all the things.
misty walks, gelli monotype, metaphysical puzzles, art journaling
Daily Life & Work in Progress
I arrived to my studio today a little later than planned, but I’m glad I took some time for a misty walk with Pretzel. She was sniffing every inch, I was seeing every inch. My earbuds were somehow still uncharged though I thought I had charged them last week in the hotel room. (I was in LA for the Beyonce Cowboy Carter tour with a few friends from Portland. Knocked our boots off.) Anyway I guess I didn’t charge them so I got to listen to the birds, which I appreciated even more after watching Every Little Thing yesterday. Its a life affirming documentary about a woman who operates a hummingbird hospital in LA.
Yesterday went to Someday for Mothers Day brunch, followed by a trip to Collage. When we got home I worked a bit on planning a monotype workshop. A last minute teaching opportunity popped up the other day andI’m waiting to hear if its a go, and in the meantime getting things set up and making some samples for class.
I’m thinking gelli silicone plate monotype will be a good process to try - its pretty flexible and experimental and doesn’t lean too heavily on technical drawing or painting skills. And then if there’s time maybe we will make a little art journal out of our prints. Did you know I was a printmaking major at MIAD?
Here’s a reel of the monotype technique I was experimenting with:
Wheel of Life, House 8: Insights Into the Metaphysical
I’m continuing to share a bit about my most recent series of work called Wheel of Life. My gallery show of this series at Chefas Projects just closed 5/3, though you can still inquire about the paintings with me or the gallery. My past few posts cover Houses 1-7 if you are curious to learn more. These paintings are all inspired by the 12 houses of astrology.
The 8th house covers this stuff (per google gemini!) :
Intimacy and Shared Resources:
The 8th house explores deep, transformative relationships and the sharing of resources, including money, possessions, and experiences.
Transformation:
It's a house of profound change, growth, and renewal, often involving the relinquishing of old patterns and embracing new possibilities.
The Unseen:
The 8th house delves into the mysteries of the subconscious, the hidden world, and the spiritual realms.
It's associated with endings and beginnings, including the physical death and the potential for new life and rebirth.
Inheritance and Estate Planning:
The 8th house can indicate inheritances, both material and spiritual, as well as the management of financial affairs.
Surgery and Healing:
The 8th house is also linked to surgery and transformative healing processes.
I have my Sun, Mercury and Gemini in the 8th house.
For me, I think the intuitive response was that it covers some sort of hidden interactive process. The figure across from the viewer is mysterious, a little like a morel mushroom. There’s a game here, implying that we are making choices and trying to survive.
I think the elements that most resonated with me when I was making this are Intimacy and shared resources, Transformation, and the Unseen.
Messy May Challenge - My Labryinth prompt on May 14!
May is a great time to check out the Get Messy community. Its a fun art journaling centered community with tons of video lessons. (They are also a client of mine and I am an affiliate - if you want to join please click that link)
Last fall, I prepared a video lesson about art journaling for Get Messy. I’m so excited to share it, but it won’t air until October.
In the meantime, you are invited to join the Messy May Challenge for FREE. It includes 31 days of art journaling prompts and short video lessons. I have one coming up on Wednesday, May 14! The prompt is labryinth.
I am behind on this. No need to feel like it has to be perfect, just jump in whenever you can.
Business updates
I was so surprised and happy to see that my substack was #63 on the Art & Illustration substack chart a couple weeks ago. Thanks to all who are subscribed and extra thanks to my paid subscribers who really help float this boat!
I am continuing in Susan Bradley’s Inner Circle program and I am learning so much about e-commerce. I’m now taking a much more active role in building my audience and relationships with the hope that this will help me make my studio financially self sufficient. And it seems to be working! I have new metrics to work towards, and I am feeling like I know what I need to focus on in order to hit those metrics.
For now I have earned about 115% of my 2024 income, which feels great. However, it only covers about 18% of my annual expenses since they have increased so much due (mostly) to my studio rent and move in costs. So still a lot to do to get there. If I can get workshops up and running that will likely help.
I’m also looking at investing some money in a new shopify site made by a company who specializes in them. They can help me get it looking and functioning more smoothly with all the bells and whistles. It’s hard to spend more money, but I think it is truly so important for me since I need to offset gallery income with other income streams. In order to do this I need to build a much bigger audience to grow my email list, which will convert to collectors and sales. The better my website looks and functions, the easier all of those things will be.
Per the class I’m taking, I basically need to grow my meta reach (FB & IG) to about 10-20 times what it is now to get to my break even point. They have a series of recommendations as to how to get there, so I will be trying those out.
As always I so appreciate everyone who supports me whether by joining me online, or by recommending me and my work, and I’m especially thankful for those who are paid subscribers and collectors of my prints and paintings.
Links
So much beauty in the world !
This trailer for a meditative transitional podcast for your drawing practice. For artists: includes those who like to draw or want to practice drawing but don’t call themselves artists. Brought to you by Lettie Jane Rennekamp and friends.
This heart opening movie. Watched it yesterday at PAMCut Tomorrow Theater.
Bye for now!
Heart you! 🫶