******I HEART NOVEMBER SALE******
there are a few things i have decided to begin doing each morning in order to take action in manifesting my own destiny.
wayne writes on the subject of positive thinking and believing and creating your own destiny. some think its fruit loopy. and upon reading it i wonder myself sometimes. he can be very fluffy.
but here is the best part.
deepak chopra writes on the science of it. there is no fruit loopiness there. its pure quantum physics and the field of potentiality. most average people don't read books about quantum physics so they don't have any idea that it is actually scientifically possible to create your reality.
wow ive just attempted to sum up one of the most recent and advanced degrees in science that i dont even fully understand into 3 short paragraphs. thats pretty funny.
anyway my point is...
there is a science to positive thinking and on some levels of science they have been able to prove it works.
and back to my original statement.
the most important one : meditation and visualization.
you have heard the saying " seeing is believing" well (the law of attraction) ( the power of now) the (field of potentiality) or what ever you want to call it : works opposite of that.
the quote SHOULD be "believing is seeing"
ive decided to take a minimum of 10 minutes each morning to sit quietly and clearly visualize where im going in my life. i try hard to make it as accurate as possible and as vivid as possible. sometimes we are not very good at this as adults. its easier for children to imagine. but i think with practice it will come easier.
soooo what made me decide to do this? ive been reading and listening to these books and sciences for years. but it was actually another etsy seller that sparked the inspiration for me. she tells her story in a more down to earth way than im trying to explain right now. but she uses a quote in her story " what the bleep do we know" most readers wont catch on to this. but its the name of a documentry type film about quantum physics.
anyway for a great inspirational story about doing what you really love in life and getting everything you want read this story. it was posted on etsy's blog "the stork"
whoever thought there was so much science in creativity?
So this is my first post via iPhone. I wanted to try it out. It's very cool I can hit festivals and shops and all sorts of things and blog about what is inspiring me at that moment.
Peace and chicken grease as a good friend of mine george would say.
so i just read a HOW TO blog article with suggestions from a plethora of successful bloggers about how to write an interesting blog and increase traffic. it was very informative actually. we all know that im not the most standard blogger. im inconsistent, there is a severe lack of capitalization, punctuation, proper spelling and grammar in my posts. i don't know. i suppose i like my posts to be conversational and casual.
so one of the tips that was given in the article was "mention willie nelson and texas" soooooooo
so i in a previous post that i had moved recently. it has kept me busy but i love my new space. plenty of acreage for cargo and kitty. and plenty of art making space for myself. its a bit old and very log cabin like. but branden and i have had fun so far trying to modernize it with a certain industrial decorating style. the biggest problem is we want to get everything we see right away but must budget for one item a month really. so its slowly becoming home sweet home.
here are some images from the outside yesterday it was sunny and beautiful. probably one of the last warmer days of the year so i spent every minute outside. mowing, pruning, sweeping, and cleaning the garage out which was still filled with unpacked items and boxes.
so much excitement comes with being in a new place. i find myself easily distracted from my work. but i am trying to focus more lately.
i have an endless list of to do items for my home art business it grows longer each day. inventory to on-line web management. sometimes i wonder when ill get to the artwork itself. im learning more and more each day. preparing for the big plunge into full self employment.
im anxious to start painting.i think its the season change. its less profitable than printmaking for me. but i love it soooooo much. experimenting with mixed media, metal paints, collage, and the abstract.
well happy fall everyone!
ill get some pictures of my studio for a later post.
balance balance balance. so many of us currently struggling for balance. for me its more time management i suppose. i love to clean. ill spend more time cleaning up my workshop than i do messing it up being productive. i have the feeling my focus needs to shift the other direction for artistic success to happen.
well. i HAVE been doing quite a bit lately but more in the graphic design spectrum of art. as some of you know thats not my favorite task. but its steady. it seems someone always needs a design for something.
one of my few fine art endeavors was a recent custom piece that i created for a friends new home. those of you that have not seen "Pablo" the tiny simplified gocco print of poppy flowers that has to date been my best seller. you can see it in the photo above. i was asked to recreate Pablo in large format. seems simple enough. surprisingly it was a struggle only because Pablo was created and meant to be small and delicate. not to sound fruity but thats how the piece speaks. thin fragile lines and plenty of negative space. its alway been my dads favorite.
anyway. below are the results of such an enormous endeavor and translation. im pleased with the outcome. and so are the buyers. let me know what you think?
