ok. ok. i am like the worlds worst blogger. it is almost july and i have yet to do the artist interview for may! i am behind on a few things right now. but i am still planning on doing a feature artist and i have the first several artists that i will be featuring it’s just a matter of getting things in order. my to do list keeps piling up! maybe i need an assitant? oh wait, i probably need to make more money first - i have nothing to pay an assitant….
in April i ended up having surgery on my right elbow (read: drawing/painting/typing/everything arm) for tendonitis and it has been a slow process of healing. i am still not able to do much with it but it is getting better. and as much as this has been a pain in the butt i believe the surgery was a success. according to my dr. it was definitely necessary. but damn those tendons take a loooong time to heal!!
aside from that i am itching to get back to painting and drawing. i am sooo excited to unveil some new work!
(gotta love Charlotte’s Web)
So. I would like to start featuring a different artist each month. The feature post will consist of a small interview and a few choice images along with links to the artists websites, shops, etc. I feel like I run out of ideas to write about and feel slightly selfish/egocentric using an entire blog to write about what is going on in my life.
I am looking for submissions from different artists of every kind. May has already been taken by artist Kristina Rolander. I plan to have the post up by May 1st. Artists who would like to be featured on my blog either email me or leave a comment. Please include a link to your work.
Really, it all comes down to supporting each other.
So these days I am pretty much unemployed. Or maybe I am underemployed? I have a couple little projects going but nothing that is bringing in money. One thing that I am in the process of finishing up is the redesign of a website for wedding photographer Kimberly Zsebe. You can check it out here - www.zbimages.com. Since I don’t really consider myself a web designer - there are a few kinks that need to be worked out. Overall, we are both happy with it.
One of the reasons that I am not working (the economy is definitely in play) is because I was supposed to have surgery for severe tennis elbow in my right arm on March 18th. That has been rescheduled for April 15th so things are in limbo for me right now. I can’t take on more steady work or any major projects. My rough plan is to start working outside of the home after I am all healed up for surgery. At least part time anyways. They say it will take at least a few months to heal up. So no money to spend. We are living pretty simply these days.
One good thing that has come out of everything is that I have been painting alot. I have also been taking a good look at my life and where I want to be at. It hasn’t been easy but definitely necessary. Things were not working out - especially where business is concerned - and things need to change. I kind of thought I had it figured out but I was wrong. Right now, I am not really sure where I am headed. Being a single mother, that is a little scary for me. I am just trying to have some faith, to let things just play out. Just sort of riding the waves. Trying not to let fear determine where I should be.
I have been reading a little bit of the Tao lately and I suppose that has inspired my outlook a bit. One passage that really struck a chord with me was this:
Cultivate harmony within yourself, and harmony becomes real;
Cultivate harmony within your family, and harmony becomes fertile;
Cultivate harmony within your community, and harmony becomes abundant;
Cultivate harmony within your culture, and harmony becomes enduring;
Cultivate harmony within the world, and harmony becomes ubiquitous.
Live with a person to understand that person;
Live with a family to understand that family;
Live with a community to understand that community;
Live with a culture to understand that culture;
Live with the world to understand the world.
How can I live with the world?
By accepting.
Sometimes when you are having a bad day (week, year…) the only thing you can really do is put things in perspective.
things that I appreciate (in no particular order of importance):
*my son
*jelly bellies
*thoughts of mexico
*the perfect dirty vodka martini
*dancing!
*finding a great pair of shoes for an even greater price
*super 8’s from my childhood
*a full tank of gas
*ginger peach tea
*eggs
*a clean office/studio
*a freshly gessoed canvas
*bare feet
*liquid eyeliner
*that one yummy salad from cempazuchi’s
*live music outdoors (or live music in general)
*pale, minty green
*beautifully sad songs
*dinner parties
*eyelashes
*big bodies of water
*sunshine
*the unexpected nap
*how excited my son gets about EVERYTHING
*a good soy latte
*beards
*reconnecting
*banjos
*the color turquoise
*comradery
*witty banter
*a well played board game
*cereal (any kind, all kinds)
*west
These are only some of the things I enjoy. I could go on and on.
