My Creative Space Thursday

The days before leaving for an adventure are often hectic: there are many loose ends to tie up, and a house to clean (love coming home to a clean house!), and many things to pack. I have a week or two before I leave, but I'm taking this time to slow down. There's no sense in starting another huge painting or project. It'll still be there when I get back. Right now I just want to have a cup of tea, read a couple of books, and perhaps doodle in my sketchbook whenever I get an idea. That's all.

Six Years on Etsy! Congratulations!

I'll be changing my banner soon! 

June 19th was my six Etsy-versary! My my, how time flies! Just six years ago I attended the first I.C.E event in Atlanta, heard about a little site called Etsy and decided to sign up. Turns out, I was the first person to register a shop, how cool is that? 

Now that six years have passed, I can tell you a few things I have learned:

• Just because you built it, doesn't mean they'll come. Etsy is now bigger and better and it's hard to stand out in a sea of artsy, crafty goodness. Just because you have a shop, doesn't mean you're going to sell everything you post.
• Show me what you're working with. Make sure to have good, if not GREAT, photos of your items. I recently borrowed a DSLR from a friend and re-shot photos of ALL my items. Now everything looks so much cleaner and better than before. If you cannot get your hands on a fancy camera, use what you've got and make the most of it. Research different lighting techniques, or better yet, go out in your front yard and use natural light.
• Make art because you love it, not because you want to get rich. I don't know about you, but I can tell when someone's doing something JUST to make money. There's no passion in the art and only dollar signs in their eyes. It's a huge turn-off. If you want to make money, get a regular 9 to 5 job. You'll get it quicker.
• Do Work Son! Now that you've set up your shop, tell everyone about it! Network! Network! Network! Use  Facebook and Twitter to your advantage. Send your shop link to all your friends, neighbors, relatives, etc. Then keep making stuff!
• There is no secret. Really, there isn't. All the things I've listed above can be applied to almost any sort of freelance gig. The more work you put into it, the more you'll get out of it. Etsy is the same way!

I don't make a living off my Etsy sales, and I am okay with that. But I have noticed that when I have the time to put into my online shop, the more sales I make. In fact, there was one ENTIRE year where I didn't make a single sale. That year, I decided to go to college full time, so I definitely didn't have the time to make & sell art. This year, in between working at the arts council, learning to tattoo, painting sets for plays, and taking care of the family, I still have very little time to dedicate myself to my own artwork. But I'm slowly working on scheduling more time to make art, and one day I hope to make enough from my Etsy shop to pay for a studio somewhere in town. It's good to have goals, right?

Here's to another six years!

P.S. Here's an interview I did when Etsy turned 3: Old School Etsians: momentofstars

P.P.S Want to learn more about selling on Etsy? Read the Storque: http://www.etsy.com/storque/seller-handbook/

Sunday's Adventure

Sundays are usually a lazy, bum around the house kind of day but we've been itching to go out and have an adventure as a family. We've been talking about walking around old cemeteries in Macon and taking pictures, but with the temperatures in the mid-nineties almost daily, that option didn't seem too attractive.

So we decided, almost spur-of-the-moment, to go to Fernbank Museum of Natural History. The Mythic Creatures exhibit has been on my to-do list for sometime, and I also had a little bit of extra cash for the week, so why not? Let's go!

We let Maz have control of the camera for most of the time. She took this photo of me and Daniel soon after we arrived at Fernbank.

Then she posed as a mermaid. Awwww!

And my favorite! A Pegasus!

We spent most of our time exploring all the exhibits and didn't take many more pictures. Mazzy definitely had a blast in the NatureQuest exhibit, and we almost couldn't get her out without promising a trip to the Gift Shop. Since I was having a bit of a spending spree, I treated Maz to a Dinosaur Skeleton Excavation and Assembly Kit and I bought myself a new bracelet. Look!

That's one adventure crossed off my Summer To-Do List! What will we think of next?

My Creative Space Thursday

Late nights painting at the kitchen table. 

Currently!

Current book: Basquiat: A Quick Killing in Art, and many other books! Check out my GoodReads list!
Current album: A Roadtrip Mix CD that Daniel made for me.
Current shame-inducing guilty pleasure: Staying up WAY too late.
Current color(s): Yellow Ochre
Current link: tumblr.com
Current fetish: Planning, making lots of lists, marking items off the list.
Current drink: Coffee, tea, and lots of water.
Current wish-list: And assistant, to run mundane errands for me. Like grocery shopping.
Current favorite song(s): Pink Floyd's Run Like Hell
Current triumph(s): Taking photographs of relatives and totally not screwing it up.
Current Celebrity Crush: Ryan Adams, all day errrrrrr-day.
Current indulgence: Too many bagels!
Current excitement: Just a couple of weeks until I spend a week up north with my cousins!
Current mood: Sleepy-eyed and lazy.

I'm Not a Photographer, But I Play One on TV

Well, I do consider myself a photographer, in the artistic sense of the word. Now a professional photographer, I am most definitely not. I don't think I'm good (or patient) enough to photograph headshots, weddings, and other things/events that professional photographers are hired for. But I will take photos of you if you're a relative or friend, and you ask nicely.

Tomorrow evening I'm accepting the challenge of "Maternity Photography" and it should be fun. I'm quite confident in my skills, and sister-in-law (due any day now!) will be very pleasant to photograph. This evening Maz and I practiced shooting on Aperture Priority mode in the backyard during the pretty, early evening light.

Look at that sweet smile! I love shooting photos with a wide open aperture so you get that blurry background. I do believe using my Pentax k1000 has helped me learn the ins and outs of photography, especially with f-stop numbers!

We practiced the heart/hand over the belly button shot that I'm sure we'll do tomorrow. You can see Mazzy's appendectomy scar from her surgery two years ago.

Then she got goofy. Today was a lazy-stay-in-pjs-all-day kind of day so that's why she's in Batman pants and  unbrushed hair.

Tomorrow should go well, that is, if the sister-in-law doesn't go into labor overnight!

Things I Love Thursday

I'm Lovin': 90's hip hop, making plans for an afternoon with the family, a weekend spent out of town and poolside, AIR CONDITIONING, belly rubs for Dexter, drinking plenty of water, SPF 50, top shelf margaritas (they don't love me back), eating at the bar, emails to the BFF, planning a summer getaway, sleeping in, mornings spent in pjs, taking it slow this week...

 & My Kindle! A birthday present from my mama.

And this video!

What are you lovin' on this week?

On My Desk Wednesday

Early Afternoon.

Later in the evening. 

When I'm in between projects, I like to copy artwork that I really enjoy. This helps keep my hands busy and perhaps in the process I learn something new. What did I learn yesterday? Well, I learned that inexpensive watercolor paper just doesn't do it for me, but I'm trying hard to use up this stash so I've just got to suck it up and paint on. 

To end this post on a positive note: I'm so excited it's June! It's summertime and I don't have to wake up at 6:30 a.m. for at least two months and there are road/plane trips to take soon and art to make and commissions to work on and and and...just so excited!