SO. five million years since my last post since i have moved and gotten settled. much has happened. ill try to catch up with daily posts for the next week or so. one of the first events that comes to mind was the central pennsylvania festival of the arts. also known as CPFA. this was my first major internationally attended festival. its huge 300 or so vendors and 30,000 people and 4 days long. it was great. i had such a blast. ill start with a few preparation stories.
im the typical artist type. on a budget. I wanted so badly not to stick out like a sore thumb among these traveling professionals. that meant professionalism in my booth setup. they make this easy setup system just for such events with high density foam covered with tight weave grey carpet walls for hanging art on. most are covered with water proof tents that could withstand a hurricane for god sakes but they cost 4 grand for the bottom line model.
so i set to work modifying my own EZ up tent that i use for local small craft shows. it was a challenge planning for sure. i went through so many ideas everything from lining my walls with lipped shelves that i could set art on. to mesh walls for hanging art on. to finally welding a structure of my own.
it worked great. i used 3/4 inch conduit for the frame and turkey wire mesh for in between. i utilized my crafty sewing skills to sew felt slip covers that covered each 5 x 6 foot wall that i welded. finally i hung my pieces with old school drape hooks. it allowed for flexibility and easy moving around of pieces as they sold.
what did i learn? this system doesn't travel well. its huge and i didn't build it to break down very well. so im looking at investing in one of the real deal systems that they sell. if i can do as well at future festivals ive concluded that the system will pay for itself.
i would like to try to line up one major 3 day festival a month through next year. in hopes of quiting my part time job ive been desperately clinging to for security. so ill be needing a better tent. real walls. and a bigger car.
Sooooooo i sold a good bit. met great and interesting people from all over. i even won an award with a very nice cash prize and an invitation back for next year. LUCKILY i pulled off not looking like an amateur festival goer after all. but now i think its important to take those contacts and experiences and build on them before they get lost in the past. so ive just moved and have been working on getting a new studio space in order. one of my posts later this week will focus on that. but i wanted to mention it because i cant believe the space. ive grown to about six times the square footage i was. hopefully ill be able o take myself and my work to another level.
for those logging on to etsy. im in the process of re doing my site. ill be listing new works daily from here on out for the most part. and ill be getting ready to combine all of my sites together on one web space called DWELL IN STYLE.
Ive purchased dwellinstyle.org and plan on combining my blog with a web space that showcases fine art, textile, and graphic design portfolio sections.
and of course my site will link to etsy.com where you'll be able to purchase any of the services or goods that i provide and sell.
This will most likely take me the next month or so as i am teaching myself web design in my spare time.
enjoy the pics!
Well a lovely lady by the name of Amy from the website www.pikaland.com has inspired me to blog more consistently. Amy manages a site that features illustrators of all types and styles. She has excellent taste. Sometimes I just feel so overwhelmed and busy that I just simply can't see spending the time to write about what I'm doing when I barely have the time to do what im doing. the ironic thing is I love to read other blogs. I am fascinated by other people documenting their processes in art. It gives me a sense of connection to the artist somehow making me love their work that much more. Why wouldn't I want to do this with my own process and journey?
Thus I'll try to keep up to date and let people know what is going on here in the studio. On that note Im preparing for a huge festival style show. One of the largest ones on the east coast. A fine and quality one at that. Its called the
2008 Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts.
Your Invitation is below!
my brain is swirling with things that need done an things left undone. I use i tunes and often times simply hit shuffle. it usually doesn't much matter what im listening to when im working on art just so that their is noise. lately im struck by the decemberists and i find myself clicking back to yet another decemberists song. i have abandoned my wabi sabi series for now as i have had to abandon my yoga class till spring and i feel the two must go hand in hand. though i have submitted a few of those works to be juried and exhibited individually.
the body of work im doing now is for exhibit at zola new world bistro in state college. out of all places. the place i feel like i can not get away from is giving me back a smidgen of what i put into it.
anyway so ive been enamored by the decemberists and images of young child soldiers. yes thats right. i have no idea why but i have had child soldiers on the brain for a few weeks now and i often times find myself (goggle)ing for photos. its scary sad very depressing, but very real. i think thats the obsession for me. its making me feel. i think ive been running through my days emotionless (which makes art making difficult on some levels) and i actually need these photos to feel something.
sooooooooooooo i have decided one of my up coming prints will be that of a young boy soldier. im going to do some research and maybe look for a charity of some sort helping rehabilitate these young soldiers after they have been removed from their war torn countries. 75% of the proceeds from the sale of that print from now till forever as long as i make it will go to that charity.
my art doesn't usually convey a message per say but feelings. so this is a rare sort of image for me to be making because i am trying to send a message and educate the public about these young fighters.
