Pixelated Blend

Make It Yourself Monday: Paper Doily Wreath

2009-11-23T22:06:00.003-06:00

Do I have time this craft? Hell no. Do I think it's cool and wish I had time for it? Hell yes.

From the queen of impossible crafts, Martha Stewart, this is a pretty sweet project. I have to say once in a while she impresses me. And by impresses me I mean not only does it look awesome, it's something I think I could achieve without investing in a boatload of crafting tools and having a small crowd of people to assist. Craft on.

How to Make a Paper Doily Wreath

image courtesy of marthastewart.com

Fan Friday: Coleo Photography

2009-11-20T16:19:00.003-06:00

Today's Fan Friday is dedicated to my good friend Nicole and her business Coleo Photography. She is one incredibly talented portrait photographer. Though still new at the business, she's got talent. I'm in complete admiration of her ability to take awesome concert photos and wedding shots. If you're in the Mpls/St. Paul area and you're looking to support a new photographer, please consider hiring her for your next event. She's incredibly easy to work with (I know, I've assisted her on a wedding shoot) and is very reasonably priced.

View her Facebook fan page

View her website portfolio

View her Flickr page

Start, stop, start, stop

2009-11-17T18:45:00.007-06:00

Workflows, plans, to-do lists. All those things constantly allude me. Oh, I make them. I even follow them on occasion. But do I do it consistently?

Well, let's see.

How many times have I said I'm going to regularly blog? (Please don't count. It's more of a rhetorical question.) I even came up with a schedule. It's on a little post-it note attached to my monitor.

I was really proud when I came up with that. In my head I thought, "this is it! I have a plan! No more excuses. All I have to do is sit down, do a little research, and 3 days a week I have a blog topic practically written for me. 2 days a week, if I so choose, I can write about what I'm up to with my business. Done. Finally. I'm awesome. And look. I even put it in a place where I can easily see it."

But what do I do?

I sit down at the computer after I get home from the part-time job, look at TweetDeck, look at email, surf the links that have been tweeted that interest me, chat with my friends or mom on iChat while doing bits and pieces of work that I've extracted from the scribbles of to-dos and look at that post-it note and say "yeah, yeah, yeah, in a minute". I go back to making lists, making plans, and trying to clear the clutter in my brain so when I sit down at the computer I don't just stare into 2560 x 1600 worth of pixelated space. (I have the 30" Apple Cinema Display. It's a lot of space at which to stare.)

The moral of the story?

I'm getting in my own way. I've always gotten in my own way. Sure there are actual obstacles that present themselves from time to time that can't be avoided, but most of the time, probably more than half of the time, the excuses lie on me. If something doesn't get done, it's because I chose to ignore it or to put it off.

Is it a crime? No. I'm human. I get tired, cranky, hungry, or whatever dwarf you wanna name because I'm not infallible. I need a break from time to time. I meet client deadlines because I want repeat business and would rather avoid the reputation of being a flaky artist, but as far as my own personal deadlines? Like that deadly "where do you want to be in 5 years?" question? Those don't exist. And that's a problem. So is thinking that taking workshops and reading blogs and buying books on marketing and business are going to magically solve the problem. Are those things worth it? Absolutely. Are they worth it if you don't implement what you learned? Absolutely not. Are they worth it if you implement what you learned for about 3 months and then fall back into old habits? Nope.

The other problem is I always seem to want to come up with a solution to the problem in the midst of the busiest times. Such as: "I've got 3 art fairs to prepare for but my business needs some seriously examining! I should do it RIGHT NOW!" Or currently: "I have 5 custom collages that I'm working on, 2 art fairs coming up and I'm moving head first into the holidays! Let's write a business plan!" Either my brain is addicted to ADD or it's just excited to be busy and wants to pile on more. I wish I knew.

But what I do know for sure is, despite as much as I want to beat myself up for all the things I haven't done, there is so much that I have. I've plowed through when a lot of people have found it easier to throw in the towel. I've been in business 7 years and though it's not enough to pay all the bills just yet, it's half of my income. I often get remarks about how much work I do, wearing the hats of the accountant, marketer, errand runner and artist. The other day I went to buy some card stock and when I told the clerk I had a tax ID under Inkblots she remarked on how I had been in business for awhile and how great that is. In the midst of berating myself for my faults, I often forget to praise myself for my successes.

And as much as I've stopped, I've also started, which is not always an easy thing.

I know a lot of you can say the same thing. Be proud of that.

Make it Yourself Monday: DIY Holiday Luminaries

2009-11-09T18:04:00.002-06:00

Balloon Luminaries

I LOVE candles. I tend to buy pretty much every holiday candle that smells like apple or cinnamon or baked goods of some sort. I light them all at once and my place smells wonderful. While the large jar lights last a really long time, they're not very pretty and leave something to be desired in the decorative department. I'd much rather by votives and put them in something pretty but candleholders can be pretty expensive if you're buying multiples.

So for today's make it yourself I hunted around for luminaries that would be easy to make and something that you would feel comfortable leaving out beyond the holidays.

This is one really cool tutorial. I know not everyone has a double boiler so it does require some extra equipment, but I think the beauty of these holders is worth it and the possibilities of customizing them (glitter, carving, stamping, etc.) is almost endless!

Enjoy!

Reality....where is it?

2009-11-08T11:35:00.003-06:00

I had made a schedule of topics so I could take a shot at blogging every day or at the very least, every other day. So on Monday, Wednesday and Friday I could have very easy blog topics that I could just quickly research and write.

And then life got in the way. Which is generally what happens.

Today as I got up from a day after an absolute bomb of an art fair (didn't even cover gas or the booth fee) I sat down at my computer and started clicking around.

Here's how my brain pattern went:

A display rack for a local retailer needs ordering. Twitter needs checking. Ooh, someone tweeted about Google Adwords, I better check that. My Google Adwords ad has been very badly neglected but luckily custom work keeps coming in. Would more come in if I paid more attention to it? Nope, don't have time to delve into that. Keep going. Write list of what needs to be done today. Look at clock. Click on tweet about ideal design working space. Looks like nobody works in that designing space. Oh man, the apartment needs cleaning. And picking up. I should buy more boxes to store stuff in so it's out of the way. I should really start working, I need to start scanning photos for these collages. The dog needs to go out. Oh man, I need to do as much as I can today because I have to go to work tomorrow.....and pick up that frame on my lunch for that custom piece that needs to be picked up on Tuesday....look at clock....ugh....day is moving too fast!

Hard to read? Yeah. It's hard to keep in my brain, too. If I could get up, sit at my computer and start working in a linear order, that would be great. I need to work harder on that. I'm too ADD. And (prepare for a run-on sentence) if my weekend could be my weekend instead of the time to cram in all the work that doesn't fit into a normal week because 21 hours of it is spent at a job where I spend my lunches trying to catch up with customer emails and run errands and do things so when I get home maybe I can workout and eat dinner instead of just continue to work MAYBE I wouldn't get panic attacks when someone contacts me for more work and instead would welcome it in.

I know these are all excuses. I know I am the one in charge of making a linear work pattern and I ultimately control my cases of the "ooh something shinies" that lead me to bounce around from project to project so instead of completing one item on my list I partially complete several items.

And this is the life of the single female artist trying to make ends meet. No husband, no support, just me. If I fail, I could lose my apartment, or eat less, or get calls from creditors. Luckily it hasn't gotten to that point, except the eating less part.

This is why I hit my forehead on my desk when I hear about the successful female artist who (insert awesome opportunity here) and she would've never been able to do it without the support of her husband and family.

What about those who don't have that? What do they do? Or are they just never "successful"? (Define success as making a comfortable living by the sales of their art with no outside support/job).

If anyone can point me to a book/article/story about a single female artist who eventually made their way to being a self-sufficient artist without any magic I would really appreciate it. (read: stories like once they were living out of their car and then time passed and they persevered and now they're a successful artist are annoying. What did they do? Get an agent? Get "discovered"? Diversify their art? Details!) I feel like I'm heading in the right direction but am missing something and could use a inspiring story.

And less excuses.

Make it yourself Monday: Snow Globes

2009-11-02T22:23:00.004-06:00

When researching fun DIY craft projects on the interwebs I seem to come across three categories of DIY crafts:

1- Stuff you made between kindergarten and 3rd grade

2- Stuff you would actually consider making now and setting out for other people to see

3- Martha Stewart level crafts that consider a trust fund to purchase all of the supplies and infinite amounts of time and perhaps a staff of craft assistants

I'm mostly interested in the 2nd kind, though the 1st kind is fun to look at and chuckle (but you probably won't see them featured here).

What I found today is a nice holiday-ish themed craft that has been given a non-holiday twist: Snow Globes.

Looks pretty fun and is something you could make with what you have around the house.

Enjoy!

Make your own Snow Globes by the cool folks at PhotoJoJo

Fan Friday: Cowbell

2009-10-30T21:40:00.003-05:00

Seeing as I've been running errands all day and it's 9:40pm and I have yet to write my blog post, today's Fan Friday is going to be nice and simple.

I've got a fever....

and the only cure....

is cowbell.

Enjoy.

Become a fan of Cowbell

If anyone out there has decided to go as Will Ferrel as the Blue Oyster Cult cowbell player for Halloween, please post a link to your pics. I'd love to see it.

Wonderful Wordless Wednesday

2009-10-28T17:44:00.005-05:00

I know I'm kind of breaking the title of this blog by typing something, but I just wanted to write a little intro about my other new theme (besides DIY Monday and Fan Friday), Wonderful Wordless Wednesday. On these days I'm going to put up either something new that I'm working on or just a photo that I took that day that was particularly interesting, enjoyable, exciting, etc.

DIY Monday: 3-D Snowflakes

2009-10-26T16:50:00.005-05:00

A new part of my blog is going to be DIY Mondays where I highlight a particularly cool craft for you to try at home!

This tutorial is pretty awesome, though I'm not entirely certain I could get it down on the first try. However, it would be super fun to make a bunch of these and hang them as party decorations, or, make them part of the party! Get some friends together, grab some cool paper, and get crafting!

How to make a 3D paper snowflake

Fan Friday: Mannyapolis

2009-10-23T16:10:00.006-05:00

Every Friday I'm going to be spotlighting something (person, place or thing) that I'm a fan of on Facebook. Not only to get me more into the mood of regular blogging, (if you've been reading my blogs up to this point you probably know that I'm trying to make it a habit) but also to hopefully introduce my readers to some new stuff!

Today I picked my good friend Manny Castro who updates the lands of Facebook and Twitter on the daily weather situation in the Twin Cities.

He is:

Mannyapolis

His mission: Providing the most accurate misinformation and detailed reports of misestimation to the public in general.

Short and sweet posts yet more entertaining than any weatherman I know. Heck, Manny tweets everyday. I don't see Paul Douglas doing that and he's a professional, yet retired, weatherman.

Even if you don't live in Minnesota, you should be Manny's fan. Maybe he'll branch out if he gets enough out of state fans.

Become a fan of Mannyapolis on Facebook here

Follow @mannyapolis on Twitter

How many times??

2009-10-01T19:13:00.004-05:00

How many times am I going to keep writing "I really should stop neglecting my blog"?? It's even making me annoyed; I can't imagine what it's like for all 5 of you that actually read this from time to time.

So in my annoyance and cluelessness about keeping this blog afloat as an integral part of my business, I reached out for help on the trusty interwebs. Alyson Stanfield had retweeted an offer by @problogger (Darren Rowse) on Twitter. 50% off his e-book "31 Days to a Better Blog" for a total of $10.

$10 to get a clue? Sign me up!

The problem was I got stuck on step one:

Create a tagline for my blog so I can easily describe to others what the aim of my blog is and hopefully guide my topics.

And as has been made CRYSTAL CLEAR by now this year: I have no blogging aim. This is why I struggle. My aim has been to wish for blog ideas to just randomly appear in my brain while I juggle a part-time job, social life (sort of) and my business. I thought I could take the MySpace approach to blogging and just write about my dog or this funny thing that happened to me on the way to work or whatever and magically EVERYONE will want to read it and then buy my art.

Yep. That sounds like a good plan. (insert eye roll here)

Then I looked at the top of my blog. The completely undesigned, boring and neglected blog. I made a cute little recipe. I thought it was funny at the time, but when I look at it now, it serves as a guide. I can write about THOSE things! WOW! I knew what I was doing after all, it was just buried back in the part of my brain that attempts to be witty. Now I just need to form that into some sort of catchy tagline like....

Sharing my recipe of life as a digital artist

Eh? I probably should work harder at this. Get out the ol' pen and paper. Suggestions are welcome!

It's getting close....

