The Art Bump

2010-04-08T20:47:00.001-07:00

Illustrating again

So my project now is making postcards to sell individually and as part of correspondence sets. I'm going to make some black and white, some colour, some doodles & designs, some illustrations or even graphics and illustrations I've built on Illustrator or photoshop... I used to make fun photo-montages in highschool, that would be fun to do again. Nice, this could be a neat avenue. I could also use them to make cards. I should probably start giving myself deadlines for when I want projects to be finished. Saturday April 17th I will get at least 2 different sheets of postcards printed. There. Good :)

Off to it, then.

2010-03-24T15:49:00.000-07:00

So, the Expose Yourself show just finished, another success! What a fun thing to be a part of, I created a couple of pieces for the show, and had most of my attention on that, and now the next thing is my best friend Sarah's wedding invites. I'm also going to talk to someone tomorrow about teaching classes and workshops, so tonight I'm going to get all of that together so I know what I want to pitch! I've come up with so many ideas over the years, I now need to write them into concise little proposals. I also brought my girls out to my studio this morning while Gavin was napping, and they glued scrap foam and fabric to sheets of paper while I tried to organize all the stuff that I've been keeping in the house while it's been too cold to work out there. I think it's officially warm enough to get back into the studio at night now, fun fun fun! And once I've got the studio looking presentable it'll be time to arrange some kind of studio art-date with some of the lovely artists I have made friends with here :)

2010-03-07T20:07:00.000-08:00

I'm just going to write quickly to say that I'm going to be switching my shop space... I'm going to be getting the pillar apace, which is actually a much better space in the store. I'm also going to be putting some pendants and things in there tomorrow. I've got a couple of lamps I'm going to bring in, maybe for Friday. It's definitely a slow process, but I'm getting things set up. I'm lucky that I've been able to have the space while doing this, it's definitely not making money yet, but I'm going to focus on actual products for a bit here, rather than just kits and things. I've also got to figure out how to exhibit my show book. It's going slow, but I'm definitely thrilled to have things moving forward.

2010-02-28T20:27:00.000-08:00

It has been so long since I've posted anything here! I've managed to upload photos onto our computer, so within the next couple of days I'll go on and put a bunch up. We've had company, which has taken most of my time and energy in the last week, but I'll be getting back to it now. I've got a list of what I want to accomplish this week. I'm hoping that making weekly lists of what I want to get done for my business will keep me feeling like I'm moving ahead, and with measurable goals. And there's nothing like the feeling of crossing off something that has been nagging at you for a while. This week I have a couple of networking e-mails and calls to make, I have to finish the sample lampshade that I'm doing, I have to work on (hopefully finish, but I'm not promising anything) the "eroticize this object" project I'm doing for the Expose Yourself Exhibition, and I'm sure I'll come up with some more things to add to the list. Oh, and I'm going to make sure I get back into walking/running this week, I was doing it every other day for a while, before I screwed my back up a week ago. It's still a bit stiff, but I need to just start slow and jump back in. Another goal this week: put pictures up on here. Tomorrow, with any luck!

2010-02-18T09:20:00.001-08:00

It's so hard to go at a slow pace with this business! All I want to do is spend all of my time working on it, but I have to make sure I divide my time between this, my house and my family and friends. And I still feel like I'm not really giving anything quite enough time. How do I do it? Maybe I need to talk to other Mums who have started their own businesses to find out if they have any advice for me. I want it all, but I know that's a cliche and I'm going to have to build my business slowly. It's just so hard to be patient! Either way, It's taking me a lot longer than I had hoped to get my shop up and fully stocked, but I'm getting things together so that tomorrow I can go set up more. It will have been 2 weeks since the first set up. I have to try hard not to give myself too much flack for taking so long. But it sure feels like I'm not doing good enough in getting it up and running. Whatever I'm working on, it feels like I'm working on the wrong thing. I just have to believe that it'll get where it's going eventually. I have to remind myself, it's not a race. It's not a race.

