Bad Blogger, Bad!

Okay, what is my deal, I have been really bad at this blogging!

But, things have been rough around here since Christmas. Everyone is fighting, then my dad went into a nursing home to recuperate from pneumonia, money stinks and is always not there when you need it and I get to be the CFO of this corporation so everybody has a complaint and guess who they come to!!!!!!

Then, when I thought it couldn't get any worse, my dad died. He died. At the age of 73. He would have been 74 on March 3rd. He died on Tuesday, February 17th at 4:00 a.m. in the nursing home in Baton Rouge LA. My daddy who I had finally established a fantastic relationship with and loved like crazy, passed away. I have been in complete shock ever since. It has been absolutely horrible. And sad, so damned sad. The only thing that has kept me from being a complete and total lump (because I just want to lay down and cry all the time) is my new Pomeranian puppy, Mimi.

Mimi is a gift from the Gods!!!! She is cute, funny, and an absolute love bucket. And she is crazy about me which is wonderful because I don't think I could deal if she didn't. Taking care of her has been what has gotten me through. I tried to paint, I tried to make some cards, I tried to draw....nothing! So I just hugged my puppy and that made me feel so much better.

Now I am working on wrapping up my dad's financial stuff, he donated his remains to science so I haven't gone down to LA yet for the memorial. We are going to go down when the will has been completed and we can clean out his house at which time we will have a memorial service. So, until then, I am just trying to work here an make more stuff. I am working on cutting some paper silhouettes of various things which I will have ready to post in a few days. I promise, promise, that i will be a good blogger from now on!

To all of my friends out there, I hope you all are well and happy!

New Year, New Art!

Well....I have been a very bad blogger! It has been awhile but I have not forgotten about keeping up, just haven't had the chance.

New Painting!
I have begun a new painting that I am totally excited about and can't wait to finish it. It has become one of those that just comes out so easily and almost effortlessly. I know when I am on to something when that happens! I hope to finish it by the end of next week so I can get it photographed, listed on etsy, up in a store that I show my work in, and entered into a few jurried shows.

I love painting and I have been away from it for so long, following my other creative endevours, that I let it go by the wayside and almost forgot about just how much I love it. Although it can drive me quite crazy at times...

The painting itself is made up of similar leaf forms from my drawing " Study of movement and line" and has a baground of hexagons stacked like a honey comb. I have been having a constant dialog with my cousin Bianca about the pro's and con's of being an artist making a living from art work and my creativity and the giult I feel about no longer being a good worker bee amongst the workforce. I have been so sick that it's just not an option for me to hold a regular job anymore but the illness that is keeping me out of work is keeping me home where my studio is.

So, that said, I intend to finish this painting and work on more that follow this dialog that Bianca and I have been having. I intend the series to be a documentation of the struggle I have been going through and will reflect the way I grow and change and make new life plans within that struggle.

Me, Me, Me, It's all about me. Yep. That's what it all comes down to with my art. I get to be as self centered as I want to be and show it to everyone else for critique. I think I must be crazy!

Got Me a Spot in This World!

Yay! I had a great night last Friday at the Lewisburg Gallery stroll in PA. I sold 3 pieces!!!! And I was asked to leave my work on display as the in house artist!!!!!!

YAHOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

This makes 4 solid weeks in a row that I have consistenlty sold my art. It has been great! My friend BJ told my I have taken PA by storm!! It kind of feels that way.

Well, my next move is to figure out my next move. I am not going to be satisfied by having work in one place in one town. I am going to start looking into grants and fellowships and see what I can get. I would like to start a new series and I am thinking of sending some disks of my work to a couple of gallery's in other areas. I have this new series in my head and the pieces are bigger than I have done in the past 4 years so that will be a new challenge. I like working big I just have to be careful not to overdo the small details and make a painting that will take 2 years to complete and I will get bored with it before I am even halfway finished. People really responded well to the drawings I had up so this series is going to elaborate on them in color and paint. It should be interesting.

Yay! I am finally a working, selling, artist!!!!

Well, this has been a crazy week! I went into downtown Lewisburg, PA, and approached 2 shops and one gallery about displaying my work. It was an extremely successful jaunt! I sold 5 pieces in the first 20 minutes, was given a commision, was offered free gallery space for a solo show, was offered a refferal service for free, entered into two jurried shows and offered a spot in a group show. Holy Macarroni! Then, yesterday, when I went to drop off the purchased pieces I was offered a solo show in a brand new, upscale boutique, in downtown Lewisburg, for next friday night!!!!!!! By the time I went to bed last night I was floating on cloud nine!

I feel like I am finally reaping the fruits of years and years worth of labor. I feel that I have become a professional and that I am on my way to being successful in my own business of fine art. I haven't made a tremendous amount of money so far but I have made money consistently off of my work for the last 3 solid weeks! I am moving up in my career and it is jsut exhillerating! It seemd as though this time would never come, no consistancy, but I have learned the only way to make it work is that you absolutely have to beat the streets, talk to EVERYONE, and get as much info as you can about the tactics other people are using to sell so you can incorporate them into your own tactics and spread yourself out further. That means, and this is very important, LISTENING to what people tell you. I know, doesn't seem like that would be such a challenge but it does two things: 1. I get to add thatnew type of self promotion to my bag of tricks and 2. I get more exposure and a good reputation for being a good listener and noy a big talker. I am talking myself up but I am listening more than talking to make sure I don;t miss a thing.