2009-09-07T19:39:00.002-05:00

Pretty soon we will be officially in holiday season. It usually starts sometime in October and runs, of course, all the way through January. My focus turns from art fair prep to retail prep and I feel like a full-time chicken without a head. It's okay, though, I get my head back after New Year's. :)

I think it might already be time for starting to think of New Year's resolutions. Last year, my resolution was to start becoming more focused on organizing my finances. I've done a pretty good job so far, but it's gotten a little lax. I need to start knuckling down and getting all those receipts and paid invoices entered. Regardless, because I've taken the time here and there to enter things in, it won't be that same nearly month long process of entering in everything into a spreadsheet. This year will be much more streamlined. I'm thankful that at the end of the year I will have a lot less work to get my taxes done (and especially thankful for the assistance of my accountant friend!!).

My other resolution this year was to get out of my comfort zone and do an out of state art fair. Luckily I was accepted into one and I was able to produce enough work that was outside of my normal body of work (the location collages) to fill an entire booth. I put the time and effort into doing something that I've never done before. It was scary, exciting and in the end, disappointing. However it was an experience that helped me realize what my real goals are and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

This next year, as I tend to say every year, will be the year that I finally start really working hard and trying to separate myself from the reliability of the part-time job. I know that I don't work as hard as I could because in the end I have that regular paycheck that will be coming. While it's nice, it also takes away from the work that I really love doing and it makes me a cranky artist. And just ask my friends and family...nobody likes a cranky artist. :)

Lying gets you everywhere?

2009-09-01T15:41:00.006-05:00

A follow up on the blog post: Never really occurred to me...

I decided to empty out my savings account and file the small claims court paperwork. I felt strongly enough about getting taken advantage of that I knew it was the right thing to do. I went down to the courthouse, paid my $60, filed the paperwork and waited for them to issue me a court date.

About a month later I got a court date in June. I got all of my stuff together, printed out all of the emails, examples of the work I had done, the works. I got a phone call 3 days before the date from the court telling me that the defendant had tried to file for a continuance due to medical reasons, but that since it wasn't 5 business days before the date it was inadmissible. They wanted his contact information so they could call him and told me to come to court as planned.

I figured as much that something like that was going to happen since he wasn't an upstanding guy in the first place, so I just planned on him not showing up, having the judgment default in my favor and being done with the whole thing. I contacted the other designer who had been involved with this whole garbage and told him what was going on just to give him a heads up.

I appeared in court that day among all the other small claims cases. I checked in with the clerk. When they were calling the default cases, I told the referee (since they are not judges) that I was the plaintiff. He said, you're the defendant? I said no, I'm Giesla, I'm the defendant. You're (the name of the business the claim was against)? I said, NO, I'm THE PLAINTIFF. This concerned me, but it wasn't the first time people had problems with my name so I shrugged it off. He called the other cases and then got to me. Once again I had to emphasize that my name was Giesla, I was an independent graphic designer who was filing a claim against a company that used my work and didn't pay me. He asked me if I was surprised that the other party didn't show and I said no, not really. He said the case was dismissed and I went on my way.

As I walked out the door it played back in my head. Dismissed? Doesn't that mean it's over? As in no judgment? I've watched enough Judge Judy and Peoples' Court to know that dismissed means it's over. I figured TV court isn't really indicative of real life so I let it go. I got an email later that day from the designer I had contacted who told me that the defendant had had hernia surgery that past Friday and so his medical excuse was legit.

A couple weeks later while I was in Colorado for an art fair, my mom called me and said that the judgment came in the mail. She said the plaintiff's case was dismissed with prejudice. I was completely confused about what that meant and decided to just look at the paperwork when I got home. When I finally arrived home, I saw that the paperwork had marked the plaintiff (me) as not appearing and the defendant as appearing. My case had been dismissed because according to the court, I hadn't shown up.

The next business day I called the court and spoke with the clerk. I told her that I had indeed been there and there was a mistake. She told me that she was the clerk who had checked me in and remembered me and told me she would speak to her manager to see what they could do. She called me back and told me that they would nullify the judgment, issue me a new court date and waive the appeal fee of $50. So a new court date in August was set.

I got all of my documentation together and headed to court. It was a full court room so I was hoping that I wouldn't be there all day as I wanted to get this over with since at that point, this had been going on 8 months. This time he did show up, as I feared, and knew he was going to come in weaving a tall tale. Luckily as the plaintiff I had the first and last word.

I explained the situation, that he owed me money for work that I had done, and showed the email documentation from the first email that I had sent outlining my design fees to the emails with the invoices attached. I explained how we had met and everything that I detailed in the previous blog.

Then it was his turn. He lied and said that he brought me on for my photography skills, not my design work and that I offered to do mockups for free. He said that I told him the retailer I work for part-time was cutting my hours and so I wanted to make up for that by working for him for the same wages as the retailer pays me (which is about 1/3 of what my design fee is). When presented with examples of the work that I had done and asked if it was my work, he said no. He explained that this other designer that was interning for him was doing all the work and that I was just assisting. When asked if he opposed my rates so vehemently why didn't he respond to the email that outlined my fees and tell me that there was no way he was going to pay me what I was asking, he said that his business was getting "thousands of emails" at that time from vendors for their gift baskets in addition to resumes from applicants for intern graphic design positions so he never saw the email.

To me, that seemed pretty transparent. That and he couldn't complete a few sentences without using the phrase "and stuff". He came off to me as unprofessional and stuttered and stammered his way through most of his statements.

I left the courtroom shaking mad but confident. Surely it was obvious that he was a liar. I had stacks of evidence that he was trying to dodge me. I had proof of work that I had done. In my own mind, I had put forward a good case.

And then I got the judgment today. In favor of the defendant. Because the evidence strongly suggested that the work I did was for marketing purposes to negotiate a contract.

21 hours of work.

That was used.

On top of that there was a sharp conflict as to what, if any, work I did at all.

Despite me bringing in examples of the work that was done. Which, as I said, he denied me doing.

For the record:

This is one of the catalog pages I designed:

And this is what is on their website as of today (with a tiny "version 3" notation in the bottom):

Needless to say I will be contacting an attorney to see what my avenues are because I'll be damned if I'm letting this go any time soon.

In addition, I strongly urge you to not buy gift baskets from target.com (an outlet for this company's products) in support of boycotting companies that steal work from designers.

Need to get back in the habit

2009-08-25T11:24:00.003-05:00

And there it stares me in the face upon login: "last published July 19". Yes, yes, I know Blogger. I've been horrible at updating my blog. I tried to update it from my phone but apparently got too wordy and while it was keeping track of what I was typing, it wasn't scrolling down to show me, so it was almost impossible to write, unless I didn't care about misspellings or typos. It was in regards to my trip to Chicago and finally finishing one of the Chicago collages I have been planning on working on since 2007. A good post, too. I guess I could've written it when I got home, but it's always been that I have to be in the mood to write something in order for it to be worth reading. I'm kind of in the mood right now, but not completely as you can tell. I'm babbling incoherently.

I'm in the process of coming up with a lesson plan for teaching classes in Photoshop Elements. I realized that while there are a lot of local resources for people to learn about the full version of Photoshop, there are not many actual classes (3 dimensional room classes versus online) in Mpls/St. Paul. I have the room to teach (people would have to bring their own computers, though) and the time, so I would like to throw it out there and see if I get any interest. If you're in the Twin Cities, leave me a comment or shoot me an email at info@inkblotsart.com if you're interested!

The thing about limited editions

2009-07-19T11:48:00.003-05:00

I've always been on the fence about limited edition works. I've seen people have limited editions of 1000, or 2500 and I wonder is that REALLY limited edition? I mean, I suppose if you're a wildly popular artist, perhaps 2500 prints would sell very quickly. But usually limited editions fetch a higher price, so depending on what the price was, perhaps it would take years to sell 2500 prints.

When I started my business I was making things by hand. Greeting cards and other small gift things, mostly, and here and there I did some photography. When I started doing the collages, I didn't think anything of having them limited. To me, I wanted my artwork to be accessible by as many people as possible, and while not cheap, I wanted it to be fairly affordable. So all my location collages are open edition. Now that I've decided to start pursuing art fairs outside of the state, this is a problem.

A lot of the prestigious art fairs require that most of your booth be originals, and if not originals, limited editions. Now, I've seen people take open edition work and make it limited edition by treating it in a particular manner, like a special type or size of print. This is what I'd like to do with my artwork but I have NO idea what to do.

I was considering having it mounted to acrylic block. This, I found, is not only incredibly expensive, it's only done in the UK, or so it seems by my research. Somewhat silly to spend tons of money just to have displays in a booth because truly, that's all they'd be. I have a feeling people would still purchase the matted prints over any big fancy limited edition piece I had. My next thought was to have them framed in lightboxes. The neon light collages would glow awesomely in a lit-up frame. However, that's also expensive and I'd have to have electricity in my booth. Then there's the other option: ignore the art fair directions. Well, I just don't want to push my luck.

So, I'm still stuck and I'm open to any ideas anyone has. The applications for next year for a few out of state shows will be coming up in a few months and I'd like to have a better idea of what the heck I'm doing if I'm going to be applying!

The realization and the moving on

2009-07-07T20:27:00.003-05:00

I haven't blogged since I got to CO. I kept getting the iCal reminders and just put them aside. I didn't want to think about composing my thoughts and I REALLY didn't want to think about what happened in Vail. I've decided to just dump out everything into this one blog so it might get a little long.

I was really excited for Vail. I was nervous as all get out because it was a brand new thing for me. I've never exhibited just my "fine art" collages and it was scary. Will it be accepted? Will it be well received? I had no idea. My boyfriend was very comforting and assured me that the nerves are supposed to be there because I'm growing. It didn't make me less nervous, but it made me feel better.

Once we got there things went really well as far as setup. Got in, got unloaded, but had to wait for the end exhibitors to set up and get their vehicles out before I could set up. So we walked around, had lunch, enjoyed the day. It was great. Booth went up without a hitch and we headed back to the hotel to relax.

The next morning, art went up just fine. Everything looked great, I was very pleased. And then it started to rain. And rain. And rain. And I went my first day in 7 years without a sale and had more comments about how interesting and creative my art was in years. Now, these may have been compliments. However, with my experience in interior design, I quickly learned that when someone says something is "interesting", it usually means it's not to their taste or they don't understand or like it but feel the need to say something. I would rather hear nothing than hear an empty compliment. After day one, I went back to the room and promptly fell apart at the disaster that I knew this show was now going to be and the very expensive learning experience I was about to have.

Day two was better. The rain had stopped and I was back to manning the ship by myself as my boyfriend went back to Denver to go to work. I'm used to occupying myself during the day so it was no big deal, though I really appreciate when I have someone there who can grab me lunch. :) I had a better grasp of things and decided to put out some of my location art as I had brought some 11 x 14 matted prints with me. I hung up Las Vegas, Minnesota and UW-Madison. And I got some reaction and I knew then that people like recognizing places they've been no matter where they're from.

Day three started out ok. Got up and packed up and checked out and moved the van out of the hotel lot. Opened up the booth after grabbing some Starbucks (not bad having a booth about 25 yards from one) and was prepared for a slightly shorter day and the possibility that there was about a 95% chance that I would walk away from this fair having made no sales. I had more custom collage inquiries that day, which was pleasing and decided that I was going to be happy about the possibility of work from that area of my business regardless if I didn't make any artwork sales.

And then....a sale. The UW-Madison collage. Purchased by a woman from Wisconsin. I half wanted to cheer and half wanted to scream. I DROVE 900 MILES FOR A SALE I COULD'VE MADE AT HOME?!?!?! I felt better that I wasn't going to be completely without a sale, but was annoyed and confused. And the realized that that was it. I will do the location collages. I will put in the effort to travel and I will do the research and I will get them done. I won't abandon the work that I've done and my love for doing mixed media collage, I'll just put it on hold. And that'll be okay. I love all my art and am willing to focus on one aspect a little more clearly in order to achieve success.

Later that day a cute younger couple bought one of my retro ad collages and signed my mailing list. That made me a little happier. I know the retro ad collages appeal to a younger crowd and that just isn't Vail demographics. So at the end of the show, 2 sales. Covered about 2 tanks of gas. Not exactly what I had pictured even in all my nervousness. But at the end, I came out with a better focus of the direction my business needs to take, which is something. Not what was I was hoping for, but something.

So, Telluride. I'm supposed to the Telluride Arts Festival in August and have decided to cancel. One expensive learning experience in a year is enough. I haven't made the cancellation yet because it hasn't fully sunk in and I still kind of feel like I'm giving up, but financially it's just not a good idea.

In more positive news, the Maple Grove Art Fair is this weekend and I'm very excited to get back on track and make some sales. If you're in MN, come on out and say hi!

In CO

2009-06-24T20:03:00.001-05:00

Just arrived in CO and am preparing myself for the Vail Arts Festival this weekend. The drive was ridiculously long and boring, which is what I have been told numerous times from other people. Not much time to decompress! I leave tomorrow morning to set up, then the art fair is Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Wish me luck!