2010-02-08T12:45:00.000-08:00

Today Jeremy and I are making raised garden bed #3. He's out collecting more driftwood since we didn't quite have enough, but hopefully we'll be able to make a 4th one as-well today. It's fun piecing the logs and stumps and burls and branches together to make interesting, organic looking beds. I'm so excited to get them all in, it's going to look so beautiful once there are beans growing up the branches, and the ground is covered in green and orange and red... I drew my self portrait last night, and this afternoon I'm going to be picking up more stuff from a couple of stores. Then tonight I'll get my statement written up and the suppliers' board together so I can take them in tomorrow. And I need to remember to bring little blocks of wood to support the shelves that are a little unsteady still~ and maybe I'll be able to start on some more kits, but we'll see. I've got to gather stuff and put it out for A-La-Carte materials buying too... haven't quite decided how I'm going to present it yet. I need to get into the studio, but it's so cold it's hard to talk myself into it, so I just end up doing all my work in the house. As a result there's art stuff all over the place and I still don't have everything I need. Time to bundle up again and truck everything back out. It's going to be a fun, productive day! :)

2010-02-07T21:02:00.000-08:00

Well, I've put some products into the store! On Friday I dropped the girls off and then Gavin and I went in and I put the voodoo doll kits, 2 types of necklace kits, foam stamp/wrapping paper kits, collage kits and pen cup kits out. I also put out the sheets describing some of the workshops and classes that I'm going to offer. I hope that anyone who's interested will check them out and let me know, because I want to gauge interest in them so I know which ones to arrange first. I have so many ideas and plans, and I can't wait to get all of them going. I'll be going back to the store this week so I can add more stuff. I'm going to be putting up an Artist/Shop Statement that explains exactly what I'm doing, along with a self portrait sketch so that people can see that when I offer to teach life drawing it's because I actually know how to draw people! :) I'm glad that the women who own the store (Sue and Melissa) are really positive and supportive of my ideas. It's nice that it's being received so well. If anyone out there has anything interesting that they'd like to get rid of, please let me know. I'm always looking for more arty bits!

2010-02-02T12:21:00.000-08:00

I'm busy finishing kits, and next I've got to go hunt down a bin to put art materials into so people can root through and choose things a-la-carte. I'm hoping to have all the products in the store tomorrow, but I feel like it'll more likely be Friday. I got a bunch done last night, but there's always more! more! more! to do. Hopefully Gavin will have a nice long nap today to make up for the fake nap he had yesterday. I've got to get into the studio soon, I've just been trucking things into the house since my studio is so cold. It's got power, but no heat and the little heater doesn't seem to do a thing, so to work in there I have to wear two pairs of pants, a shirt, two sweaters, two pairs of socks, a hat, scarf, my bum mittens Jesse made me (I LOVE them and get a lot of use out of them!) and then boots, but change into slippers once I'm up there. And the other day I left some freshly painted papers in there and they were soaking wet the next day when I went in. I don't think there's a leak, but they were wetter than when I left them, so I think it's just so cold and damp they couldn't dry out completely and ended up absorbing more moisture from the air. Needless to say no more painted paper being left in there till it warms up. Come on, Nature! Warm up already! I'm ready for spring! Maybe we can put the new windows in this year so next winter isn't so bad. The two windows don't to much, one won't close completely and the other (although it's in the stairwell and separated by a door) is broken, so they don't do a whole lot. None the less, I am so lucky and grateful to have this space, and I love it so much. Jeremy found 3 2'x4' windows that we'll put in so the wall by my drafting table is all windows. Hopefully this year... Anyway, back to work. Kits and bins.

2010-01-31T11:00:00.000-08:00

Well, the panels are up, my sign is done, Jer and I are going to try to go and set up the shelves today, and then I'll just have to put the kits and products out, which I might do this week while the girls are at daycare. I'm excited and nervous at the same time... I feel like this is my artistic coming out party, although I'm not quite ready for it. Or at least I don't quite feel ready. I just need to put things into the display and remember that it's not like vending at a market where it all has to be set up by 10am. I need to be okay with the idea of doing it gradually or I'll never have it all ready to do at once. And once it's out there then this town will get a real glimpse into my world. I'll be able to do exactly what I want, sell what I want, and create a way of making my living from it. And as soon as we get our camera working I'll post pictures of everything too :) I can't wait for everything to be up, but I can't shake this nervousness...

