ARTISTS BLOCK

It has been awhile since I have added a new post to my blog, so what better way to get back into the swing of things (if I was ever "in" to begin with ) than to write about what I am currently going through.

For the last two weeks or so, I have been experiencing ARTISTS BLOCK. I have not been able to get any viable work accomplished. I sit in my studio, and my mind is blank. I tried to make some greeting cards, which I would usually consider a more simple task than some of my other creations...again, nothing.

This is something we all experience from time to time. It can be scary for those who are not used to going thru it, wondering if all the creativity has been used up or drained from your body. Some people get so nervous and frustrated that they will put their art away...sometimes for years.

Quite often, we experience the block because of other things going on in our lives. Stress at other jobs, family matters, or issues with our health can all have an effect on our creativity. Before jumping to the conclusion that all artistic abilities have been expired, first take a look at what extraneous things might be interfering. With me...it has been my health.

I made an appointment with my doctor, so I could get my current medical issues resolved. I also did one other thing, which might prove helpful to those experiencing artistic blocks as well.

I took a step back....

I work with almost every medium under the sun. My art studio looks like an artist supply shop, where one can find almost anything related to the world of art. But the one thing that I finally realized, something I had been saying for awhile that I wanted to find the time to do (and is not something I sell in my shop), is my painting. Painting is where I started. It is the first art I ever did, way back when I was a kid...all through school and college. I love to paint.....pictures...landscapes...flowers...on canvas. But I have not painted for quite awhile, since those items I sell in my shop have taken precedence. So that piece of me had been put on the back burner.

So...I took out my paints, and a small canvas. I did not want to get myself too involved in a painting. I just wanted to feel my paint brushes in my hands again.

And you know what????

IT WORKED!!!!!

It felt wonderful. I felt creative, enlightened, and could not wait to get into my studio to work on my painting.

Then I realized I was mentally designing new jewelry pieces, and had some ideas on other items. I don't feel like I am quite as hyped as I usually am, as my health piece is not quite taken care of......but I feel like I can at least get some work accomplished, and enjoy myself a lot more than I have the last few weeks!!!!

So, I would like to offer this advice to those of you experiencing artistic block. Take a look at what is going on in the rest of your life, and see what might be interfering...

And while you are trying to take care of all of that.....take a step back. Back to where you started...to your original passion. And do it.

So...what ways have the rest of you dealt with blocks???? What has worked, and what has not??

Just a Quikkie!!!!

Hello to all my followers!!!

This is just a quik note....with the holiday season sneaking up so quickly, I am busy...so busy...trying get some new items finished for the shop. My MICA jewelry seems to be gaining popularity, so be sure to check it all out. I am also now offering Squirrel Proofing on my birdhouses, which customers seem to like!

So, give me a few days, then please check out my shop to see what might be there that is on your Christmas shopping list!!!!

Happy Hunting!!!!

Keep creating,

cat

My Time has Come

Well, they told me it would happen..eventually. They told me if I was patient, it would come. THEY would come. AND...THEY WERE RIGHT!!! My shop has FINALLY started to take off!!! Sales are coming in at a nice, even pace. I am pleased. Better...I am validated! EAT MY DIRT, HUBBY....

And now that the summer is over and the Holidays are creeping up, I am hopeful that I will continue to make some sales. I am expanding my selection, and there will be Autumn and Christmas items in the shop over the next month or so. I will be trying to get some new and different birdhouses made, new gourds, and, of course, my increasingly popular MICA jewelry, some of which has been selling even before I can get it in the shop!!

So...to any of you new ETSY sellers out there who are discouraged, and wonder where the sales are...it has been almost a year for me, and the sales are just starting to get steady. SO, hang in there, continue to create (because you know you love to anyway). It will happen. If you are patient, it will come. THEY will come.

Till next time,

Cat

WOW...guess I better update!!!!

Hi all!!!

I did not realize I had so many followers now! That means I best get on the ball and blog more frequently!

Let me just update you all to let you know what I have been, and will be, up to. The kids will be going back to school next week, so I will be able to get more work done. I have been working on a gourd vase almost all summer....we seem to have a love/hate relationship. Actually, I am so picky, that once I carved/sanded/painted it, I then found some areas I thought needed more sanding. That led to needing to repaint areas that unintentionally met with the sandpaper. So I needed to repaint. Then found another area I wanted to sand a bit more.....well, you get the picture. I finally decided yesterday that I am calling it good....all of it.....and am going to add the varnish and just hope it looks awesome when all is said and done.