-- Post From My iPhone

Testing out mobile

2009-06-20T15:41:00.000-05:00

So, I bought the Blogpress app to give mobile blogging a shot. I'm at the Stone Arch Festival of the Arts today. It's a gorgeous day and there are lots of folks here. Sales could pick up a bit, but all in all not too bad. I've been MIA from blogging due to my increased pressure to get ready for the Vail Arts Festival next weekend. With this app I hope to be able to keep up with things better!!

-- Post From My iPhone

New adventures

2009-06-08T21:20:00.003-05:00

"I'd love to sell out completely. It's just that no one has been willing to buy." —John Waters

I love what I do. I very much would love to rely on nothing else but selling my art. When I started 7 years ago, I would have never have expected such a warm receipt of what I do by others. At the Edina Art Fair this weekend, I got so many comments like "This is so cool!" and "I really like what you do!". It warms my heart and solidifies my decision to try to carve a life for myself out of what I do.

However, it concerns me that I have carved myself a nice little niche that I can't expand upon. Again, I love doing the location collages. It's fun to capture a whole place in one piece of artwork and doubly fun to see people's reaction to it. But when I start getting requests for every little small town, suburb and very small college, it takes a little of the fun away. When I tell people "no" when they ask if I have a certain location, I sometimes get stern looks like I hurt their feelings or I get a quick "Well are you GOING to do it?". There are only so many hours in a day and a lot of time goes in to photographing for those collages. If I'm not sure that location will be well received, that time is better spent doing other things.

I've put a lot of effort into creating new collages to display at the Vail Arts Festival. It'll be the first art fair that I won't have any location collages at. It'll be the first art fair where I am judged solely by my other artwork. And I'm terrified. Because here in MN, that artwork may as well be invisible. It hangs in my booth and gets almost completely ignored. It used to take up half of my booth. Half location, half fine art. I got so many comments about how it was "interesting" or "unusual" (some actually came right out and called it weird) that I finally just stopped bringing it. It never sold and I didn't want it to get damaged by hauling it around.

My Facebook and Twitter friends mostly see my new artwork and have given me a lot of positive feedback. This is REALLY encouraging and I'm thankful for it. I feel like I've been divided in two and it's really odd. I'm starting on a new journey of exploring the half of me that really loves getting my hands into my artwork and expressing the things I love, yet the photographer in me still wants to get out and document all of those cities and states in a way that only a local can see it.

I'll probably never merge those two sides, but I'd like them both to come along with me equally rather than having one move forward and the other stay in one place.

Four Five Six

2009-06-01T21:57:00.006-05:00

In preparation for the Vail Arts Festival at the end of June, in order to have a more complete collection in my booth I thought I would expand my number collages to include four, five and six!

Don't forget about the Edina Art Fair on 50th and France this Friday, Saturday and Sunday! Hours are Friday 10-7, Saturday 10-7 and Sunday 10-5. My booth number is 169, just about a block south of 50th Street near Salut restaurant. To see a PDF map of the Edina Art Fair booth locations, click here.

Number art complete

2009-05-29T19:38:00.006-05:00

I finally made a decision about how I wanted to treat the number collages from my last post and I couldn't be more pleased with the outcome (except the part about it taking FOREVER to dry).

I chose canvas versus the wood blocks because I liked the treatment I gave the bird spinner collages. I had initially thought that I was going to use wood blocks with vintage fabric or wallpaper adhered to the side, but thought that the grunginess of the collages deserved a more rough treatment.

The canvas is coated in 3 colors of walnut ink, spattered with black paint and then stamped. The stamps are actually stencils that I stamped with ink and then pressed into the canvas. The print is adhered to the canvas with Mod Podge. I'm considering spraying the print with a gloss acrylic to give it a glass-like appearance but it's not something I want to play with and then not like. I like it so far and don't want to ruin what I've done. I may spray it with a UV protectant to protect the print, however.

When I finish the set I will have them available for sale up on Etsy. They will be a limited edition of 50 and will sell for $85.

New art!!

2009-05-25T20:52:00.004-05:00

Since I won't be bringing my location artwork to the Vail Arts Festival at the end of June, I'm really pushing myself to make new artwork so I have a fairly full booth. I don't think I've ever created this much new artwork in a year and it's really exciting. I've created a lot of retro inspired pieces, which I love, but I also am finally getting around to creating collages that I've had rolling around in my head for awhile, like the collage I posted a few days ago: "Room to Breathe".

The titles are fairly simple for these collages: "One for the Money", "Two for the Show" and "Three to Get Ready". They're 12 x 12 and I'm undecided if I will mount them to canvas like I did the bird spinners or mount them to museum blocks and edge them with vintage wallpaper. I'll post photos of the final product, whatever I decide!

After the scan: Getting started on (and finishing) a collage

2009-05-22T20:43:00.008-05:00

After I finish the scanning process, it's time to get started! As I scan the photos I make note of all of them and try to figure out placement and size of the images. If it's a wedding collage and I have individual photos of the bride and groom, I try to put those in the corners as anchors. If it's an anniversary, I try to find photos of the couple together throughout the years and use those as corner photos. Unlike a puzzle, I start from the edges and work in rather than from the center and work out. There really isn't a formula to how I work, but there are things that I find I do repeatedly, like using certain photos as corner anchors. Again, it really all depends on what I'm given by the client.

Above you can see how I began the 70th birthday collage. There were several images that I liked of her alone, but decided on the portrait type image to anchor the lower left corner. It had nice cool colors and blended well in with the background. Most of the photos of her were in black and white, so I thought a color photo would balance out the background nicely. I then kind of worked around, placing other images of her by herself in somewhat of a timeline, then decided to use the family image to anchor the upper right corner.

I had initially started to fill in small photos of her extended family, then found this photo of all of the family together and decided to place that one and remove the smaller pictures so it wouldn't be too crowded. The more photos I'm given, the more I have to shrink things to get them all to fit and more times than not it ends up looking more messy than a unified whole. The elimination process is a difficult one if I'm not given a whole lot of direction about the importance of the pictures by the client.

This was the first draft that I submitted to the client for approval. (Actually I added one more photo after I took this screen shot, but this is pretty close to the first draft.) It turned out that my decision to try to consolidate by eliminating family wasn't the best choice and that she would've rather have had less photos of her mom and dad together and more photos of the family because the family was very important to her mom. So I shrunk some of the photos and removed two to make room for the individual photos. She also requested that I add the word "Candy" to the collage because that is her mom's nickname. Words are always easy to add after the fact because they can be blended so as not to interfere with the photos. Adding more photos (or taking away photos that I've used in key places) is more difficult because I have to shift things around so as not to leave holes.

So...after making the changes, this was the final collage:

Not too drastically different from the first proof that I showed the client, but tweaked enough that she was extremely pleased with the result. I told her to let me know what her mother's reaction is to it because I always like to hear feedback. On several occasions I've heard that the gift has moved people to tears, and that's probably the highest compliment I could ever receive. I enjoy what I do immensely and that I can bring joy to others makes it very worthwhile. I think it's so great to be able to take photos that otherwise would rarely see the light of day and give them life again.

If you're interested in having a custom collage done, please visit my website for more information!

Thanks to Kat Christopherson for allowing me the pleasure of working with her on this collage for her mother's birthday.

"Room to Breathe"

2009-05-21T17:43:00.005-05:00

A little break from the custom collage blog (more tomorrow on that) to announce a new piece. I titled this one "Room to Breathe". I had this idea pop in my mind of doing a collage that was almost entirely white with just pieces of images popping through, so you would really have to look closely at the image. So many of my collages are very dark intense colors, so I like that this is a departure from that.

I got the idea while I was driving down a hill and it was a beautiful day and there were trees arching over the street. I looked up through the windshield and saw the sky overhead and because the hill was somewhat steep, it kind of felt like I was falling. The idea of the all white collage just popped into my head. I wrote it down and tucked it away until I finally got a chance to sit down and hash it out. Like all of my collages, it started with a vague idea and I just kept adding to it until it seemed complete. I'm undecided if I will add more to it with ink stencils or if I will leave it as it is once it's printed.

Beginning a custom collage

2009-05-20T21:20:00.005-05:00

As I promised, today's blog is about how I start a custom collage. I just finished working on a custom collage for a 70th birthday and I'm going to document the steps I take to create a collage in the next few blogs.

THE SCANNING

More often than not I receive prints rather than digital images. I prefer people allow me to do the scanning rather than do it themselves because it allows me to enlarge photos if necessary rather than using software to do the enlarging. It also gives me a chance to leave in pieces of photos that I think give a collage an artistic quality that others may crop out: like the white borders around prints from the 40s-60s or writing on photos.

I usually ask people to give me some sort of idea what the importance of the photos are, or group them together in some way so I can make a better judgement of what to leave in and what will be okay to take out. I try to keep in as much as I can, but usually I find unnecessary repetition. 10 pictures of Mom & Dad through the years I will include all 10; 10 pictures of Mom & Dad in the last 2 years I'll probably keep 3 or 4. That's not to say that I don't want people to send all 10 of Mom & Dad. It's better to have too many to choose from than try to fill space with very few images.

This client separated the photos into 4 bags: her mom growing up, her mom's parents and siblings, her mom and dad, and her mom's children and their families.

I took the photos out of their bags but kept them in their respective categories when I scanned. You can see that there is a big range of ages of photos, which is great. I know that not everyone can get photos from way back, but the older photos definitely give a collage character. The client also gave me a newspaper article that was about her mom being crowned "Miss Fairwood Park" and 2 photos from an Elvis concert. Very cool.

THE ELIMINATION PROCESS

I always scan in everything a client gives me because I never know what I'm going to use and what I'm going to keep out, unless there are 2 photos that are very similar. In that case I will pick the best and choose not to scan one of them. I only charge for the scans of the photos I end up using for the collage. In the 70th birthday collage this is what I scanned and what I ended up using:

There were 16 photos of mom growing up. I used 14.

There were 5 photos of mom's parents and her siblings. I used 4.

There were 22 photos of mom and dad. I used 13.

There were 10 photos of the entire family. I used all 10.

Overall: 41 photos.

It was a constant elimination process to decide what to leave in and what to leave out, and as you'll see in the next blog, very few photos go in one place and stay there throughout the duration of the collage creation.

Just what I was afraid of

2009-05-18T21:51:00.003-05:00

I came back from the Estes Park workshop excited, revitalized, ready to take on the internet world and become the master of my blog, website, and social media sites.

Well...

I made some updates to my website. I'm excited about those changes and proud of the work that I did. It still needs work, but it's getting there.

My social media I've been keeping up on fairly well. I re-did my Facebook profile and am constantly keeping up with Twitter. Not a lot of problems there.

My blog....

Yeah.

Last post: May 8th. Today's date: May 18th. I promised myself I would write 3 times a week. That has not happened. I've been busy preparing for art fairs and doing custom work and the blog has fallen by the side. Not to say I haven't been preparing to write my blog. Oh no. I've been keeping track of the steps I've been going through completing this custom collage. I will be finishing that blog series. And I should've been posting it and writing it as I go instead of "preparing" to write it. What am I preparing for? Just write it!

So I have some work to do. The blog is just not happenin' for me and I need to figure out what I need to do to make it less of a chore in my mind and more of something fun that I enjoy. When I actually do it, it's not as bad as it is in my head, but for some reason when that iCal alarm rings reminding me I need to do it, something in my brain is like "NO!!!" like a dentist's appointment or something. It's NOT that bad.

So Wednesday is my next blogging day. I will be continuing on with my custom collage series. And I'm going to tell my brain to shut up.

How do you create a custom collage?

2009-05-08T19:02:00.004-05:00

First, a side note:

My to-do list since I got back from Colorado has been getting increasingly longer as I realize that the art fair next weekend in Wayzata isn't going to prepare for itself, and I don't want to procrastinate at all on preparing. I've gotten into bad habits in the past of staying up very late at night the night before getting everything ready and I'd much rather have a restful night's sleep. So unfortunately, the WordPress blog is going on the back burner for a bit, but the blogs will not!

Today I'm going to write a little about the process I go through of creating a custom collage. You can find out more about my custom work by visiting my website.

My job:

What I love best about doing custom collages is that I get to tell a story through the items that I'm given. I can always tell people who cherish their stories (or the stories of loved ones) by the photos/items that I've been given. The thoughtfulness really comes out in the package that I receive. I enjoy custom work so very much because each collage is like a puzzle. I never know what kind of photos and other materials I'm going to get and opening that package is always exciting!

After I get all the materials together I do three things:

1) Sort

2) Scan (if necessary)

3) Start!

1) I look through every photo and item that I've been sent and determine what will work as a focus image, what kind of story I can tell with the photos and what needs to be left out if I've been given too much. This is the best part, especially for collages of 50th anniversaries and milestone birthdays, like 70 or 90. I love old photos!!

