It's Been A While...
Oh hi! It’s been a while, hasn’t it?
The last few months have been busy with lots of personal things, and my mental energy has been on the low end. I felt guilty leaving this (the blog and email list) behind, but it was necessary.
But I’m slowly getting back into the swing of things, and ready to get back to it.
My most recent experiment is shown above. I fell in love with these pigment salts from Boulder Colors and bought them THE MINUTE I COULD. I finally found time to play with them over the weekend. They are easy and fun to use - throw some water down, sprinkle a bit of the salt, and boom - magic! What I love about them is their unpredictability. The not-knowing-how-it-will-end-up-ness is what drives my inspiration, for sure.
Three of these hearts from my Peek Into Love collection have already sold, but view the last nine available here - they’re only $20 (including shipping) and will ship same day or next day!
This was just the start of my experimenting with this, so be sure to follow along on my socials for all the play!
Click the image to see a flip through of my first every sketchbook in a gallery!
Last November, the Arts Council of Princeton announced their first ever Sketchbook Club where people can get a small sketchbook, fill it with whatever their hearts desire, and then drop it off for it to live at the gallery.
I was lucky enough to be one of the first 100 people to grab one, and I’ll be honest - I wasn’t sure I’d finish it. Finishing sketchbooks was never a “thing” for me as I just never had the motivation to do it. This was was small - just 20 pages - so I wanted to give it a shot.
I knew that if I took it too seriously, I’d get overwhelmed (no one is surprised), but I just got to play, and it was FUN! I tried things I had never tried before, and made some really cool things that helped me get back into my art game. I’m super grateful for that.
I handed in the book last week, and this weekend, 2.11.23, there will be an official gallery opening of all the sketchbooks that were returned! I’m excited to find my book, and looking forward to seeing everyone else’s books!
I’ve really been listening - trying to listen - to what my brain is telling me when it comes to what I want to make this year. Last year I had this BIG goal to become a full time artist by the time I turned 40 (which was last November). As the days ticked by, I knew it wasn’t going to happen.
I thought I’d be bummed, but I’m okay with it actually. I still have a lot of work to do to make art a living, and this year I’m working on that. If it means I don’t sell as much work, that’s okay! Lots of research will be happening this year - I’ll be looking into licensing, digital products, creating an e-book for beginner artists, and streamlining finances so that taxes don’t seem as scary
So I guess all this to say, I’m planning on 2023 to be a year of learning and growth about me, my style, and my art, and writing about it all here - so that maybe in 10 years I’ll read back on this and see how much I accomplished to be the person I was meant to be!