It felt really good to write this list. What are some of your favorite things?
For a while now I have been thinking of separating the wedding album design aspect of my business from the art and design. As of now Leoa Design Studio will only encompass art and design. Elioso Design will be the name of my album design company and my plans are to add a separate blog for this and transfer everything album design related over to that. I am also (still) in the process of creating my websites. Things just seem to take alot longer than I think they will around here. Between actually doing work for clients, painting, raising baby and sometimes sleeping getting my website finished is usually last on the list. It also doesn’t help that I have taken it all on my own - designing and learning dreamweaver as I go along.
In other art related news - I am just about finished with six new paintings that I am very excited about. I can’t wait to show them. I think that I won’t be offering the originals for purchase because I intend to find a gallery at some point to show them. However, I will be offering prints in my etsy shop. Stay tuned!
I haven’t posted in a while! It’s been kind of hectic around here as of late. Finishing up some stuff for the website. That project leaves me feeling rather confused and schizophrenic. I went to make a few changes and just couldn’t stop! If you notice I have redesigned my banner for both my blog and etsy. The redesign is along the lines of those. My goal is to finish that up tonight. For my sanity I really need to have the website checked off of my list of things to do.
Other than that I have been keeping busy with some album designs. Definitely looking forward to having the website up and recruiting some new clients. In fact, once the website is launched I will be having a special- all new clients will receive 15% off of their first album design. Details to follow.
Well, Elliot is currently napping and I am going to take advantage of this and make some headway on a few new paintings. Hopefully, this weekend I will have some to post here and for sale on my etsy site. Lot’s of things going on! Stay tuned!
(best friends forever)
For me, art making and music listening go hand in hand. Here is what I’ve been listening to alot lately:
- Sufjan Stevens
- Devendra Banhart
- Bat For Lashes
- The Kills
- What Made Milwaukee Famous
- The Walkmen
- White Rabbits
- Justin Timberlake
- Golden Animals
- David Byrne (a constant music staple for me)
Oh Lord, I could go on and on and on…..
What do you listen to when you’re creating (or whatever it is you do)?
After many nights and days going over the pros and cons, and researching like mad I have finally purchased a brand new printer. I am excited to welcome this addition to my studio! I have been also slaving away at new work to add to my etsy shop. Soon I will be having a grand re-opening of my shop. Not that my shop isn’t open now but it will have a complete overhaul of work. Expect some original pieces and lots of prints. (Including the piece “Afterall” that is a few posts down) The prints will be wonderfully archival. In fact, they will outlive you! So stay tuned folks!
Digital Illustration © Leoa Design Studio 2008
The way I look at it, I have three major areas of my business to keep up with. Wedding album design, fine art, and graphic design. The most important is wedding album design. I am hoping that once my website is up, this part of my business will take off. I know that with more and more wedding photographers outsourcing their album design needs, there is quite a bit of competition out there. I feel pretty confident in my abilities to deliver consistent quality album design. I may not have a huge number of clients right now, but it doesn’t worry me.
Etsy however, is one place I feel myself struggling. To be successful at etsy, you have to post new items all the time and I think it’s best if your shop has a really strong theme. The majority of the work in my etsy store is older work and I don’t feel like it is the best representation of what I do as a fine artist. I have a good idea about how I would like my shop to be and what I would like to put up there but it is hard to find time to make new work. My mind is constantly overflowing with ideas of new paintings. I just feel like I haven’t quite found my rhythm in the art making department.
I haven’t really found any solutions yet. Maybe I need to set goals for myself. Finish one painting a week? How hard can that be. Make Sunday (or any one day) my painting day? I suppose when you run your own business you really have to be consistent with your time and have clear cut goals.
Another thing is that I would really love to have a show of my work this year. It’s been a LONG time since I have been in an art show and I think it would be wonderful. So far, this year has been pretty good to me. How awesome would it be if I could finish it out with an art show, a few more album design clients, and a successful etsy shop?