2) This step is pretty self-explanatory. I have an Epson scanner and I go through and scan all of the items in. I don't do any photo correction during the scanning process, only enlarging if necessary.

3) And away I go! Starting with the focus image, I begin layering the images. How I begin the placement stems largely from the composition of the photos that I've been given (individuals, group shots, portraits, etc.).

Deconstructing the collage:

Above is a collage I did for a local MN couple for Valentine's Day. I was given the instruction that they loved my collages where everything is very blended and not immediately apparent, which is my favorite style of collaging. While I always enjoy working every collage that I do, one of the hardest tasks is trying to bridge the style of collage that I gravitate towards and the style of collage that my clients like. For me a collage goes together a little easier if my preferred style matches what the client wants, and in this instance, it did.

This client gave me an excellent mix of photos of them, photos of their favorite places, and other items like a handwritten note. In my opinion, the collages turn out the best when they are a diverse mix of items rather than just photos of people. Though I've been very pleased with how collages have turned out with only photos of people, my personal preference is to have a nice blend of photos of people with photos of things and if possible, other items like tickets, programs, newspaper articles, stickers, notes, etc.

As you can see in this collage, I used the corners of the collage for focus images of the couple, and then spread the other images throughout. I generally do this because while the center image is the main thing that you see, I want your eye to easily move around the collage, taking in all the corners. By using larger images throughout rather than just in the center, your eye takes in the piece as a whole composition at first glance and not just a center photo with other photos around it. If there is every any text included, as there is in this collage, I blend it in so that it will be readable but not overpower the other photos.

Coming up soon.....

I've just started work on a custom collage for a 70th birthday and will be documenting the process as I go. You'll be able to see the whole process from beginning to end in a blog coming up soon.

Blog about blogs

2009-05-06T21:39:00.002-05:00

I was hoping to have a new home for my blog today and then write here about the switch, but unfortunately it requires a little more time than I can put in today. I initially was going to just use a free blog from WordPress, but after learning about how WordPress.org works and that I could add it to part of my website, it just seemed to make more sense. Though it will require a little more work learning about coding, I think it's something that I can accomplish. I hope to have it up by Friday so I can announce it here!

Making changes

2009-05-04T20:55:00.004-05:00

The workshop in Estes Park was excellent. I got lots of good information about how to increase my online presence, but more importantly, I met some very awesome artists from all over the country. The energy in the room was amazing; so many people trying so hard to make their businesses succeed. It was very inspiring. As those of you who have actually read my blogs know, I struggle with what to write about A LOT because I always thought about all I should be writing about is what's going on with my art. New pieces I've made, shows I've applied to, etc. NOT TRUE! I got a whole list of ideas of what I should write about for my blog and I've very excited to start applying them.

I also got some great tips about my Facebook and Twitter profiles and have started applying what I learned to my Facebook right away. Having two Facebook profiles was getting to be quite difficult to keep up with so I decided to whittle it down to one and just clean up shop. I had so many stupid application invites, almost 120 of them that I went through and finally got rid of. Some of that stuff is fun, but there's already so much to keep up with on Facebook that having a Lil' Green Patch and some hatching egg thing and whatever else is just overkill. No offense to anyone who sends me any of that stuff, but I won't accept it unless it's either REALLY funny or REALLY useful/cool. I've got enough to do without getting sucked in to quizzes like "What Steel Magnolias character are you?".

So from now on, you will see some different things going on with my blog, and possibly see a switch as I try to learn more about WordPress and how it might be a better fit for me (also a workshop suggestion).

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more!

I have not forgotten, I'm biding my time

2009-05-01T15:34:00.003-05:00

I'm VERY excited for the artist's workshop on building a better web presence! I have not forgotten to blog, I've just been pretty busy preparing to go to CO (where I am now) and didn't want to write a blog about nothing in particular. I'm saving today's blog (yes I know I'm blogging today but it's not anything huge...) for tomorrow when I know I'll have something informative to say.

Here's a little something that I noted on my Twitter that popped in my head while I was watching the wing move (I luckily got a window seat!) when we were preparing to land. The mechanics don't move the wing THAT much, but it makes such a huge difference in how the plane flies and how the wind reacts to the wing. I thought about how our lives are like that. Sometimes just the smallest changes can really make a difference in how we fly, or as someone pointed out on Twitter, how we crash! Little things really can make big differences.

Never really occurred to me....

2009-04-26T19:01:00.004-05:00

After reading another artist's blog about how her artwork was used without her permission, I thought perhaps I would use this public forum to bring to light (or shine more light on) this all too common occurrence.

While it has been brought to my attention that my artwork has been used for online forums and such, that doesn't bother me quite as much as when someone actually commissions me for work and then refuses to pay me.

Here's the story:

Last year, I did the Landmark Holiday Bazaar as I have done for the past 6 years. I was approached by a man who was very enthusiastic about my work and my design abilities and asked me if I do my artwork full-time. I said that basically yes, it is a full-time job, but to make ends meet I have a part-time job at a retailer. He asked me if I ever considered contract work and I said that I do design work from time to time. He gave me his card and said he would contact me. After about 10 minutes, he rushed back into my booth and said, "This is a completely inappropriate question, but what do you make per hour at (the retailer)?" I hesitated but told him, and he left.

I was very excited as it sounded like a great opportunity to get some consistent design work and possibly leave my retail job. I followed up with an email saying it was a pleasure to meet him and that I hoped to hear from him soon. I got a phone call a few days later requesting a meeting. He told me that he worked best by email (as do I), so I thought it would be a great working relationship.

After meeting with him, I found out that he had another designer on board, someone who was an intern who was hoping for a full-time job with this company. His intentions were to bring me on as somewhat of an art director and have this intern do much of the "grunt work", so to speak. Copy editing, clipping paths, that sort of thing. I was a little confused by it, but decided that I would proceed. He threw an enormous amount of work at us with a deadline of approximately a week. Completely unprofessional, to say the least.

I followed up with an email regarding pay since I thought it wasn't the best idea to discuss pay in front of another designer, not knowing what his situation was. I outlined my design fees and that I would be invoicing from my time.

I never received an email. And we had another meeting. And they piled on more work. And I said I would be sending an invoice (which I did). And email, after email, after email. With no response. And no payment agreement. Which was really starting to worry me.

He kept saying that as soon as sales came in, that we would be paid. I finally had a one on one meeting with him. I stated that I don't work for free and that my payment is not contingent on his sales. The work is done, I get paid. Period. He said that he would get me what I make at said retailer. I said that my wages there are not my design fees. He shrugged me off. So I stopped working.

I received a phone call from him that said he would pay my invoices and that he was trying to set up a photo shoot of his product with this other person involved in a company that is linked to his. He told me that they really wanted to use me as a photographer and that the job was mine, etc. etc. etc. So I started work again. Then I followed up on the phone call with the person at the other company and learned that they had no idea what I was talking about and that while they might be looking for a photographer in the future, they would have to sit down and look at my portfolio.

So I stopped work. And I started threatening. And finally I said that if I didn't receive payment by a certain date that I would take him to small claims court.

And I didn't receive payment. He claims that I agreed to be paid at the retailer's wages (I never did). I can't afford to file the paperwork to take him to small claims court. So now it sits. And it's approximately $1100 worth of my time and work (that he did use, by the way) that I can't collect on because I'm too bogged down in bills to have the extra money to proceed with legal action.

Lesson learned: if you have a gut feeling about someone, believe it. And always, ALWAYS before any work is done, have a signed agreement. Up until this point I've never had any problems and have always been promptly paid for work done. But now I know better.

"Live blogging" (otherwise known as totally random thoughts)

2009-04-24T19:29:00.006-05:00

While I'm waiting for folks to show up to the Art Crawl, I thought I'd take the opportunity to blog since I fell behind on it on Wednesday and know I need to try to keep my schedule as much as possible or I'll let the whole thing slide.

Hopefully I get to see more folks this evening...it hasn't started raining yet! But unfortunately it's on its way. :( I'm dangerously close to the bowl with the Dove chocolate in it. This can only lead to unneeded chocolate consumption.

Just added a link to my Facebook fan page, so come on by and become a fan!

I'm VERY VERY excited to go to an artist's workshop in Colorado next weekend, held by Alyson Stanfield. I believe that she last tweeted that there were still spaces available, so if you're interested in learning more about how to utilize the web as an artist, SIGN UP!

Okay, back to being attentive to my studio, though there's still no one in it! Hrm.

Patience is a virtue that I don't have very often

2009-04-20T23:02:00.004-05:00

I'm VERY excited about my new vintage ad art pendants. I've posted my vintage ad art on Etsy, and when my pendants are done curing (more on that in a bit), I'll have those up for sale there as well. They'll of course be available at my studio during the Saint Paul Art Crawl, and I've started contacting several retail locations as well!

Now, as far as the curing goes, I wanted to make resin jewelry. I heard that resin was messy, smelly and difficult to use. So instead, I thought I'd go for the "glass-like" glue. Except at about 1/8" thick, it's not so glass-like. It's more like you poured a bunch of watered down Elmer's on your image. Then I read in order for it to work, you have to do it in layers. Put down a bit, wait for it to dry, put down more, wait, lather, rinse, repeat.

Here's the thing: I hate repetitive multiple steps. I hated putting 2 coats of paint on my walls. It's like, "I did it once, it should be FINISHED." So I knew this multiple coats of glue garbage wouldn't work for me. Plus, I'm selling them. I don't want to sell glue pendants, I want to sell nice looking resin pendants.

So I exchanged the one bottle of glue that I didn't use for a box of resin. I bought all the necessary materials from the dollar store (score!): 2 measuring cups (that now I have to throw away...even at a dollar a piece, that's just wasteful. I tried to clean them, but it just made a big mess), wax paper, toothpicks (for poking at bubbles) and a huge bag of plastic gloves (that will also work with hair dye! yay!!).

So the resin comes in 4 oz bottles, which makes 8 oz. overall. That's a lot of resin for 10 pendants that each only need about 1/8" filled. So I decided I would make 2 oz. It was still WAY more than I needed, but I had no idea. Trial and error. So I got all the pendants ready, laid them out, and started to pour my VERY bubbly resin. Not cool. Naturally, started freaking out. It said that as it starts to set, the bubbles rise to the top. But, to force this, blow a HAIRDRYER on it. Okay.....

So I got out the hairdryer and started passing it over one of the pendants. pop! pop pop pop! All the bubbles started rising to the surface! Who knew? Instructions actually know something. :)

So after futzing with them for way too long, and agonizing over the little imperfections (they're handmade...gotta learn to let it go...), I made a little wax paper tent (to protect them from dog fur and other dust) and will wait for them to set! (24 hours for a soft cure, 72 for a hard cure)

And here are my pendants, waiting for their tent:

Okay, okay, iCal, I KNOW!!!

2009-04-17T18:13:00.004-05:00

iCal keeps reminding me, like it's supposed to, that I have to blog today. And once again, I don't have a whole lot to say, but going to just make some commentary on things going on around me lately.

A great person I follow on Twitter, Cassandra Harrison (@geehowquaint), told me about this book that she reads to get her butt moving; to keep procrastination at bay. It's called "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield (link provided to save you from going through 10,000 pages of "art of war" when you search). So, one day on lunch I went to Borders and flipped through it and thought for $13, I NEED this book. It's inspiring, it's motivating, and it does it in such a matter of fact way. None of this sunshine and rainbows garbage. More like, you're the one who's getting in your own damn way and the only person you can blame for your failures is yourself. Get off the couch, tune out the chatter, and GET TO WORK. It's a very fast read because of how he's broken up the sections and again, definitely worth the money. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to start something new, follow a passion or just be a better version of themselves.

We had another visit from the trainer (Bark Busters) yesterday and Bea has been behaving. It's kind of scary because it was such a dramatic change from one day to the next. I hope she's not depressed or something. But she is being very, VERY good. I'll post some pictures of Bea sometime soon so you can see how cute and adorable she is. :)

Once again, missed Monday....

2009-04-15T18:04:00.004-05:00

For some reason my blogging head isn't together on Mondays and despite getting 3 reminders of it during the day, I can't seem to always get it done. And I had stuff to announce as well! I'm so excited about it that I'd probably tweet about it today as well, so that's my rationalization for not having blogged on Monday. :)

Added to my Etsy account on Sunday, these new pieces are a result of my obsession with 1950s and 1960s design. Using images from various magazines from those time periods, I combined them with some handwriting, drawing and other clip art. While I was going to stop at 3, I was having so much fun I made a 4th and have more in the works. I just bought some more magazines and am thrilled to go through them!!

You can find the new artwork here at my Etsy site. For all of you in MN, they will all be available during the Saint Paul Art Crawl. You can get the dates/times and address from my website.

And of course I can't just blog about it and not toss up a picture!

