Going to the Birds

I sold one of the suns from my last post (the painting with the four blocks and the sun in the middle). After the sale, I immediately went to the ARTlandish Gallery and put the other two up for sale. My hope is that someone will fall in love with them and want to take them home :) !

I continue to purchase wooden objects to paint. I think I'm obsessed! I have two boxes full of things I want to paint with funky designs and bright colors. I keep thinking if I do that, surely someone will want to buy them. I hope so anyway. I don't have enough room in my own house to "show case" all the things I plan on painting.

One of the things I've been really having fun with is painting bird houses. I can't explain it, I just love doing it. Here are some photos of a few of the things I've been working on. Some are complete, others need more work:






These were really fun to do and I'm currently working on another. I will post it when I'm done. Thanks for stopping by.

Something New: My Three Suns

Hi. I have wanted to write for so long...well, I guess that is not entirely true. I have been thinking that I should write for so long, but haven't been motivated to do so. Many of things have been happening, which has required a lot of work on my part (and may be why I'm lacking in motivation-I don't have the energy to do all the things I need/want to do).

Last month, I was blessed enough to have several pieces of art hanging in the Solar Gallery of the Unity Center in Columbia, Missouri. There was an artist's reception at the beginning of the month and I was able to meet a lot of people there. It was so much fun. In many ways, I have lost the art of conversation, especially when I meet people for the first time. However, where art is concerned, I always have more than enough to say and I don't seem to feel shy about saying it.

One of the women I met at the gallery showing, had asked me to make a custom sun picture for her. I painted 3 pictures for her to choose from. Here they are:



It will be interesting to see which one she picks. I hope she will feel like she has a good selection to choose from.

I'm working on my shop, art and business again. Honestly though, I'm not all that organized with this stuff and I have a hard time focusing on the business aspects of it. Also, I'm not really business minded (which I'm sure I've mentioned before), so I have to look around for a lot of information. I want to be dedicated to this and to make a business of it. Wouldn't it be great to be a full time artist? Can only imagine how that would feel! :)

Gotta get myself to bed. Don't want to be too grouchy tomorrow!

The Token Post

It has been so long since I've written, that I thought I'd better check in so no one thinks I dropped off the face of the Earth! I am still here, just feeling overwhelmed, undisciplined, unmotivated to write.

I've had several things going on (or so it seems). Currently, I have some pieces hanging in a gallery at the Unity Center in Columbia, Missouri. It is so exciting to walk through that gallery and see half of it filled with my art.

The other half of the gallery is filled with fiber art by a woman named Janet Ghio. Her pieces are beautiful and amazing. You can visit her website at: http://www.janetghio.com.

So, I just wanted to stop by. Eventually I will have some photos to put up. Thanks for not giving up on me!

Another Two Weeks Gone By...

Well, I guess I'm on the two week schedule for writing in my blog. That is such a bummer, who want's to read a blog that hardly gets written in? It is very late and I'm about to fall asleep on the keyboard. I would hate to drool on the keyboard and electrocute myself. Not to mention that I would look pretty silly with computer key impressions embedded in my forehead.

Here is the Reader's Digest version of the past two weeks:

• Had an artfair which was held on Saturday, May 9th. Met some nice people, sold a few things and had fun.
• May 10th was Mother's Day. My hubby had taken the kids out of town for the night on the 9th, so I was able to have some quiet time. I ended up staying up too late, which is fairly easy for me to do. On Mom's Day, hubby and kids came home around dinner time, which was nice. They were very good to me.
• My 46th birthday was on the 14th. It wasn't an easy birthday, but I survived. I got to watch my boy play t-ball then after wards I got to go home and eat chocolate cake with chocolate icing.

I thought I could finish this post, but I'm wrong. I'm very tired. I'm sorry this isn't a better post, I'll be better next time. For now...sleep well, I know I will!

Confessions of a PLB

It has been almost two weeks since my last post. Gee whiz, it sure doesn't take long for a blog to become neglected. Thankfully I take better care of my kids than I do my blog (and that might be one of the reasons my blog is neglected)! :)

I didn't win the Blockhead Radio Artisan Challenge, but it was fun to be included. No doubt I will submit something again. I love to be included in things like the artisan challenge and the Thursday Sweet Treat. I hope to do more of those things in the future. Thanks to those who visited the site and thanks to those who cast their vote for me!

I was thinking tonight that I have entered into a place of pettiness that I don't like. It's one of those things I don't want others to know about me and it's something I don't want to admit to myself.You might know the kind of thing I'm talking about. When things aren't going your way or the way you think they should be going, so you start being critical of others, just to make yourself feel better. I don't know, maybe it's just me....

I'm feeling discouraged about the sales in my Etsy shop. I'm trying not to dwell on it, because I know there are still so many more things I could be doing, (that I'm not), to help get some shop recognition. Also, I hate it when people whine about not having any sales, it makes me not want to buy from them at all. I don't want to be the whiner.

When I'm feeling whiney about the lack of shop sales, I'm highly critical and judgmental of those who are making sales. When I see people on the front page who have sold millions, making things that don't apeal to me, I start making those noises of disgust...similar to a cat coughing up a hairball. And I begin thinking like a 5-year-old: "no fair! she got 100 sales and I haven't gotten any!" "My arts bigger than your art!" "My art could whip your arts butt in a New York minute!" "Yeah, I could have more sales too if my daddy all my work"!

Yuck, Yuck, Yucky! I don't want to be this petty person.

I am sincerely happy for people who are successful at selling their wares. I admire those who are good at marketing, who are business saavy and who have good customer service skills. I want to know them and learn from them. I also want to be supportive of others who have a passion for creating things. I certainly have gotten so much support from my friends and the online community. I wouldn't still be making things if I hadn't been encouraged by people on Etsy.

Does someone else's success take away from me in any way?

Do I have to be critical of others to cover up my own insecurities? No!

I guess I just needed to get this off my chest. Even though I probably didn't say anything that made much sense to anyone else, it helped me to write about it. Maybe now I can be more productive and do the things I need to do like: promote some items in my shop, work on some marketing possibilities and most importantly be an encouragement to others who might need it.

Thanks for listening.