This is great!!!!!

Not Feeling so well

Today has been rough health wise, naucious, tired, ugh! But!!!! I called 1 gallery and 2 shops that I have meetings with to view my portfolio this comming tuesday! All 3!!! WOOOHOOOO!! So, I hope they like my work! We shall see!

I also got a call back for a sunday job today. I accepted the offer so I will be working on Sundays, outside of the house, from now on. We need the income so I had to do it. I'm going to be an admin in a produce warehouse for the distribution center of a local grocery store. yay. Gotta do something to make some money around here. Still nothing sold so I ahve to keep trucking, but I'm not complaining today was prosperous and hopefully these things I have been working on are comming to fruition. Wish me luck!

Good Day

Today was a good day. I woke up late this morning and went to check if my prints were dry...sure enough they were and so were the kitty paw prints on the prints! My six toed cat decided to dance on my prints last night and totally destroyed 3!!! He is still alive and I was able to salvage two of them for a total of 18 prints torn down, signed and packaged. All I need is a buyer.

Tomorrow is the big day! I am going to Lewisburg to picth my work to a few store owners. I think I am going to go to store after store until they are all gone, then I will come home, I need to move these puppys! I feel really good about these things today. I had reviews awaiting me on linked-in, I donated a print to a blog giveaway, Mr Fish to be exact, and I made new friends on twitter. Mike realised today that I am not just staring at the computer all day that I am actually doing something so that was nice!

Tomorrow after selling I want to make some watercolors. I wanted to do it today but the tearing and packaging took up most of my time and I took a nice nap this afternoon. I want to investigate the turtle thing more and those onions are still up there doing their thing in my head. I have a tremendous amount of ideas and now is the time to get them out there. To everyone who is reading this blog, I thank you. You are making this whole thing worthwhile and I absolutely love the comments THANKS!!!!!!

Another day of fun and frustration

Another day another dollar. Nope not another dollar but I am becomming tough! Like steel! Art steel, if only I was a welder.... Anyway, my sales are still not moving but I am working myself silly! I made some prints today of the piece I have been cutting, I will photo them tomorrow and post. I also made a second edition of an old lino block, it didn't come out well but I am going to try again tomorrow.

Big news.. After I get my work packaged tomorrow I am going to visit some local stores. I live in a semi wealthy area and am hopping that there will be some good buyers around here, We shall see! Wish me luck!

Off to watercolor, I have some onions in my head that are begging to be put on paper and I'm thinking of turtles...hmm.

Still Poor Still Happy

Yeah right! I am doing everything I can to make sales online. I'm going nuts! Any suggestions? I joined twtter today and flickr, have pics posted on both. I need an agent to do all of thehard work I just want to make stuff. Iquit! Nobody tell Mike....

Right at this moment I am working on a linocut that is very arts and crafts movement. I guess things would go faster with it if I could get off of the computer. Mike is working on the house and getting suckered into bringing all of the lazy cats thier kitty treats. Oh the days of our lives!!!! I had some thoughts last night (WATCH OUT, RUN!!!!) about some animal prints but I'm not making much more than goofy scketches in my scketch book that I am not happy with. I think I am going to take an art vacation this week for 4 hours a day and just make stuff. I have some pieces of wood in the back yard that I am thinking of painting and printng on, they might look pretty neat. Thank god I have Mike for his tools!!! he can cut anything at any time of the day or night. Our basement is a hardware store! So I have all these ideas and in case you haven't sensed it some serious frustration. I am turning this thing off now and making some stuff. I neeeeeeed to create.!!!!

The First Blog The First Sale

Tonight I made my first sale on Etsy. I am overyly thrilled and it has added to my artistic drive. I have so many ideas floating around in my head at the moment that I am trying to compartmentalize everything so I can move forward and not scew everything up. Being a working artist now is thrilling and I feel somewhat guilty because it really doesn't feel like work. I just get to play with stuff all of the time and keep track of everything in a spread sheet. God bless spreadsheets!

Since I have made my first sale I have tried to involve myself more there at etsy and will continue to do more. I have found that the best way to make sales there (by looking at what others do) is post on the forums as much as you can. The more people that know you, it seems, the better sales will be.

So all of this led me to my first blog ever. Who the hell is going to read this? God knows. But at least I can spit this stuff out here instead of driving poor Mike (my future husband in one month) crazy with all this talk. My next move from here is to pitch my work to local shop owners here in lovely Milton, PA. I think I have gotten my work to a level that it will be perfect in the local shops and in the past week I have learned that interiolr designers are an artists best friend. If anyone out there want to see some of my stuff please go to http://www.jennifertilleyvoegtleart.etsy.com/ and there it is! nighty night!!!