Starting to sink in a little....

2009-04-10T19:27:00.003-05:00

Last night I realized without my location collages, I don't have much art to display in Colorado. Since the popularity of the location collages in Minnesota have far outweighed the popularity of my other artwork (to the point that I've decided to stop displaying the other artwork at shows in Minnesota; no use in carrying it around if no one will buy it), I've thrown most of my effort into producing 2 or 3 new MN or other location collages a year. While great for my business here, it has really hurt my chances of having business from places other than Minnesota. Though I've been planning on traveling and collaging other cities, I enjoy the break from creating from what I've seen with my eyes and instead creating what I see with my mind.

I was able to sketch up some ideas for a few new collages and I'm definitely looking forward to starting the search for imagery on those. Love that vintage stuff!! :)

Watching time pass

2009-04-08T16:13:00.005-05:00

Since I started photographing signage and locations I've begun to notice a disturbing trend. Sometimes, but hardly always, after I photograph a place it goes out of business. Sometimes I go to photograph a place after learning that it is going out of business because I feel for some reason or another that I have to document and try to preserve the memory of our changing landscape. It makes me feel a little like an ambulance chaser of signage.

I have always admired this small "corner" grocery store about 2 blocks from my apartment. From the signage at the top of the building I would say that it is a family owned business that has been around for 50 or 60 years. They only carry the staples: milk, bread, cereal, candy, soup, etc. No fancy vegan or organic items, just the basics. Every time I go there, which has only been a handful of times since I moved in to my place a little over 2 years ago, there's the same elderly gentleman behind the counter, listening to local talk radio. The shelves are stocked immaculately. Everything is perfectly faced, straight as an arrow. It was like walking back in time when I entered, which felt good to me. I'd grab what I needed, go up to the counter and pay. He doesn't take credit; the fees are too high, he said. He'd package up my purchase, and then pull on a rope behind the counter that he had on a pulley system that was connected to the front door. The door would swing open, and I could walk out without having to grab the door. An automatic door before automatic doors were invented, no doubt.

Last week I noticed that the little "open" tent sign that would be propped out front on the sidewalk every morning wasn't there. Earlier this week I saw a freezer being loaded up onto a truck, the elderly man standing behind it. Today I walked past the windows with my dog and peered inside, bracing for what I had expected. There was very little left of the store. All of the product and most of the shelving was gone. There were a few fixtures left, but not much. It had been all but gutted. My heart sank.

There had been no big "going out of business" hoopla. No closing announcements, not even signage on the door. Just here one day, gone the next. And as I walked past today I realized that a few months ago I decided that I needed to photograph this amazing place that seemed to have been frozen in time. I never got the courage to ask the owner if I could take a photo with my camera, so I snuck a photo in the back of the store with my iPhone. I really wish I would have just asked so I would have more and better photos. And now it's gone. And I wonder if somehow my documenting it made it happen, since it's happened to me before. It's a preposterous thought, but it still makes me wonder.

To give, to help, to share....pass it along

2009-04-06T19:52:00.002-05:00

The design/art community is truly a wonderful place to be. Granted, there are always folks that ruin it; that steal ideas, undercut prices, underbid jobs, all in the name of getting ahead. But at the heart of it lies people that just want to share their passion with others, that want to give as much as they get, that love their job/craft and just want to let everyone know.

I've started some great communication with awesome people on Twitter that really inspire me. People that have nothing to gain by telling me that they like what I do but do it anyway. They don't have to share their techniques, what they've learned, what they've discovered; but they do. They make me laugh, they make me think and they make me realize the world is really small when you get down to it. I'm appreciative of all of my followers on Twitter and by no means are these the only people that I think are great, I just wanted to pull out a few that have taken the time to DM (direct message for you non-Twitter folk) or reply to my tweets; people who know the name of the game of Twitter, and that's to build connections.

I truly believe that what you give comes back to you, so today's blog isn't about me, what I'm selling, what I'm advertising, what I'm doing. It's about those people who have taken the time to share their thoughts, ideas, and artwork with me and I'd appreciate it if you'd take a look at what they do. I've included their Twitter ID's if you'd like to check out their tweets but please don't follow them if you have something to sell or something to spam. The last thing Twitter needs is more people pitching the promise of 15 bazillion followers overnight or the ability to make someone into a "social media expert".

@deadpanalley

@sarahndipitous

@goheadoverheels

@ecstewart

@jetgirlart

@missdestructo

@alydesigns

@kwbridge

@shannongrissom

Once again, no big news

2009-04-03T20:31:00.003-05:00

Still working on solidifying my art fair schedule for the season, and the Saint Paul Art Crawl will be upon me sooner than I'm prepared for!

Getting started on new work and keeping up with custom collage business.

Speaking of custom collages....Mother's Day is coming up!

Consider giving your Mom the gift of memories with a custom collage. Go to www.customcollagesbyinkblots.com to find out more info. :)

Nothing all that new...

2009-04-02T22:57:00.003-05:00

I'm behind again on writing my blog and have another blog to write tomorrow. Today I succeeded in taking a new photo so I could send it in to the Telluride art fair and I also included it on my blog since the other photo was taken with Photo Booth and isn't very acceptable.

I was accepted into the Powderhorn Art Fair, so my art fair schedule is coming along well!

More updates tomorrow. :)

Next up....art crawl!!

2009-03-30T15:48:00.002-05:00

I love the Saint Paul Art Crawl because I get to show off my cool space (the downside is I have to clean it....) and I get to sell my art without having to leave home. :)

I'm always trying to think of something fun to do especially for the folks that come out for the art crawl and this year I stumbled upon a great idea!

I was digging through one of my drawers and happened up on a little lime green gift bag about 4" high that someone had given to me. I thought it would be great to give out little gift bags at the art crawl but struggled with what to put inside of them as fun promotional/giveaway gift.

So I saw that you can get scratch off stickers to put on cards, so I've decided upon a scratch off giveaway of my artwork. I'm still working out the idea, but this is what I've come up with so far:

1 in 5 cards will be good for a collage card

1 in 20 will be good for a poster

1 in 50 will be good for an 11 x 14 matted print

and 1 in 100 will be good for an 16 x 20 matted print

You have to stop in to my studio to eligible!

I'm also considering printing the location collages on magnets!! I'm still in the hunt for a magnet printer, so it might be a little while before they're available.

Arts at the Oval was a good turn out! Excited for the upcoming art fair season!

Still here

2009-03-28T11:56:00.003-05:00

Well, I knew it would happen. That art fair season would begin and iCal would beep at me 3 times a week, 3 times each of those days letting me know that I need to keep up on my promise to blog. And what happened? I ignored it. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm busy! I know I need to blog!"

But I didn't really have much to write about, didn't want to blab on and on about nothing except for "I'm busy, what else is new?".

So, here I am, at the first art fair of the season (thank you wifi!) blogging about my lack of blogging.

I'm using my new invoicing system, USB Swiper, and so far it's pretty good. Me writing things out is a LITTLE easier, but this will catalog things much better. And, once I get the credit card swiper and don't have to nervously type card numbers out by hand, it'll be super slick. Working with new things is always slow at first, but I anticipate things will get faster as I get better.

So far, things are going pretty well sales wise, so my hope for the art fair season has grown! Excited for the upcoming year!

New Etsy site

2009-03-24T21:23:00.004-05:00

I've been following Etsy on Twitter and have always had a love for the site. I really enjoy making things by hand but am more of an admirer than a participant. When I started my business, most of my products were handmade items, and because it was so time consuming, I slowly moved to doing digital collages. Still time consuming, but no mess to clean up and no products to buy other than paper and ink for my printer. But I've been missing adding that handmade touch to my artwork. So as I struggled for a way to mount the new collages I posted last week, I decided it was time to return to my love of making things by hand.

This the new artwork:

I mounted the collages to 4 x 4 canvases that have been painted with acrylic paint and then "antiqued" with walnut ink. Then I applied beeswax to the print and the canvas.

I will be selling these collages through Etsy and you can find them here. They are a limited edition of 100. Enjoy!

No, it's not "blog day", but I have new art!

2009-03-19T15:14:00.003-05:00

So I usually make "blog days" Monday, Wednesday, Friday but I finished this and I wanted to put it up. Plus I don't know if I'll have anything to say tomorrow, so this kind of takes care of that problem!

Continuing on with the spinners, here's another piece to go with the first! I'm really enjoying this series stuff. Something about things matching, I guess! Enjoy!

Late night, new art

2009-03-18T00:24:00.003-05:00

Sometimes I just can't let something go until it's finished, and this new piece of art was it on Tuesday night. I'm not really tired, and I just had to see how this was going to turn out. I kept working and working on the focus of this piece, the spinner, until I got it exactly how I wanted it. Rather, I got it until my brain said "STOP! THAT'S IT!" because I honestly didn't know how I wanted it when I started. I love playing in Photoshop and having happy accidents while creating. I just kept working the layers until I finally got what looked right to me. Love, LOVE Photoshop.

Once I got the focus looking how I wanted it, I dug into my fun vintage stuff drawer and looked for the perfect pieces to accompany what I had done so far. The fun part about creating for me is my brain becomes a divining rod of sorts. I just keep looking..."nope...nope....that's IT!" Do I know WHY that's it? Nope. I just do.

So...here's the finished piece:

It's a 4 x 4 since: a) I have a fondness for square things and b) I don't have a whole lot of small art. People have less and less wall space these days and I think it'll be nice to have some small affordable things. Like the other new pieces, these will also be a limited edition, but I'm not sure just yet how many prints I will limit them to.

An unexpected good thing

2009-03-16T22:30:00.003-05:00

I knew today I was going to get the notification for the Telluride Festival of the Arts in Colorado. I have been applying to out of state shows here and there and have so far been rejected from all of them. I expected another rejection and was preparing myself for it. I hadn't gotten the email all day and just thought I'd take a look at the Zapplication site to see if they had put the notice up on my applied shows page. I check the page and there it was. "Invited". I was laying down for a quick rest at the time and jumped up and shouted "NO WAY!!". I couldn't believe it. It had to be a mistake. But soon after I got the email giving me congratulations on my acceptance. I'm still a little surprised and wonder if this show is that good. I mean they accepted me, how great can it be?

Ok...gotta give myself a LITTLE credit. I'm good at what I do, but like most artists, I have doubt. I'd probably be annoying as all get out if I walked around patting myself on the back all day long, so I take my talent with a grain of salt.

Shortly after that email, I got another accepting me to the Edina Art Fair.

I don't know if I mentioned, but I was also accepted into the Wayzata Art Experience, replacing the Rivertown Art Festival on my usual art fair schedule.

The art fair year is shaping up well!

Dog + flash drive = 8 hours of file re-creation

2009-03-15T00:25:00.003-05:00

I'm technically 2 days late on my blog. Intending to do it yesterday, I got wrapped up in Quickbooks and movies with a friend. Today was spent re-creating a file destroyed by my dog. The technical equivalent of "my dog ate my homework", if kids still actually wrote their homework instead of typed it. I'll explain.

I have a Power Mac G5 tower that has one USB port in the front of it. I use it to plug in my iPhone for syncing and also use it to plug in my flash drives for working off of them. Seeing as it's a tower, the flash drive sticks straight out from the computer. Like a little flash drive flagpole. This makes it an easy target for my clumsiness, having kicked a flash drive before while getting up from my desk. Didn't break it, but made it pretty difficult to use as it had this weird rotating USB plug on it that didn't support the weight of the drive well and my kicking it dislodged the plug. I promptly backed it up and that was that. I still have it and it still works, I just don't use it much.

My dog likes to chew on things, as most dogs do. She recently found my flash drive an easy target and subsequently put teeth marks/dents in the end of it. It still worked, I just had to make sure she wouldn't chew on it again. Little did I know her face wasn't going to be the problem.

I was working on my computer and desperately trying to keep the dog away from my boxes of ink (she likes to bite them and carry them around) when she backed away from the shelf I have my ink on. I saw the error message come up on the computer warning me of a device removal. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what it was. I kept working. Then I went to retrieve a file off the flash drive. I noticed it didn't show up as a drive on the desktop. I looked down at it and noticed the light indicating power wasn't on. I then noticed it was bent. A flagpole uprooted by a strong wind. A big furry clumsy strong wind.

I panicked. I pulled it out of the computer and plugged it back in. Nothing. I plugged it into my laptop. Nothing. I wiggled. I jiggled. I tried to make the plug straighten out. Nothing.

And then I cried. Because a client project I have been working on for a month was on it. And I had no back up. And I would have to start over. ALL. OVER. And the payment for this project is extremely important as I've been struggling lately. And a delay in project is a delay in payment. This is bad. Very, VERY bad.

