Stick to It

a paper mache bowl and bead pass the moisture test

I am almost out of instruction stickers. In my micro business, before shipping, I often slap little info stickers onto my pieces. Some to indicate materials used, some to help people find me, and some to recommend how to use (or not use) my work. 

Hidden Talents: A la Carte

 As an artist, commissioned work has served as both a learning opportunity and a proving ground. In my business, where I offer both original creations envisioned by me and custom commissioned pieces, I sometimes provide "off the menu" options.

Unplanned Obsolescence

 After years of [somewhat] adequate service, I recently bid farewell to a key member of my team here in this studio. I was not prepared to part ways. I spent several months and dollars seeking a resolution. But the matter simply could not be resolved favorably. 

Ways and Means

No one asked, but I feel this is a valid (and necessary) PSA. I'm an artist. I sell my work online and locally. I also create content around my work. I take pictures and videos, I write and edit all of these forms of content myself.

Protecting the Process

As a creative, a lot of my projects go through the "ca ca" stage (not my word- a classmate once used that to describe my project back in art school). I'm at peace with that, especially on those occasions where the finished work turns out better than I even planned. 

Perfection vs. Balance

Here it is Thursday night, and I'm trying to get back on track after missing a few of my projected content items. I think I mentioned it here, but definitely on Patreon. 

Art Herstory

*This is an entry that was originally written on 11/16/2017 but was forgotten in drafts! Happily, with a few minor tweaks and updates, it still applies.

I've been told from time to time, throughout my life, how fortunate I am to have been aware of my passion from an early age. People seemed to feel that I had my destiny all sewn up neatly from the start. While I don't take my lifelong passion for granted, it's not that black and white.

The gray area has been the time and energy [well] spent experimenting my entire life with all the many different iterations of being an artist, fine-tuning my direction. When I was a kid, there was a wide, exciting world of drawing, painting, sculpting, building, and more that stretched out in front of me, waiting for me to choose. I was largely self-taught, so I went through various self-guided phases. One year, all I seemed to do was draw clowns and princesses in poofy dresses. 

Connections

I've recently mentioned here and across other social media that I'm finally getting the ball rolling with both my dormant YouTube channel and Patreon feed.

 

I'm thrilled to be flexing some creative muscles that I wasn't sure I was ready to use. But in the process of creating new content in new ways, I'm realizing that it's not a far cry from what I've already been doing, and actually feeding my inspiration to create even more. It reminds me of a quote attributed to Pablo Picasso: "inspiration exists, but it has to find you working", meaning, you don't gain inspiration being idle, you start, and then the ideas start flowing. Crazy, right? 

Walls of Wisdom

If you hit a wall, stop. Common sense, right? 

More than good advice for everyday life, this nugget of wisdom applies to things in my studio, too.

Years ago as I attempted to develop discipline and greater stamina in my work, this approach emerged. I would be attempting to complete a project within a set time frame, but would often hit a stalemate before I could finish. I was surrounded by pieces that had been started and completely abandoned. Even work that had begun highly charged with inspiration, motivation, and a feeling of urgency to see it done would sometimes come to a crossroads of not knowing "what next?".

Thankfully, for the sake of my sanity, I began what I refer to in my mind as "flitting". 

Picasso reportedly once said 

"inspiration exists, but it has to find you working". 

That concept resonates with me to my very depths, and has proven true for me over and over. When I hit a wall with one project or piece, I simply "flit" around my studio, spending time on others until a solution, answer, lightning bolt, whatever, comes to me about the one that has stalled out. I get to continue the joy of creation, without banging my head against said wall. And I get to still feel productive. It is the main reason that on any given day, I could walk into my studio and fiddle with one or several of ten or more works-in-progress and get creative satisfaction. One gets some paint, one gets details sculpted, one gets photographed, one gets finished and put away till it's sold (and so on and so forth).

Nothing forced creatively ever really works out well (for me, at least). So, for years now, it has been common procedure in my studio to just STOP. And fix or focus on something else entirely. Just let it go. It works like a charm! And I'm getting better at it all the time.

How do you/would you apply this approach?

Passionate Harmony

The other day as I was prepping veggies for a pretty little salad, an image came to mind. It was inspired as I thought of how my passions often sort of overlap into and feed each other. As some might be well aware, if you ask any type of artist or creative person, they will likely tell you that they have other interests that may exist in harmony with their creative work. And actually, isn't that true of everyone, not just artists? One might be able to quickly discern from my blog, website, and social accounts that I'm an artist, and painting, sculpting, creating is pretty important to me. But some of my other passions include growing, prepping, [and eating] fresh, organic
food. building things and organizing, and snapping pics. I also love physical activity, and staying fit. And all these things seem to prove pretty useful to each other on a regular basis. I like to think that that's not accidental, and that we each have a toolbox of things we like or do well. And often the seemingly unrelated tools are used together for unique or special results. What are your passions and tools?

Who is Handmade

The biggest shopping season of the year is upon us, and many of us are preparing to swarm the big box retailers to gather all kinds of deeply discounted [mass produced] items. Meanwhile a niche of the global community is toiling away, creating things that can't be found in those stores. Makers in places near and far are designing, painting, carving, stitching, weaving, and building magical things, including a revival of small business values, such as attention to detail, customer service, ownership. But who is handmade, and why should you buy from them?

While I can't speak for every other creative person hoping to win your favor and your business, I can clarify in short, from my years in making and selling my art, what I do, why it has value, and why you should patronize makers and small business in general.

In fact, I'll just run down a quick list of what it takes for me to present something I make for you to add to your collection. I hope this list, in some ways, is a nod to what many creative professionals do, but I don't flatter myself to think I know their business like I do mine. Anyway, here's the quick rundown. In my [one woman] company, from the point of idea, to arrival at your door:

1. Concept/design: including sketches, measurements, various details.
2. Research unknown aspects needed for the piece.
3. Acquisition of supplies.
4. Trial and error, which happens even with an established, repeatedly created design.
5. Completion of the piece.
6. Pricing (including research) the new item.
7. Photographing, photo editing, copywriting, for the new item.
8. Shop/website administration
9. Marketing and  promotion to help you find the item.
10. Package design/packing/shipping.
11. Customer service.
12. Bookkeeping.

I'm sure I've left steps out, and they vary from one project/piece to another. Also, this list does not factor in the costs (such as advertising, overhead, supplies) to create original work and offer it to the public. It's a lot, and it takes organization, hard work, and dedication. When you invest in handmade/creative services/small business, you contribute to economic independence over big business, self sufficience over corporate control, and old fashioned ingenuity, resourcefulness, and creativity over mass-distributed indifference. I don't mean to turn a shopping choice into a political statement, lol, but the statement "we vote with our wallets" does have a ring of truth to it. What's more important for me to convey is the care and attention that goes into something you buy handmade. And choosing even one of the gifts you give from a small business, instead of one of millions off a conveyor belt this holiday season speaks volumes.

If you've read this far into my little crusade for "the little guy", thank you! And if you've patronized a small/creative business, thank you again! A very handmade holiday to you.