1/24 Get Movin'

Spent a lot of time in the studio working on orders this weekend and finished these "Tiger and Honey Bear" themed pieces. Today is Pilates and supply day so almost no time in the studio but I am going to try and push myself to do my Hour Swap. It's going to be a tight squeeze.
Then I have another box order in the queue and then...time to get serious. I have the UNDERGROUND show to prepare for and won't be able to do much but get ready for that- all extraneous projects will have to wait until after Feb 12. There will be -if all accounts are true- a LOT of people at this show and the more pieces I have prepared for it the greater my chance of selling and I need to sell bad. Going to be putting some major mileage on my studio...consider me Miss Hermit until this show is over.
And if you know any artist you know this is the equivalent of hanging a sign on your hotel room doorknob that says DO NOT DISTURB. :)
It's go time and I feel the fire under me! Everyone have a great Monday!

Nothing from Nothing

11/19/11 HOUR SWAP PROJECT
"Ripple Effect"
7" x 7" acrylic on wood panel
Winning Bid: $10
My Pilates teacher has a little saying she likes to throw out there while we're struggling to not die on the floormats in a half crunch we've been holding for a full minute...she says "Nothing from nothing equals nothing! Something from something equals something!" Which of course means- your effort will provide gains and she is right- not only has my effort in Pilates already provided me with gains (or losses I should say, bye bye 3 lbs!) but it is a good thing to remember when you're working on other parts of your life. Put in the effort! Things aren't just going to magically happen by themselves. So when sales were NOT coming through my door via ETSY I figured I had better put some effort in and use the ol noggin'...that was the impetus for my other blog. 2 Blogs is not so easy to keep up with- especially when you're trying to keep your content varied. And then add on to it that one blog requires you to work for it, work hard so that you not only gain readers but buyers! But something from something equals something and I'm in it to win it.
I was feeling silly yesterday and have been enjoying watching Sanford and Son on Antennae TV (33.2 here in DFW) so yesterdays HOUR SWAP was..."Fred G. Sanford" and he sold at a bid of $10! A steal! I painted him not only because he is funny but like me- a little entrepreneur doing what he had to do to make it. In his case- collect junk. In my case hustle artwork.
I updated my website with more about the project and hope to see this thing grow- at least get a little handful of pieces into the hands of those who would like to collect art but can't afford to- not at gallery prices anyway.
Today I have orders to work on (YAY! WORK!) and do you actually think I got my Christmas tree taken down and anything cleaned yesterday?
Big Fat No.
Nothing from nothing equals nothing after all...or a bunch of dirty dishes, hairballs and a dirty house.
Wah.

Mid Week Mess

This was created for yesterdays HOUR SWAP project, if you're keeping up with that you know a lucky person is getting a painting that took me ONE HOUR to create in exchange for one hour of their hourly wage. That one went for $9! Follow my other blog The Art Of Poverty "Experiments in Unemployment" if you're interested in getting an art piece for insane prices....like $9! Or if you're interested to see how crazy it is trying to live off your own wit, skill and creativity. It's like Survivor but I have yet to succumb to eating grub worms or killing my chickens!
I looked around my place yesterday and noticed....wow, this place is a mess. For all intent and purpose it looks like Christmas is still going strong in my living room. EVERYTHING holiday is still up down to the cheery wreath on my front door-which tells the whole world you're slackin' or still waiting on a late delivery from Santa. I would be the former.
I promised my Mom I'd lunch with her today and then I have band practice this evening so my studio is not gonna get much action today but if I can I will be disassembling anything holly and jolly and starting to put my cave back into place.
Somehow Im going to try to squeeze an Hour Swap project in but it's gonna be tight. Hope everyone is enjoying hump day as much as me! WHEEEEE!

