Obsession...for paper?

Who knew that it was possible to fall in love with a paper? But it is true.

I did a custom print for a client and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge that came with trying something new, albeit a bit scary at first, the exileration at the end was totally worth it. I found out about Somerset Velvet paper from www.iprintfromhome.com. Just saying those words has me all warm and fuzzy inside.

Now I am obsessed trying to find the best supplier so that I can start my own velvet watercolor paper colony. Well, all right, I wouldn't leave my life behind for a paper, but it is close.

The print I had placed on it looks gorgeous and creamy, but still translucent like a watercolor dream. I truly had a hard time parting with it. I am sure my client will find a bit of shock over the super careful packaging. Damage just was not an option!

Take a gander!

go ahead click it for a closer inspection...I know I did. :D

AH-HA! Moment

You know the moment that your brain clicks with an idea that has just been surfacing enough to tickle your imagination but not showing enough to be an actual tangible idea? This has been me for weeks with my Flower Letters. They are so versatile but I just couldn't quite put my finger on what I had planned next. And as luck would have it, a custom order came along that was just different enough to push me outside of my usual.

Here is the picture show of my progress...

My first sketch did not go over to well. It was way over done and simply to busy.

So I gave it another shot with the words 'organic' and 'understated' rolling around my mind.

This went over much better, so much so she had me proceed and here was my 'ah-ha' moment. I need to make sure I am still open to all the styles that are mine, not just the current style my mood might be in. This work is still very imprinted with my artwork stamp, but it is given a chance to not be my normal thing either.

The first complete of the set of three color pencil Tulip Name Drawings:

Looking for the $50 Giveaway to my shop? Click here.
Want to exchange and review your new recipe of the week...read here.

Snarky Sells

I have noticed a trend in online venues. The value of snarky.

Here is one definition of snarky: Adjective - Any language that contains quips or comments containing sarcastic or satirical witticisms intended as blunt irony. Usually delivered in a manner that is somewhat abrupt and out of context and intended to stun and amuse.

Take WryandGinger , staceyrebbecca and mincingmockingbird for examples.

Here is a prime example, of using your actual product with the snarky factor by WryandGinger:

And here we have a witty title by mincingmockingbird

It Is Folly To Assume My Awesome Lies Dormant - A Book Of Mincing Mockingbird Paintings

and last but not least a snarky listing description by staceyrebbecca from her "Bees are the new Owl Finger Puppet" listing:

That's right! Bees are the IT! They say spring, they say fashion, they say "I make your honey and keep your earth entirely sustainable and without me, you best consider figuring out how to pollinate thems crops all up with your bad selves--and ya know what? We're goin all KINDS of extinct on your face, so you best watch yourself the next time you complain that 'earmarks' went to fund our species alive..oh, and the rest of the ecosystem as well, which, last I checked included humans? Yeah, that's why we get less than the cost of just one Senator McCain's houses to fund the repopulation of YOUR survival. mmmk?thxbye!"

wow, bees can be snotty.

That's right, friends, 1.7 million dollars was awarded to fight the unsettling continued disappearance of honeybees in the world.

why are bees so necessary?

Because they're ADORABLE, of course!

man, you people are dense sometimes.

/!\ CAUTION: small parts. Bees kill babies and irresponsible people who decide to swallow things they shouldn't. This is not a cat toy. seriously. It is also not a bedpan or a mop.

Honestly the list can go on and on! Now granted, they have a price range that the average buyer could purchase an item, and the item is specialized, saying they make one particular thing with variation and make it well and the photos are smashing good! But the addition of their wit and ability to entertain sets their shops apart. Much can be learned by combing their shops!

So my tip of the day, if your shops warrants a bit of snarkiness, give it a go!** Let it shine in your listings for a better chance to sell. Not only does a buyer get a great item, but entertainment as well.

**by no means I am I endorsing or condoning the use of your snarkiness towards others...just for the things in your shop. :)

Growth.

Change is in the air for me. How little did I know, this adventure would cause me to take a deeper look at myself. Many questions fill my head these days:

Who am I?
What do I represent?
Do others see the real me?
Am I allowing myself to shine through my desire to be known?
Am I staying true to myself?

Some days, the glimpses I catch of the artisan within me, are comforting and expected. Other times though, I am caught unaware, maybe being a bit shocked at first to see what surfaces in good and bad ways, allowing me to reach outside of my comfort zone, albeit slowly at first, to delve deeper into the artisan and person I crave to be.

I have come to one conclusion though...finding oneself can often feel like scraping years of habit and routine off with coarse sandpaper but what I find underneath is so shiny and new.

Not all about the Business

I have to say, promotion is my least favorite aspect of running a business. Don't get me wrong, I love chatting it up with the best of them...just not so much about my store. I make a bad craft pimp. ;)

I need a space where I can think out loud, discover the process of my art and craft, display my mistakes, my achievements, those things that I love, and more about the life that inspires me. More of what intrigues me as an artist and all that makes me an artist will be surfacing.

So feel free to pull up a chair, and muse with me for a while about the life of this artist.
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I've always been a people pleaser, for better or for worse. This aspect of me comes out a lot in my work. I want the image or item to be something that someone loves as much as I do. So much in fact that they can't live with out it. I find myself thinking to much of what a buyer would want versus what I am trying to express. Finding that happy medium is tricky. To love what you do, but also have others love it too. I think this is why I like custom work so much.

Custom work is the art of merging two imaginations together. I love working with an idea sparked by an other's imagination and working it until it meets me with a grand hello. My vision and the original idea combining into something unique, singular, and individualistic is an amazing process. Albeit challenging and even difficult at times, the payoff of making an other's dream come true is my artist's high. Plus the joy that the individual will feel over the creation made is just an added bonus, to say the least.

I look forward to this week, because of just such a task. I received back some tracings to do my first non family Garden Keepsake painting. I already feel connected to this painting just by handling the little hand and feet tracings put into my care. Such a privilege.