So I bring my flash drive into the Apple Store and have one of my fellow co-workers take a look at it. They give me the verdict: Dead. And I come to the conclusion that perhaps that's what my dog should be also (not really...I love my dog...but MAN!). I mourn the loss of my drive and proceed to contact the client. I apologize profusely and explain that I will work through the weekend to re-create the file, luckily having a proof that I sent via email to work off of. The client was incredibly nice and assured me that things will go smoothly.

So today was spent re-creating the file and warding off the dog from being a gigantic pest. If she is not the center of attention at all times, she gets very pesty indeed. And that's why God made kennels. After 8 hours, I have the finished product and it is the spitting image of the original with only a few minor differences. I'm pretty proud of the work and thankful for my talent.

Lessons learned: BACK UP YOUR FILES AT ALL TIMES, purchase another USB hub so I can plug my flash drive in on my desk instead of in harm's (read: dog's) way, and finally, dogs and computers don't mix.

20 minutes late

2009-03-12T00:20:00.003-05:00

So I posted my Monday blog on Sunday and I'm twenty minutes late for my Wednesday blog. What can I say? I had work to do and lists to make. But now here I am, still trying to figure out how best to capitalize on my stupid downtime. I hate downtime. I hate super busy time, too, but I would much rather have that than sitting here trying to figure out what next. Pouring over tons of marketing websites, trying to figure out how best to promote on the cheap. I'm spending more and more time on Twitter and I'm really starting to like it. Being connected to other artist/photographers/people with like interests is really fun.

I'm following Etsy on Twitter and have decided to create an Etsy account to sell some of my new collages. The audience here in MN really seems to enjoy the location collages, but I'm always curious if there's an audience out there for my other work as well.

So I'm going to give that a go. I also might bring back some of my old work, like my handmade greetings cards. The work that got me started. I spent quite a while digging through old Zip disks (yes they still work!) and CDs trying to find the files so I can create more than what I already have if I want to, but as of yet I haven't been too successful. I'll keep digging, but for right now I might just focus on making new work. Making new work similar to the old work might even produce better results! I'm kind of excited. I really enjoy making handmade things.

One last plug....don't forget about Arts at the Oval coming up in a couple of weeks! 2 days after my birthday, in fact.

Until next time!

MORE NEW WORK!

2009-03-08T23:44:00.005-05:00

I'm actually following through on things I say I'm going to do artwork-wise...it's amazing. I said I was going to make new pieces to compliment my other new artwork and here they are!!

What about my location collages? Well, funds are tight right now so I'm not sure if a trip to Chicago is in the works, as much as I'd like it to be. I might work on some new Minnesota pieces soon. I've been wanting to do another Minneapolis nightlife collage, but there's only one problem. Bunkers hasn't had their neon working for MONTHS! And that's a pretty essential part of my collage since it's a pretty well known bar. I'm guessing fixing neon is expensive since it's been out since around October. Also wanted to do a GLBT bar collage, and a West 7th Street collage. Just need to find the time to go out and take photos. And warmer weather helps, too.

Twitplinkface....oh my.

2009-03-06T16:20:00.002-06:00

Overwhelmed by social networking, take two.

I started off today thinking I was going to get so much done, and sure enough, didn't get a whole lot of anything done thanks to my desire to sit and look at Twitter all day. I feel like I need a separate computer monitor just to keep up with everything! (Oddly enough, I do have two computers, I just seem to gravitate towards my desktop for all my web stuff.)

I follow quite a few designers and artists who tend to post fun and interesting links and of course, I click on them. Like a moth to flame, I click. And then what happens? I don't work on Quickbooks with as much focus as I should. And it takes me all afternoon to do it. Not to mention I have a very pesty dog who likes nonstop attention. This also keeps me from getting a lot accomplished. So what did I do today?

•Downloaded but didn't install this new software I'm going to try out to accept credit cards at art fairs

•Downloaded and installed *DING!*, software from Southwest Airlines that alerts me of fare deals.

•Tweeted.

•Got all caught up with Quickbooks (AMAZING!), except for some stuff I couldn't figure out that I'm going to get help with.

•Paid a credit card bill. Put other bill due dates into iCal. Freaked out about lack of money.

•Tweeted some more.

•Printed some photos for photo cards.

•Played with the dog.

•Wrote this blog.

For some reason, it just didn't feel like a very productive day. So much to learn and try, so very little time.

Twitfacespace

2009-03-04T18:54:00.003-06:00

I am completely overwhelmed by social networking these days. There's SO much!! People blog, tweet, facebook, myspace....you could spend all day just talking about yourself! Or pointing people to things you found interesting. Or connecting with customers, friends, family, etc. It's amazing. An artist I'm following on Twitter, Shannon Grissom, pointed me to this article. It made my head spin. I could spend all day reading up on how to "properly" use these resources.

Is that the best way to use my time? I have no idea. I hate to bring up the economy because people are probably so very sick of hearing it, but I think drumming up new business will be a struggle this year. Plus I'm trying to be cost effective in doing it. I can't afford to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on ads, be it print or web, so I'm going to take a shot at all of this social networking stuff. So...shameless plugs:

Follow me on Twitter!

Friend me on Facebook!

or, sign up for my email newsletter on my website!

Sorry, folks. If I don't have business, my dog goes hungry. ;)

Apply, apply, apply

2009-03-02T17:05:00.004-06:00

Ah, the beginning of the year. Preparing, preparing, and more preparing. I've applied to 3 shows this past weekend: Stone Arch Festival of the Arts, Wayzata Art Experience and the Maple Grove Art Fair. I'll be applying to the Powderhorn Art Fair at the end of the week. I should see my schedule start to fall into place by the end of April.

As always, my schedule will be continuously updated on my website!

Side note: I will not be applying to the Rivertown Art Festival nor the Highland Art Fest this year. Both shows have gone downhill in quality and sales the past few years. I am hoping to replace the Rivertown Art Festival with the Wayzata Art Experience. As far as Highland, there is not another art fair I have found at that same time (towards the end of July).

Friday.....

2009-02-27T15:42:00.002-06:00

Nothing spectacular to report today. Just working towards finishing some custom collages and getting some other small things done, like printing cards for my collage cards. Dreading doing my taxes because I know it won't go well. Just a ho-hum day and a very short blog to match.

Try, try again

2009-02-25T22:22:00.003-06:00

I just finished the applications for the Telluride Festival of the Arts and the Vail Arts Festival. After the rejection from Ann Arbor I am very hesitant to be spending money on jury fees to shows that I have very little chance of getting in to, but if I don't try, I'll never know. It's exciting to think about doing something new somewhere different, but on the flip side the idea of that makes the rejections that much harder.

I ordered more of the concentration word game images so I'm hoping to add to the series of new collages that I posted about a week ago. I have decided they will be a limited edition of 50 and will sell for $50 each. I will have them for sale at the first art fair of the season, Arts at the Oval, coming up at the end of March. Visit my website for details!

A day late, but still at it!

2009-02-24T15:48:00.003-06:00

I was out of town last weekend and managed to get a blog in on Friday, but couldn't swing it yesterday. I'm going to keep up with my 3 day a week blogging as I promised myself (one of the few resolutions I've been following through on, actually), so I'll be blogging both today and tomorrow.

Nothing too noteworthy actually, so not much to blog about. While I was out of town, I updated my website schedule to reflect a new store that has my collage cards as well as 2 art fairs that I will be at in the upcoming months.

As postage rates continue to rise, I'm not quite sure where I stand on continuing to send out my snail mail postcard schedule. I know quite a few of my customers look for it, but as my list grows, so does the cost. (That's kind of a "duh" statement, huh?) I'm debating whether I should send out a postcard that invites people to join my email newsletter instead and notifying them of the switch to system. OR, send out a postcard and ask them which they'd rather receive, that way I know my customers will continue to be notified in their preferred method and I save costs in the long run!

Wow, while I'm not sure anyone reads this, it sure does allow me to babble "out loud" and figure out what I'm doing!

Anyone have any ideas for me as far as direct mail goes?

It's a "no"

2009-02-20T17:16:00.002-06:00

I received my rejection letter from the Ann Arbor Art Festival today. As I said in my last blog, I'm not holding out a whole lot of hope for these out of state shows and I'm thinking that perhaps this is fate's way of telling me that perhaps now is not the time to try to expand my reach. Maybe I should work on developing my art more first rather than just tossing it out there. I'm just not sure. It's hard to stay focused when you're disappointed in how things are going. I've done the same art fairs for 6 years now and I would like to change it up a little, but maybe I'm just not ready.

All in all, kind of a downer of a day. Hopefully something good will come up soon.

New things coming up

2009-02-18T19:10:00.002-06:00

Today I received the acceptance to Arts at the Oval at the John Rose Oval. It will take place March 28-29. I'll post the art fair to my website schedule soon.

I'm applying to an art fair in Beverly Hills in May. I applied to the show last year and was rejected so maybe things will come through this year. I'm not 100% happy with my booth photo of my "other" art (I wouldn't bring my Minnesota collages to Beverly Hills) so if I did get rejected again I wouldn't be surprised. I'm going to be applying for quite a few out of state shows this year but don't have much hope of getting in to any of them. I know positive thinking is important, but my location collage work is so much more popular than my other collage work that it's just hard for me to keep my hopes up.

Hoping to continue working on new collages and as I said in a previous blog, I want to get down to Chicago sometime very soon. I'll keep the blog posted!

NEW ART!!

2009-02-15T21:10:00.017-06:00

As I've mentioned in previous blogs, it's been awhile since I've felt very creative and had the desire to create some new art. Today I was doing some printing to keep up on inventory while I have some down time and thought, "I should make something!"

I never have any preconceived notions of what I want the art to look like when I start. The new thing that I'm trying is making a background using traditional techniques: painting, stamping, drawing, etc. Then I scan it in and go from there.

Also as I mentioned in a previous blog, I've been collecting vintage papers and other goodies. I've had the word game papers for quite awhile and didn't know what I was going to do with them (I NEVER know what I'm going to do with stuff when I buy it!). I just love the graphics on them, very 1960's and so I decided to go with a somewhat retro style to the art.

I've always loved square pieces, so these are 8 x 8 square. They'll be printed on a cotton rag texture paper and will be a limited edition of 250.

Right now they don't have titles and probably won't have any until I print some out.

I'd love to hear some feedback if you have any!

A creative day?

2009-02-13T11:45:00.002-06:00

This morning I feel like making stuff! Now here comes the tough part....I have work to do. The work should come first, most definitely, but it's hard to focus on things you should do when there are things you want to do! And I have been feeling so uninspired lately that I really want to act on every creative urge.

The creative urge is to make more simple collages. I've been hoarding vintage papers, labels, photoshop brushes, tons of things in the hopes that I would sit down and make a lot of simple collages. Something that would work for the collage of the day idea. Not something that takes weeks to create, something that takes hours. My problem is this:

That stuff doesn't sell for me.

I feel guilty wanting to spend time making art that is beautiful and special to me when I need to focus on making a living at doing this first. And right now, the location collages are what sell. So while I really want to get my hands dirty in paint and wax and buy every vintage paper I see, for now it all just sits in a drawer waiting.

On the flip side to that, I want to buy a new camera. I need to rediscover the passion of taking photos and my camera has become limiting. It's about 6 years old and as technology has a way of doing, it's becoming obsolete. I still love my camera, but as my friends are buying new cameras and new lenses and have more options available to them for accessories, I feel myself being left behind.

Ok, I'd really like to write more, but it's very difficult typing with a puppy 3 inches from your face hovering over your laptop. :)

Follow up on Monday!

Because....

2009-02-11T23:34:00.002-06:00

I'm inexperienced on this blogging thing and have no idea where to put this tag. So it's here.

I'm on Technorati. I'll let you know when I figure out what that means. :)

What am I doing?

2009-02-11T20:17:00.001-06:00

This question comes up a lot for everyone, I know. You get to that point in your job, career (yes, they ARE two different things), or everyday life that you stop and think, "Ok...change. Now. PLEASE." At least that's where I am.

I love my business. LOVE my business. I love my business so much that doing anything other than work for my business makes me extremely cranky. And that's also where I am. Cranky. Because I'm not working harder, smarter, or whatever enough to make it work as a permanent job. I have a part-time job that I somewhat enjoy, but am beginning to dislike it more and more each day as it takes away from what I love doing. Yes, it's a regular paycheck, and especially in these times I need that, but it's not even remotely doing what I really love: art and design.

So unfortunately today's blog is whining from an unhappy artist; not announcements of new designs, new ideas, or anything else that I could put "new" in front of. But it's where I'm at today, and as I've decided that I need to keep my resolution to blog every three days, it's what I'm writing about.

If anyone has any ideas about directions, possibilities or what have you, or just wants to shoot me some words of wisdom, I'm all for it.

