures, as though this will somehow be like taking a bit of it home with me...bits i can't get back....

But, so desperately want to...

.

new doors

so, today, i am living with a little bit of hope. As you know, the idea of actually engulfing myself in art for the sake of art, is something i struggle with finding the balance in...nothing gives me more joy than to be surrounded by creativity...

This weekend i made apoint to visit a pottery not far from where i grew up.

As a child we would pass it on our way to my grandmother's house. And every single time i would sit on the edge of my seat to catch a glimpse of the pottery and the changes that the couple made to it each year.i never got to visit that pottery until many years later, when i was fortunate enough to get to study ceramics with one of the owner who taught at the college i attended. i learned a great deal from him, and the experience of working with clay has stayed in my soul ever since. At one point after graduating i had a tiny studio set up, with a used kiln and kickwheel...a studio i rarely got to use due to life-circumstances. i still have the wheel and the kiln...i do not know if the kiln even works anymore...and honestly, am afraid to attempt to test it out...

This weekend, while visiting the pottery, I was given the possibility of sitting at their studio for them from time to time...and after a night of no sleep, took them up on the idea...

the idea of getting to be in their studio/pottery make my spirit soar...it is a beautiful opportunity...a gift from the universe...and I am grateful for it...and i look forward to this door....

goals

1. promote other's
2. find the good
3. create for 30 minutes a day
4. do some sort of art/business stuff each day

i figure these are enough goals for now...i could come up with a massive list of things to do...and completely overwhelm myself...like i do...but, this...will do for now....

sitting and thinking for a spell

so, as you know, like, i believe, so many artists/parents, the idea of taking that leap to be a full time professional artist, is a very genuine scary idea...

If is it JUST you...sacrificing the basic needs of life, like running water, a roof over your head, heat, electricity, may not be that big of a deal...

However, when you are a parent, these are basic needs that cannot go unchecked or taken care of...

if it were JUST me, i would live in my car and eat out of the dumpster...happily, just to make art and attempt to sell it...

So, instead, of doing that..livining out of my car, eatting from the dumpster...i do the responsible thing...i teach...which is th ebest thing i can do as a mother/artist...i have the same schedule as kiddo...same holidays...we commute to school together...there is a steady income for at least one year....which is the duration of  a contract...and there is the hope of another contract for the next year...but for at least a year...we are solid...

it is safe...it is responsible...it is a blessing...and I am very grateful for it...i understand that ia m fortunate...as an art teacher, to have a job at all...trust me...

sometimes, though, i forget my own work...

i forget that i can still make artwork on my own, for the sake of making artwork, due to being so worn out from work, or consumed by the events of the day...

this is somethng I am working on...

I have made a few goals.....that ihope will help me stay on task...for my own artwork...

Don't Brag and Necessary Evil

so, i just had business cards printed....really...

I met a really helpful artist at 500x about a month ago. he handed me his business card, which had his artwork on the front and basic info on the back...it was perfect, really...We chatted a bit and i really took some things he said to heart.

It was really nice to talk to another artist. I often times find that, unless i make a great effort to get out and actually speak to people, meeting other artists is very hard for me...

I am usually stuck in my world of commuting to work, picking up kiddo, and commuting back home, finding something for us to fix for dinner, and then usually by, about, say, 9  i finally get to sit down...this leaves little to no time to meet/socialize/ hold a basic conversation with other artists...there is no other communication, with the exception of the blessing i have in my dear hubby who understands my wavelengths like no one else...well, other than my kiddo...

but this is about business cards, right?

So, after a month of pondering, i finally asked  above nice artist for the link and he graciously sent it to me today...i would list his name and artwork here, but i haven't asked him that yet and am still trying to figure out how to do this whole artblog thing without inviting too much but still allowing just enough to promote the art....

but, i digress...again...

he sent it to me today and it took me less than 30 minutes to design and order my new business cards, which i will have to start making a point to pass out to people...this will take some getting used to on my part....the idea of self promotion is something that shakes me to my core...and causes that anxious vibration in my soul that i don't like so much...if at all....