2010-01-29T13:47:00.000-08:00

This morning my 3 year olds were playing with beads and stringing necklaces and Lydia said to me, "See Mummy? I'm working on my OWN business!" It made me smile, and I felt really proud that by me doing this and making this a priority in my life I am showing my children that it is an option for them too. Right now having her own business is make-believe, but 20 years from now she'll know that she has the option of making it her reality too. I can't wait to see where this business takes me by then, but I also wonder what it will have encouraged my kids to do.

2010-01-26T22:52:00.000-08:00

6 days 'till my shop within a shop opens! Crazy! I don't know what to call it... shop? Store? Display? Either way, I'm getting there. The shelves and panels are done, I've got peg board with old oblong, tattered, green boxes that Jeremy bought at a garage sale bolted to them. I've got 5 shelves painted and ready to mount in the corner between them. I've got a big "The Art Bump" sign to hang up. I'm almost done the labels and instructions for the kits. I've got products, kits and materials to sell. It feels crazy that I'm actually making this happen. I have seen something like this in my head for so long, but the vision is so much more than this. The incredibly exciting thing is that I know this is just the start. This is my foot in the door. My jumping off point. I have always known where this path leads, but my heart races to think that I am actually here.

"A dream without a plan is just a wish"... so what then is a dream with a plan? What do you call it when you can feel your dream starting to come true?

2010-01-22T14:28:00.000-08:00

I just got back from sourcing... what fun, going to stores, rooting through back rooms and sifting through piles and stacks of things looking for treasures :) Scanning the scrap metal yard I found an old busted-up microscope! I wonder what bits & bobs are held inside? Gears would be a neat find, or any interesting metal things, I suppose. They could be made into pendants or pieces of wind-chimes maybe... I also got a couple of giant cardboard carpet spools/tubes. I've got some interesting ideas brewing for those, but they aren't quite formulated enough to share, yet.

2010-01-19T00:54:00.000-08:00

I'm starting this blog as a record of my journey. I have been dreaming and working and creating for years, with a very clear, evolving vision of what I am meant to do with my life. The path has always seemed erratic and I have worried that my instinct to jump from project to project, and technique to technique, from discipline to discipline was going to be my biggest hurdle. Maybe it will, but it's simultaneously my greatest strength and my greatest weakness. I have realized now that I have been training myself to specialize in everything. It's not that I want to be a designer or an artist or a teacher or a store owner or a vendor exclusively, but that I am compelled to do all of these things.

Illustration, Graphic Design (invitations and promotional materials), Product Design, Art Instruction, Art Kits, Clothing & Object Re-design, Jewelry design, Murals, Portraits, Special Event Design & Installation Art, Merchandising Display Design, Alternative Art Material Sourcing and Sales, Consulting, Journaling, Writing... I have professional experience in almost all of these activities, and lots of personal experience in the rest. This blog is where I will be documenting how I incorporate all of these things into my life and my business.

As of Monday, February 1st, 2010, I will have a retail shop within the Trendzessence & Ecossentials umbrella on Marine Ave. in Powell River. I'll be selling alternative, salvaged art materials, kits and handmade art products. I'll also have information on different workshops and lessons so that I can get a gauge of where interest lies. Some ideas are: Make a lampshade workshop, Fun, cheap, unique crafts and art to do with your kids (workshops for parents &/ kids), learn to make new things out of old t-shirts, figure drawing and portraiture for kids and adults, mixed-media journal making and creative filling, colour study collage, jewelry making...

I am so excited and thankful to have the space and opportunity to be able to branch out this way and be more visible to customers, clients, and people in general. I am blessed to be able to spend my life doing these things, however much or little time I am able to devote on any given day. There have always been huge majorities of people who are not awarded the luxury of following or even finding their passion at all, and in honour and gratitude I am going to live mine as deeply and richly as I can.

"Life is not finding yourself, but creating yourself."

"Tell me what it is you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"

2009-05-12T20:34:00.000-07:00