At least there's tomorrow. And tomorrow I have all day to work on my business as it's my day off from my regular paycheck. And that makes me happy. :)

A little at a loss

2009-02-09T20:20:00.003-06:00

As I figured, I wouldn't have topics to blog about forever. It seems I was lucky last week to be able to think of things for 3 nonconsecutive blogs. Nothing too exciting going on around Inkblots right now. I will be sending out an email newsletter soon letting people know about my Facebook and Twitter profiles and inviting everyone who has been kind enough to sign up for my newsletter to follow my blabbing. (If you'd like to sign up for my email newsletter, go to my website!)

I am actively looking for graphic design work (part-time freelance) so if any of you lucky readers know of anyone who's in need of an awesome designer, send them my way! Many kudos will follow and karma will bless you most definitely. :)

This might just work out!

2009-02-06T11:09:00.003-06:00

Ok, I'm positive bragging about my ability to follow through with posting a blog every three days is annoying, but it's a big deal to me since my whole goal this year is to consistently follow through on things that will better my business in the long run. I promise that this won't be a continuous topic of my blog, or maybe it will be until someone comments to shut up already. :)

New things.....

I'm going to work towards getting to Chicago in the beginning of March to FINALLY complete my Chicago collages. Yes, I know, I've been talking about that for a year, but this time I have the time, resources and travel companions in place to make it happen for sure.

Atlanta collage? I have a friend that will be moving back to Atlanta this year and she's invited me down to show me around. She thought it might be an interesting place to do a collage of. I'd love to hear some feedback!

Collage a day. I'm currently tossing around the idea of doing one collage a day and putting it up for sale on a separate blog page. Right now I just don't feel all that creative and it's a bummer. I've seen a lot of 365 blogs (my friend who's moving to Atlanta currently has one that I think is fantastic) and I just like the idea of trying to do something you love every single day to push yourself to be better at your craft and learn new techniques. I'll update my website with a link as well as announce on my Facebook profile and Twitter page should I follow through!

So far, so good

2009-02-04T15:40:00.004-06:00

Day 2 of my attempt at tri-weekly updates! I decided that the only way I would remember to do this, or at least do it with some regularity (whereas before I just did it whenever I thought of it), would be if I set it in my calendar. I put 3 alarms on the event in my iCal so periodically throughout the day my phone (which syncs with my computer thanks to MobileMe) will go off to remind me that I need to blog that day. I don't set a particular time to do it, just several reminders that before I go to sleep that day, I need to write a blog. I now hope that I have something somewhat intelligent/interesting to say 3 times a week. I think THAT'S a taller order than remembering to blog!

The past few days I've worked on marketing smarter, not harder. I have a personal Twitter account; I have a personal Facebook profile. I have a Facebook Fan Page for my business, but not a profile.

Why?

The answer ended up being that I have no good answer. Because Facebook is for my friends, relatives and co-workers to invite me to participate in endless amounts of quizzes and games? Because Twitter is just to let people know that the person in front of me at Starbucks is taking forever?

Not. So. Much.

So....here is the link to my Inkblots Facebook profile.....

and my Facebook Fan Page

and if you look on the left portion of my main blog page, you'll see my recent Twitter updates as well as the ability to follow me on Twitter!

If you got to this blog by Facebook or Twitter, WELCOME!!!! And thank you for taking the time to check out my ramblings. I hope to have more interesting updates as the year progresses. :)

Time for a fresh start!

2009-02-01T13:28:00.002-06:00

Yes, February 1st might seem a little late for a fresh start, but I've been using the month of January to prepare for the fresh start, get a regular schedule in place and NOW it's time to kick it in gear!

I've been really bad about regularly blogging in regards to my business and that ends today. 3 times a week (M, W, F) you will see a new blog about myself and Inkblots. Updates on new work, shows I'm planning to attend or apply for, techniques I'm exploring, etc. Even if I don't have anything particularly interesting to blog about, I've made it my goal to blog about something so that you all can know a little bit more about me and what I'm up to as a collage artist and business owner.

I invite you all to comment with any questions or whatever is on your mind. I love feedback!!

Getting antsy

2008-10-12T00:41:00.002-05:00

As the year begins to wind down, my plans and ideas begin to wind up. I start to look back over the year and see what have been successes and what have been failures and how I can change things for next year because next year is a clean slate. It is especially "bad" (and I put that in quotes because it's not necessarily a bad thing, but bad meaning the ability to ignore has been significantly reduced) recently because I've gotten it into my head that I need to take off the training wheels that is my part time job and start to kick my business into high gear. Not exactly the smartest of decisions since the country seems to be heading into some major financial downturns, but I've never been one for completely rational thought. All I see are the possibilities and they are encouraging.

I have been obsessed with viewing my lack of being an independent (read: free from part time job) artist as being because I haven't put all the pieces of the puzzle together, or I'm missing a key piece, like one of those jaggedy edged pieces that you really can't put it in place until pretty much the entire puzzle is put together.

However, while being rational may not be my strong point, I am still sane, and sanity tells me I need to not walk away from a sure thing until the other thing is a sure thing. (Ya got all that?) Meaning that the part time job stays because it has to. This is not the kind of situation where it's a sink or swim thing. I wouldn't work any harder if I didn't have the other job (because I already work hard enough) and casting off the regular paycheck isn't going to guarantee that the other ones will start flying in.

I had more to go with that but I'm starting to fall asleep. Obsessing is exhausting!

Saint Paul Art Crawl and new work

2008-10-07T22:48:00.006-05:00

Once again it's time for the Saint Paul Art Crawl, fall edition. :)

The best type of art fair, one where I don't have to leave my home, but I do have to clean and prepare. As always, all of my artwork will be available for sale, and I will have some snacks and refreshments as well!

The hours of the Art Crawl are:

Friday October 10, 6-10pm

Saturday October 11, 2-10pm

Sunday October 12, 12-5

Also, I have some new artwork that I just completed but have yet to print. It's my largest piece of art in dimension at approximately 18 x 24. It combines hand drawn elements, found items as well as some of my own photography. I'm really enjoying the new direction I am going with my fine art collages by painting a background and then converting it into a digital format and layering over it with digital elements. I am also adding more original work to my portfolio of collages as well, as I find the more that I mix traditional collage with digital collage the harder it is to reproduce the outcome, especially if I add traditional elements such as stenciling, painting, stamping, etc. after the collage is printed.

This collage is currently untitled. It is based on a quote that I saw on a t-shirt, "Sometimes what the heart sees is invisible to the eye."

uw-madison.....COMPLETE!

2008-09-19T00:33:00.003-05:00

After working on it every day for almost a week, I finally finished the UW-Madison collage. This one gave me a lot of trouble. It was like trying to put together a puzzle and having pieces missing. I had plenty of photos, actually I had WAY MORE than I needed, but it was just getting them all to fit in an eye pleasing manner that was the difficulty. It's hard to explain, but I just know it when it's done. I always tell people that I have no preconceived notion of what it's going to look like, I'll just know it when I see it. And this one just didn't want to appear!!

At 60 layers, this is the most complex collage I've done so far. I'm happy with the result, and I'll be putting it up for purchase on my website soon, and I will be sending out an email notification to those on my email mailing list ASAP!

things happen

2008-09-12T18:38:00.004-05:00

I just wanted to post to say that unfortunately I won't be doing the 3 Day Walk for Breast Cancer next weekend. I completely underestimated the difficulty in raising such a large sum of money and I was so very busy that I couldn't put my all into it. I thought the artwork would be a larger success than it was and with art fairs almost every weekend, I missed all of the training meetings. I also didn't have the time to organize any fundraising events. The event that I did try to organize fell through. I feel horribly over the whole thing and will know in the future to stick to smaller events. I did do the Race for the Cure in the spring with a friend and that was a fantastic event and I plan on doing that again next year.

Thanks to all of you who purchased artwork and who donated on the website. I appreciate your donation greatly, thank you for giving to such a wonderful cause!! All of the money that was raised by the artwork and the 5% that I collected from each of the art fair totals will still be donated to the event. Total amount raised was $335.

I intend to continue to display the original print at all art fairs in the future and shall it ever sell, will give half of the total price, $300, to the Susan G. Koman Foundation.

iphone notes

2008-09-07T22:42:00.005-05:00

Anyone who sees me fairly regularly knows I'm addicted to my iPhone. It's like super glued to my hand. I'm either texting or checking an application like Facebook or I just like to hold it. But I've come to rely on the Notes application more and more. Today I was in Borders and came across a book of photographs called Suburban World. It was the photos of a local photographer who wasn't in the business to take an artistic or even particularly beautiful photographs. He took them to document the world around him, the world outside his door. Which made my mind wander, which made me write this commentary on my art:

It's not about art. It's about documenting the places that make people laugh, think, remember. It's about seeing things I'd never see through the eyes of someone who loves their town or school. Learning the history of a place I've walked past a million times or discovering somewhere I've never been. It's hearing the stories that we attach to a place and don't realize. It's about discovering my world through someone else's eyes and in turn learning more about myself. Tossing away all pretense about what I know about certain places (a dive, a high class place, expensive, cheap) and just learning. Knowing that it's not how the photo is taken that makes it perfect, it's what someone remembers about that place. It's loving to hear what comes next after "I remember when...". Everyone has their story. I just try to capture it.

cleaning up the mind clutter

2008-08-21T15:22:00.002-05:00

My understanding was that business blogs were supposed to be just about business...new products, new shows, explanations of process, etc. You're not supposed to really get into how you feel about your business, right?

Well, I figured maybe if I wrote more about how I feel about my business it would make me feel better. Right now I feel like I'm starting over, when really I'm just beginning. Business has gone very well, so much so that I think it's time for me to really start figuring out what's going right, what's going wrong and how I can make the necessary changes so finally I can see things going down some sort of track, or rather so I can go down the track I want with more velocity rather than chugging along at snail speed.

So, back to business.

On that front, I will be going out to Madison this weekend to get photos of the campus. The masses have spoken, your requests have been many, it's time for me to deliver! A Madison collage it is!!

time to start again

2008-08-17T11:30:00.002-05:00

As you can tell, I haven't blogged since May. Generally the art fair season does this to me. I hit the ground running with the best intentions of doing all these wonderful things, and all that happens is I spend every weekend working and the days in between replenishing what I sell. Doesn't leave a whole lot of time for reflection, not to mention time to take a breath or create new work. As fall rolls in, I find myself starting to realize that I should've organized things better, taken more time to prepare when I had down time, etc. etc.

My hope is to remind myself that the only thing from keeping me from doing better is me, and that eventually I'll be able to have most of my plans actually work out if I work smarter, not harder. I have to take things in smaller bits and pieces, not huge chunks, as I usually tend to do.

As the signature on my iPhone email says, "the art of flying is to throw yourself at the ground and miss."

in the beginning, part two...now what?

2008-05-13T18:02:00.004-05:00

After the paperwork was completed, then I had to actually have things to sell and places to sell them. What do I sell? I like making things by hand. People like greeting cards. I like the cute greeting cards I see with glitter on them. I make things out of boxes. I take pictures. I have a little interest in bookmaking.

So....I threw everything I wanted to do together and came up with a big mess. I had zero focus and just wanted to make anything and everything I could that I thought was cute and that could maybe sell. I did a lot of things that were ridiculously time consuming that I completely undercut myself on when I came up with prices. All in all, I spent a lot of time manufacturing which is fun for maybe the first 10. Then you want to scream something to the effect of "if I ever see another one of these things.....(insert various expletives here)".

Don't get me wrong, I still get compliments to this day on all those handcrafted things I made. It was an incredible experience and I've always loved making things by hand, I still do. I just have a way of making little things into huge projects and you can't ask $300 for a little hanging plaque. You just can't.

So I had a product. I had SEVERAL products. I needed a place to sell them. Because it was April by the time I got started and finished all the paperwork, most art fair deadlines were past. I applied to 2, both of which my mom had done for several years and had a fair amount of success at. I got into both, and then I promptly freaked out.

I needed a display. I needed more stuff. How much stuff? I have no frame of reference. What if my booth looks empty? What if it looks too full? How do I want it to look? What am I going to use for displays? One of the shows is outside, one is inside. I have to be flexible. I have to take a nap.

And it flowed from there. Well, except the flowing was more like a jagged line of rocks and glass, but I'd like to paint a prettier picture. In the art fair process, you have to start off making a lot of mistakes, forgetting a lot of stuff, screwing up, being too hot, too cold and too tired. I'm in my 6th year and I still panic before a show, but it's getting to be teeny panic, and that's mostly because I'm a bit of procrastinator when it comes to preparing. I'm getting better, but I don't think it's something that you can entirely make go away. It's like butterflies before going on stage. I'd like to believe even the most veteran actors still get a little nervous.

Next time.....how did I get started doing collages?

in the beginning, part one

2008-04-16T22:22:00.005-05:00

While still trying to hone this whole blogging thing and make it interesting yet not be totally goofballish, a good question was brought up.