Monday Motivation

In light of me doing a hardcore grocery run on my bike yesterday (in the mist and cold) and my body telling me to CHILL- I'm skipping Pilates class today. I know, I know.....shameful. I suppose at the last minute I may still jump on the bus but doubtful. Theres a big parade downtown and the buses will be running wonky. Yes, I can make up excuses till the cows come home :)
BUT-I will be doing a neighborhood run and possibly a bike ride to celebrate the 60 degrees we're climbing up to today! WOOHOO!
Yesterday I started a new blog called "Experiments in Unemployment" here http://theartofpoverty.blogspot.com and it is pretty much self explanatory. Check it out if you wanna see me try to stave off impending doom! Oh no!
I also baked my first gluten free loaf of bread yesterday and must say- pretty tasty! Not sure that I have gluten problems but am experimenting with various known problem makers and trying to cut stuff out of my diet to see if I can't find the culprit of my ailments.
There is really too much to do to even wrap my brain around right now so I leave you with a photo of my delicious loaf of bread!

Sunday Slow Down

It's been a week of making, doing, meetings, meetups and now a little Sunday slow down before it starts all over again.

I feel like I have a lot of little pots on the stove and I'm hoping one of them will offer up a tasty stew to feed me.
Sales are slow. But I have decided not to stress or worry over it, merely keep creating and really looking at each new opportunity that presents itself to me as a potential rung on the ladder to something else.
Worked on some mock up "invitations" for one of those potential opportunities and was pleased with how far I've taken my skills as an artisan. I still have some terribly bad photos of the first stuff I posted on Etsy back in 2007. I really don't know how anything sold with those horrible photos!
I was featured in a gorgeous treasury yesterday so that is always a little pick-me-up. Check out The Vintage Gangs treasury GREEN TEA. As with all treasury makers-I will be putting Vintage Gang into a treasury too and also a little blog spotlight this week.

Heres the poster design for THE SHAPES reunion show I did. Looking forward to this and also knowing I need a lot of practice to get my fingers and voice back into shapes for this- no pun intended.
Speaking of shaping up- I lost 3 lbs since I took on the Pilates + Yoga + Running + Biking! I can feel my body getting stronger and I have more energy! It's important for artists who are sedentary by nature to be active. Take time away from your easels and work tables and get outside and get your heart pumping!
It looks like a wash today with rain steady in the forecast. Bread baking day and more studio time for me.
Everyone have a relaxing Sunday!

Hot Cocoa and Hot Glue

Hot Cocoa and Hot Glue was a great way to ring in December! Had tons of fun with the ladies and had lots of yummy treats to indulge in while we worked. My friend Lydia's husband Kevin made a DECADENT Mac N Cheese that blew us all away. It was a great pairing with some wine and brie. I threw some Abuelita Mexican Hot Chocolate in the crock pot and we really had a cozy time!

I had stocked up on snowflake stickies, fuzzy felt, ribbon, sequins, printed paper and cardstock and we all got busy crafting paper ornament balls, cards and other little undetermined but colorful creations. Lots of laughs around the table and everyone left smiling at the end of the night. Many thanks to my fun gal pals Rose, Lydia and Tempest for a fun and festive evening! Thanks to Kevin for that smashing Mac N Cheese (which I will be polishing off today!) and Danny for running to the store for marshmallows!
And I must thanks my cats for being on their best behaviour and not leaping into our sequins and glue!
Well, yesterdays fun are todays dirty dishes. Time to straighten the hive, I believe I have a special guest coming over today. An interview with a local paper! More on that when it actually happens, don't count your chickens and all that jazz.
Have a great day everyone!

Freshen it Up Friday

It's Friday and it looks like rain in the forecast so I've decided to spend a good chunk of the morning CLEANING and freshening up the place. My studio has gotten a little on the messy side as you can see from the photo. By the by... I put gridwall up around my table to kind of "lock" myself in away from my cats who like to come a'bothering when they see me not giving them my every minutes attention. It sort of works, sometimes and of course my guy has taken to calling me Louie DePalma (the show taxi, Danny Devito sits in a little dispatch cage) which is hilarious!
Yesterday found me working on some Christmas cards and a Mondrian record and researching more marketing advice. One sale a week is not going to keep a roof over my head so I need to ramp things up, look for some local consignment places and hit a different audience. Should be getting some nice promotional materials I ordered next week.

