It's Been Awhile

It's been quite awhile since I thought about this blog. 

Last week I passed one year since I lost my job.  I lost my job in a traumatic way and it haunted me for a long time.  I'm one of those people who doesn't get over things easily, and difficult events keep coming up in my memory and my dreams for weeks, months, years even.  So, much of this past year was dealing emotionally with something I could not change yet could not stop rehashing.  Kind of self-torture, really, in spite of wanting desperately to let it go.  Finally, I am able to go many days without thinking of it.  Quite a relief.  I have moved on.

I like writing, so I thought blogging would come very naturally to me.  I've kept a personal journal since I was 13, though in recent years I haven't written in it very often.  I thought a blog would be an online journal, a continuation of what I have always done.  But it turned out differently. 

For one thing, I'm a pretty private person.  I don't share my thoughts and feelings with just anyone.  I'm quiet and introspective.  An introvert.  I found I wasn't comfortable with putting my inner self online for any visitor to see. 

And the purpose of this blog was meant to be part of my new art business, to reach out to people who would be interested in following an artist developing a career.  So there was always pressure to make every post interesting enough to be worth reading, and following.  I found that pressure a bit paralyzing.  I had trouble finding the confidence that anyone would want to read about my efforts to make my dreams a reality.  Finding interesting things to say is more intimidating than it should be.

Time is another big factor.  I just don't have much time to spare.  Blog posts need photos, text, good layout, etc.  I'm very busy all the time.  I have responsibility for all of the household chores, cooking, shopping, errands, finances, four pets, and whatever else comes up.  Things come up all the time.  I also have my artwork to keep working on whenever I can.  And I usually have a side project, like a new dance dress for my daughter.  I'm currently embroidering beads onto a new Latin dress, spending a few hours every evening for weeks now.  I love doing it in spite of the time it takes.

So blogging was not easy for me, and I don't know if it ever will be something I can do frequently.  Maybe the day will come when I know what I want from this experience. 

My art business has grown, but it has not been a very successful year for me as far as sales.  I'm still looking for what works for me as an artist and provides a decent income.  The last year has been a time of exploration and effort.  Some wonderful moments and some disappointments.  I'm beginning to believe that I must focus on my strengths and on what inspires me creatively.  I think I've been too scattered, too focused on finding the key to success that others have found.

So I'm just checking in here today, and perhaps I'll write again on and off.  Not as an effort to sell something.  Only because I like to write and have something I want to say.

Working Artist Update

My blog has been on hiatus for the last two months. I didn't plan to stop writing posts...but in dealing with roller coaster emotions after losing my job, and the holidays starting, it went on the back burner.  I did question if blogging was a good way to spend any of my time at this point, and I suppose that's still debatable.  But I do enjoy it so I would like to resume writing as I am able.

I hope everyone had a good holiday season!  I enjoyed them with my family and appreciated the time to relax.  My etsy shop had a few sales and I ended the year with what I felt was a good first six months of growth.  

I'm spending time working on my shop and on new art for my shop.  In my previous post I showed photos of the wood bowls and dishes I planned to paint.  Here they are again:

 

All have been painted, and four are listed in my shop as I finish the fifth, plus a few more I have going.  

 

I enjoy finding and painting these great bowls and dishes.  

I've also painted half a dozen pendants so far.  Wearable art is a fun option.

I'll be doing more designs for the pendants too.  I also just started on the first of what I plan to be a series of 11 x 14 inch paintings, of a Japanese garden.  I'll take photos as I go and share them here soon.  

I'm working a lot on my shop's appearance, my listings, and learning about how to help people find my shop.  I love having my little art business, and I love being a "working artist"!  I wish there were more hours in the day for all I'd like to accomplish!

Thanks for stopping by my blog.           

On With the Art

Hi all,
After another long break, I'm back with some new things to show you.  

Just to let you know why I've been quiet lately, I was having a lot of stress at my day job for several months.  It had increased recently and led to some anxiety attacks, insomnia, and a fibromyalgia flare up.  My work troubles finally culminated in being let go without warning last week. After over 3 years doing my best for my employer, it was quite a shock, though I knew I needed to move on and had just started looking for another job.  

So I've filed for unemployment benefits and started a job search, but after getting over the initial upset, I'm feeling like I've been let out of prison.  Financially it's not a good thing, but emotionally it feels heavenly.  I'm taking my dogs for walks again.  Sitting down to eat breakfast.  Catching up on some of the things I haven't had time for. Yes, please, more of this ^^.

And so, on with the Art!  I hope to have more time to develop the ideas and work on the projects that have been sitting on the back burner for so long. 

I finished four of the St. Nicholas candle holders I was working on in my last blog post. These two sold immediately to an old friend:

and these two are still listed in my shop, looking for a good home :)

I've started on a new idea this week.  I collected a few old wooden bowls & dishes at a thrift store recently.  After some TLC as needed for each, I will paint the inside surface and varnish it.  Here is my first collection, with one I've started working on: 

They can be used for interesting decor on a shelf, table, or dresser, and can be useful for holding jewelry, change, keys, or whatever.  Some might be fun to hang on a wall as art. I like finding a way to reclaim and recycle an unwanted used thing and make it pretty and new again.  They are all so different and interesting to me!

I hope to get back to writing blog posts more often again.    Best wishes to all.