How do I do what I do?

Not how do I create what I create...that's a whole other story, but how do I have a business?

I get questions similar to this at art fairs all the time....how long have I been in business, how many art fairs do I do a year, that kind of thing. I guess it's kind of drilled into me that the artist statement is very important, which doesn't say squat about how to make a business. It usually goes something like, "I have a very important degree in some form of art, I combine some fancy art terms together to create the fantastic amazing thing that is my art."

Magic happens....la la la.....I'm in business selling my art.

Not. Quite.

So I think I'll divide this into a few portions to A) not bore you to tears with a 500 word essay and B) to get a series of blogs going to give me practice blogging and to get you to come back to read more!

It all started in 2001....

After spending 4 years chasing after an Interior Design degree from the U of M and then failing portfolio review (I used too much color....seriously....that's what they told me), I wanted to switch to Graphic Design and 1) missed the transfer date and 2) there was a waiting list to get into the program.

I had taken a couple foundations Graphic Design classes and was severely disappointed. One of them was taught by a grad school student who referred us to our books when we had a software question. Yes, I know I paid $300 for books, but you should still be teaching the class and not letting the books do the teaching. If I wanted that, I would teach myself. (Which I had done a lot of up to that point anyway.) I didn't want to be in school for 8 years, so I went after an associate's degree rather than a bachelor's. I transferred out of the U and went to Globe College, now Globe University. I graduated in June 2001. Then September 2001 happened. And you had a better chance of getting hit by a bus than finding a graphic design job. Not only was the job field saturated with prospective designers, the design firms were laying off more than they were hiring. I was working at tile company as a "design consultant" which meant I helped customers choose the right beige tile for their unbuilt homes. If someone came in looking for something snazzy for their backsplash, I nearly had a heart attack.

Anyhoo....I went on a interview for this great place, Hot Dish Advertising. As a Christmas call back kind of thing, I sent this gift box greeting card. A little hard to explain, but short explanation is I handmade something. A co-worker at the tile place told me that I should really go into business for myself making things. In March of 2002 I filed my DBA papers with the state, and Inkblots was born.

So....step one. After you've pounded your head against every solid surface trying to decide if you want to create a business and finally come to the conclusion that yes, I'm a glutton for punishment (kidding....), your first step is to do homework! There are some awesome websites out there that give great tips and steps for starting a business. While most of them are not geared towards art business, the basics are there and you can pick out the relevant pieces.

Having a State Tax ID number (MN)

Small Business Q & A

Registering a business

The hardest part is to remember that though you are making art, in the eyes of the people that take all of your money (the IRS), it's a business just like any other. You have to treat it like one!

Next time....what did I do when the paperwork was done?

3 Day Artwork

2008-04-15T07:55:00.016-05:00

As I previously posted, I'll be walking in the

Breast Cancer 3 Day in September. I wanted to create a special piece of artwork to not only help me raise money for the walk, but also to bring about awareness of it. Sure there are lots of commercials and ads, but what does the walk really mean? Having never done it before, I could only go by what my friends and other people had told me about it. The result is a piece that focuses on the strength and beauty of women and their ability to pull together with a near unstoppable power. The collage is called "Strength in Numbers".

You can find information about purchase at my website. Simply go to the main page and there is a link at the bottom of the page. If you would like to make a donation without purchase, you can go to my donation page.

a new addition

2008-03-30T15:09:00.007-05:00

I am amazed by the legions of artist bloggers who can write their blogs consistently. I need to hone my business blogging skills! A couple of times a month just doesn't make the grade. I guess it's one of those things like exercise that you have to train yourself to do on a regular basis and schedule it in if necessary. I would probably do well to write it down somewhere so at least I can have the reminder. Things slip out of my brain so easily when there's so much to do!!

And now I have even more to do in addition to a new reason to reach for success in my business! (Success being self-sufficiency from my art without having a part-time job)

Meet Beatrix!

She'll be hanging out during the Saint Paul Art Crawl coming up at the end of April (check my website for details), so if she's good, you might be able to say hi. She's still a puppy so it might be a little overwhelming for her, but we'll play it by ear.

my journey

2008-03-01T20:09:00.002-06:00

I can't believe I haven't written about this yet!! I'm very excited to be taking on something so huge, but my mind must've been elsewhere until now.

In September, I'll be doing the Breast Cancer 3 Day. I'll be walking 60 miles and raising $2200 for breast cancer research. I've had some family members and friends fight the breast cancer battle and luckily they're still here to fight another day. The money doesn't raise itself though, so I need YOUR help!!

Very soon I will be completing a limited edition collage in honor of the strength of women and will be donating 5% of each sale to my walk. I will also be donating 5% of the total sales from each art fair from now until September.

So, a purchase from you is a donation towards ending breast cancer. If you'd like to make a donation directly to the walk, you can do so by visiting my walk page.

Thank you in advance!!!

decidedly too small

2008-03-01T17:42:00.003-06:00

I would like my blog to be accessible to all viewers, so I've decided to put the kibosh on the teeny tiny type. Though adorably cute (in my opinion, anyway), I know it's got to be ticking off someone of my customers, which is not the point.

So here.....in a slightly larger font, and a serif font to boot (I love the sans-serif, but I think I'll keep with serif for now), is the new(ish) blog.

Nothing excitedly new to report, just feverishly getting applications together and meeting deadlines for all the upcoming art fairs, and doing more of that crossing fingers and toes business.

Let me know if you like the font better!

getting close.....

2008-02-27T12:39:00.004-06:00

The art fair season is inching its way nearer! I can't believe it's almost March already. In just 28 short days I'll be...*gasp*....30. But that's neither here nor there.

Some quick website notes.....

I've learned that people with AOL have been having a hard time viewing my website. This is an AOL issue and unfortunately I can't think of a way around it. If you view it in Internet Explorer (or Safari on a Mac) and not AOL, hopefully you shouldn't have a problem.

You will need Flash to view it! Because of the slideshow that I've put up on the site, you will need to have a new version of Flash Player installed. It's free....no worries!

Down to business!

I've ordered the Nordeast Nocturne posters, so if you have been following my completely erratic blog posting, you're the first to know! I should receiving them in about a week and a half, just in time for the Arts at the Oval show that's listed on my schedule page. YAY!

For all of you who haven't signed up for my email newsletter and already received the news, I'm very sad to announce the closing of Studio 10 in Har Mar Mall. They are unsure whether they will be closing in April or May, but I will post more information as I find out. They have been wonderful to me and I'm very sad to lose one of my best retailers.

With warmer weather (crossing my fingers AND toe for that!!) comes my ability to get out and get some photos! As I said earlier in the year, I'll be working on a new Nightlife Minneapolis piece and also a Riverfront Minneapolis piece. I'm going to try to get up to Duluth as well to FINALLY get that piece started!

Back to work!

adventures in googling

2008-02-06T12:45:00.001-06:00

At work a woman who created a new business asked me what makes your site show up in searches. The truth was I used to know but it slipped my mind, so I did a quick Google search. The answer was metadata tags. Which made me think, well, I don't have metadata tags on my site. That may be why when you do a search for inkblots you get nada.

Upon further inspection, I learned that metadata tags are now almost irrelevant and it's titles that get you up there on the search.

So....I tried a few things.

Google my name, Giesla Hoelscher, and there I am, all over the place. Pretty neat.

Google Inkblots and I'm 7 pages in.

Google inkblots art, and there I am, right at the top! Weird. Same thing with inkblots collage and inkblots digital.

So here I was thinking that people couldn't find me unless they knew how to spell my name (not an easy task), but the truth is, there are just too many Inkblots titled website that it buries mine 7 pages deep. If those people that couldn't remember my website address had typed inkblots art, I would've popped up right away! Now to just get people to remember that.....ah, yet another marketing task.

on the horizon

2008-01-23T20:39:00.000-06:00

I'm not very good at coming up with titles for these things....you'd think something creative would just pop in, but as the day goes by, I'd rather take a nap than be creative!

So what this title refers to is all the new things that have either already happened or are in the works!

I just got my copy of the latest issue of The Knot Minnesota, a local bridal magazine, that I have an advertisement for my custom work in. After all this time not doing much graphic design, I'm very proud of how professional it looks! Thanks a ton to Judy Bialka for allowing me to use the collage I did for her to give to Dwayne and Joyce Archuleta as a wedding gift in the ad. It's truly one of the best examples of what a wedding collage can be and I hope it brings me more custom business! I truly love doing the custom work, each piece is so different and a complete surprise when it's done!

I'm currently working on completing an order of collage cards for Prairie Stone Pharmacy, a part of Lunds in Northeast in Minneapolis. They are interested in possibly carrying a riverfront collage should I ever do one. I have had several requests over the past couple of years, so I think it's time to do it. Of course -4 degrees is no temperature to go out to take pictures, so it might be a couple of months before it gets done, but it gives me time to gather together a list of what I want to photograph.

I also have plans to start work on my second night Minneapolis collage soon as well. I already have several pictures taken, but the neon on Bunkers was out last time it was decent weather before Christmas (40 degrees!!) and so I'm waiting for that to get fixed!

Last but not least, I'm considering applying for Art in the Market, an art fair that is happening every 2nd Saturday at the Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis. I'm not 100% sure just yet, but I will make my decision soon! Check out my schedule page on my website to find out if I get juried in.

whew!

2008-01-12T20:22:00.000-06:00

FINALLY! the website is finished. 11 days after my goal. I guess it could have been worse. When you go to it you can see it's dramatically differently and finally easy for me to update. No more waiting weeks for me to update the site with new pieces! When it's done, it goes up on the site. Very exciting. And I FINALLY (lots of finallys....finallies? here) added my freelance graphic design work and my photography. After a year of a half finished website, I now have something that works great!

Now to tackle the rest of my list....

the hardest thing

2007-12-31T00:05:00.001-06:00

Making a website is probably one of the hardest things about having a business. And I'm too much of a control freak to let someone else do it for me. So I struggle with the coding because I'm also too much of a designer to want something easy to create. Sigh.....

I made a self-imposed deadline of January 1st to finish my website. That is pretty much not going to happen with me working both New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. (and Wednesday and Thursday of that week as well....double sigh....)

Just know that the site should be pretty good when it's done!

the downward slide

2007-12-25T20:30:00.000-06:00

Almost the end of the holidays. Now comes the time where every little penny gets shoved away in the hopes of continuing to make ends meet while sales slow to almost a complete halt.

Now also comes the time where ideas become bigger than life. The wonder of a fresh new year, to start with a (almost) clean slate. This year I will become more organized. This year I will spend more time on my art. THIS YEAR WILL BE DIFFERENT. And will it be? Maybe. The end of the year always makes me reflect on what I had planned on doing but didn't do, instead of what I did.

So what did I do?

•I completed 4 new collages.

•I was successful in entering a few new retail locations.

•I started this blog!

•I have a great new studio space...my biggest accomplishment yet.

I'm sure there's more, but those are the ones on the top of my head.

I wish everyone prosperity and success in the new year!!

i'm at work....shhhh......

2007-12-03T13:56:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I couldn't help it. I had to check my blog while having some downtime at work. It reminds me that there's more than just this job and keeps me positive that someday I won't have to sneak in my blog writing, I can do it whenever I want while working at home.

I can't help but to think about all the things I would love to be doing....I have orders to fill, deliveries to make, SO MUCH TO DO, but no....I'm sitting here waiting for my next appointment to show up. I've cleverly hidden myself in the back amongst the back stock.

welcome to my attempt

2007-11-30T19:24:00.000-06:00

After spending I'm not sure how many hours doing research and looking at I don't know how many blogs by other artists, I found that the art world is blogging without me. So I stepped out of MySpace and decided to take a shot at blogging to an audience that isn't comprised of 15 year olds taking photos of themselves in the mirror or with Photo Booth on their Mac. Besides, you want to hear about my art, you don't want to see the results to the 15,000 dumb quizzes I've taken, like what Egyptian God I am and what planet I'm from (Mars, thanks for asking). Okay, so I took those quizzes on my personal profile and not my business profile, but still....this is better.

Here I hope to post updates on what I'm working on and just my general feelings about my life as an artist and trying to make a living as such. I'll try not to do a great deal of whining...but I can't promise anything. From what I read, there are ranting blogs, inspirational blogs and just kind of whatever blogs so I think an occasional whiner won't make people run for cover (hopefully).

I'm doing this at an art fair, which 1) isn't conducive to good sales, I know, but 2) gives me something to do because the show in general hasn't been conducive to good sales and this way I'm not falling asleep. Besides, this is one of the only shows that has wi-fi, so it's not like I'm going to be doing this all the time. (I prefer to whine in the comfort of my own home) Plus I do put the computer down to help people and do look up to acknowledge those that wander in. I might be bored but I'm not rude.

So! Come along on the adventure of me and my blog! (Or is it my blog and I......)