The holidays are coming up and it's nice to be home and in the moment to enjoy them. Am going to work on some Christmas card sets this afternoon and hopefully discover some magic marketing venue online that won't require a big advertising fee. Being your own boss is the hardest work you can do. Poor but happy right now and sure things will start looking up in time.
The Winter Solstice treasury had three sales last time I checked. That is pretty cool, I am glad I was able to promote some other peoples shops and get them some business. Support handmade! If you've not seen my latest stuff go here:
TIGER BEE and if you want to get 20% off your next purchase sign up for my mailing list here:
http://www.electriclollipop.com
Happy Friday everyone!

Hump Day

Happy Wednesday everyone! Yesterday found me busy in the studio working on vinyl, finished this Mondrian record and sold it not long after posting! I really needed that sale to perk me up, I was having one of those bouts of the blahs I couldn't seem to shake. Big thanks to my official Oak Cliff collector Kevin who bought the record. :-)
I also finished a small record mirror that looks suprisingly well on my studio wall. Hmm, will have to make one for my own keeps.

Did a lot of experimenting with materials yesterday and also different spots to photograph indoors. Trying to ramp up my photo quality. I've decided to make a small "staging" area where I can photograph some of the pieces on the wall. Will take some time to get it right but should make for some lovely photos.
Working on another Mondrian piece today and visiting the post office to drop a Beatles record off. Feeling blessed.
Theres a little rainy cloud icon on my weather bug for tomorrow...hmm, good painting weather.
Jump over the hump and make it good!

The Shape of Things To Come

Right now our album is being made into little round cd shapes and in 2 weeks we'll have em in our hot little hands! This is just an 11 song debut, a history of all the songs we've written together with our old drummer Chuck Spurlock who is no longer in the band. Putting out this album has taken it's toll to be sure but I think we're ready to move forward up the mountain with our new drummer Guyton and get this record heard. We pressed a small 500 run so if anyones interested in getting this album let me know, we havent even discussed how much we're charging but it won't be expensive.
We had our first practice in 9 months yesterday and it wasn't as catastrophic as I thought it would be. However I did learn two things, one...my fingers ain't what they used to be and two...my guitar needs to go to the hospital finally. Alignment, intonation, the whole 9 yards....poor baby. My gigging amp is blown as well so being in a band ain't cheap! ;-(
Aside from getting this album out I'm juggling the June ART&COFEE show coming up as well as Gingerama in the same weekend. It's a good thing I have vacation next week, I think Im taking 2 solid days to work on record art before pushing it all aside for some R&R. Ok maybe 3 days...I know myself too well.
Remind me to post my hiking adventure here...let's just say it was not my intention to try and kill my boyfriend and there is a magical princess on a dashing steed who makes an appearance as well! Interested in The Shapes? We're linked in the sidebar of my blog!

ReadyMade

I was a bad craftista and forgot to hip you to ReadyMade Magazine being at the DMA last night for crafty fun! But in case you didn't go and make a lamp with your own two hands you can still catch ReadyMade tonight as they'll be speaking at the museum about DIY culture and materials. Sounds right up my alley, I've been an avid reader of the magazine for a couple years now. And someday when I get some space I can actually try and make some of the fabulous projects that lie within it's pages. I remember a bike rack project that seemed doable.



A Conversation with Creators of ReadyMade Magazine: DIY Culture and Materials

When: Friday, Sept. 19, 9 p.m.

Where: Dallas Museum of Art (DMA), 1717 North Harwood Street, Dallas

Cost: $5 - $10

Join the creators and editors of ReadyMade Magazine as they discuss the creative reuse of materials from a do-it-yourself design perspective. This event is included in general admission to the Late Night at the Dallas Museum of Art. For more information call 214-922-1826 or visit DallasMuseumofArt.org.

Information from the venue.