It is something that goes against my grain...against my nature...it is something that goes back to childhood...the whole..."don't brag about yourself"  lesson...that keeps  me in check and settled in the quiet humility...and very much in the world of NO SELF PROMOTION.....

unfortunately...as an artist...as a person, whose work/artwork...is their business...self promotion is a necessary evil...and one that i suspect other artists struggle with as well....

having said that...i whole heartedly believe in helping others...that the karma of helping others is a huge blessing to one's life...that whole, do unto others thing...and all that...i'm not the type of person who keeps my info to myself when it comes to others being more successful than me...i have witnessed people do this...withhold info from others because they don't want them to get ahead of them...i don't see how that is helpful to anyone...and so...


here is the link to Zazzle, where i just ordered my business cards...i hope it helps someone else out there....

and I cannot wait until my business cards get here...so i can possibly pass them out at Art Con 5.....

Art Con 5

http://artconspiracy.org/

We got into Art Con 5! Dec. 11th we go down for the 4th shift and create/assemble artwork on an 18x18 peice of plywood which is displayed with 148 other artists work.The artwork is auctioned off to benefit Resolana. This is our second event this year which has benefitted this cause. Kiddo and i did diarama's last spring for Di-o-rama-o-rama which also supported this cause.

The Mr. and I are both pretty stoked about getting to participate in this event. Not only is it a big deal in Big D...but it is exciting to know that we will be in a creative environment with other artists...I can honestly say i have missed this aspect of creating...the comaraderie of other artistic souls...

Come down and buy some art at Art Con 5 on December 12th...to support a good cause...

http://artconspiracy.org/

that's so sad....

Last weekend i went to the TAEA convention where i heard Future Akin and her co-speaker (eric? Check?...i amsorry i cann't recal his name right now and will look it up as soon as i finish this post and fix that issue...forgive me)...

one of the talks they gave was called " Where is my studio?"

i have heard Future speak before at another TAEA conference in Galveston...and i loved her then...

"where is my studio" was a presentation about their own work spaces, and how they made spaces...not necessarily the grand loft-style rooms we all dream about...

but, simple useable spaces...based on their needs and what they had to work with at the time....

Hers, is two small rooms...no more than 12x12, extra bedrooms...and the thirs space is her backyard...a picnic table...and that's it...

His, is a renovated one-car garage..large enough for a small kitchen table and a fe chairs...the outside he made a sitting area with chairs and a small porch...and brightly coloured....

Both were great spaces...

They asked for volunteers to speak about their own working spaces...and no one spoke...

they both gasped....

" that is so sad...." he said...and it hit me in the gut...

and then i remembered, that i do have a work space...and so did two other gals...

we spoke of how we adapted them to meet our families needs as well...one having a small child...and me with my own...

then the two speakers went on to talk about people they knew and how they made time every single day to do some sort of creative work for themselves...even if it wasn't great work...they needed to simply do something for themselves as artists...just to create....

As an artist, i have really been struggling with the fact that i as a teacher, which i love being...I am teaching everyone else, how to do the things i only wish i had time to do myself....and that is a kick in the gut....

But, this talk hit home in making me think about how i can make time for myself to do something for myself everyday....

I have been rethinking our family schedule...I have been thinking about what i can do on a daily basis to get to make my own work...what i can do to alleviate that pain in my chest that comes from the stress i feel when i can't focus onmy own work...

All week, i ahve been trying to make a little bit here and there...even if it is simply knitting a basic scarf for 30 mintes a day...it helps...it helpts keep my head above water...it helps keep my brain functioning...on more than crown control and answering emails...office work and the constant barrage of questions i answer daily....

as an artist...we are torn...between doing what we really love...and putting food on the table...that is my next task to handle...figuring out how to do both....

T?

Test

"Remember When " Art Exhibit

Currently, I have 5 small peices exhibited with the local Heritage Guild here in Allen, Texas. it will be on display from Novemeber 2, 2009- December 20 2009.

and so it begins....