Once that is out of my hair, I want to get more birdhouses made. Even tho they are not selling as much as I had hoped, I think they will at some point, b/c I know my houses are unique. I am going to try something different with my next one. Some clay items, and most likely some cards will be snuck into my shop too. And, of course, jewelry, b/c I have become obsessed with buying beads, and need to do something will all of the thousands of them that I have bought!!!!

Last, but not least, my dear ETSY friend ( her very awesome shop is Not So Shabby Chic- check it out...you will not be disappointed) told me that felted items are currently a big seller. I have been doing felting just for fun, but have some new surprises that I am going to add to my shop......so stay tuned and make sure to keep checking out the shop!

So..I guess that is it for now. Thanks to all of you who are following me. It really does mean a lot to me.

Keep creating!

cat

What happened to the summer, and other life questions

OMG..it is already July, um, 18th, and here in Maine I don't even think we have hit the 80 degree mark yet! Plenty of rain, but not much heat or sun! I am usually in my studio working anyway, but I feel bad for my kids......

Anyway, on the days we HAVE seen the big yellow ball, I have moved my studio outdoors, so to speak. I spent several days carving away at a HUGE gourd vase I am making. What a job! The particular gourds I get are very very hard shelled, so the carving process is very slow and difficult. Once done, I have to then sand the entire carved area.....not a process that is easy for my sore, arthritic hands.

I also am still working on my new Mica jewelry line. Don't pass up those shiny little jewels you see as you walk down a dirt road!!! As crafters, we can surely find so many uses for this FREE BLING that Nature has given us. I have used it in several ways, besides the jewelry.

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR IDEAS FROM ALL OF YOU!!!! So....what are some creative ways you can think of to use the mica??? Leave a comment here with your responses, and the person with the coolest response just might get a neat little gift!!!!!

Okay..this was just a quick blog post....I actually must admit that I tend to space out on even having a blog until someone mentions theirs!!! Sorry...old age!!!!

Take care, and happy crafting. And let me hear those ideas!!!!!

Mica Jewelry....

Hi, everyone. Well, it is now June. I had pretty much given up on this whole blog thing, but decided to at least write another post and see what happens.

I have been working like crazy on my shop. Have posted a lot of new items, and have expanded the types of items I have. One of my newer creations, which will be posted this week, are my Mica Earrings.  My kids and I collected TONS of mica over the last couple of years. I have been fascinated with this natural "bling" material since I was a kid.  So I decided to make some different things with it.

The earrings are really pretty cool. The mica takes alcohol ink very well, and can be easily cut with scissors. Of course, since we picked the mica up from the ground wherever we found it, I had to wash it well....which really brought out the sparkle! 

I will be posting my 2 first sets of earrings as soon as the sun comes out so I can take a good picture of them. After that, I will be experimenting with other types of jewelry, in addition to the mica powders I am already making with  it.

Stay tuned!!!

This is really quite difficult!

I have decided that this whole blogging thing is really too hard for me, especially when I am not sure exactly what it is "doing"??!!??
Now don't get me wrong. I enjoy the concept. I follow several blogs, and visit some on a regular basis. But those blogs are by people who know what they are doing, or receive help in doing it. I am just a 52 yr old retired mom/artist, who started this blog to help promote my shop.
Now if I actually could get someone to help me, like, design it...add all the cool colors and bells and whistles like the really awesome professional blogs have...well...I would love that. SO would any of you who I still have left following me! And I have "looked" online for someone who does that sort of thing, but not sure if I was looking in the right place, or if I could afford to pay them. Most of my extra cash goes into my art supplies, and the advertising here with AdWords.
So, I understand if more of you drop from following me. I will keep this going, and would like to really have this be a neat blog, but al my efforts right now have to go into my shop, which really needs all the help it can get. Sales for me are non existent, yet everyone loves my goods....
If that changes, and I begin making sales, than I definitely want to snatch that special person away from one of those gorgeous art blogs with 3000 followers, and have them work the special magic on mine. Unless any of who know????
Take care, and keep creating!
Cathy