Abstract

This is the painting I finished during Hurricane Isaac.  It's one of three I hope to finish by the end of this calendar year. One down, two to go!  I also started building a dragonfly with caps and cans.  I may finish that this afternoon.  This painting is acrylic on 11x16.  I used Liquitex and some cheapo brands of paint, and two Golden mediums for different effects. 

2011-2012



Bad Moon Rising

That's my hurricane song. It aptly describes the moon tonight, too.  There's a nice breeze out, and the clouds aren't thick yet, but they are definitely feeder bands.  A bike ride and some yoga helped to chill me out this afternoon.  I'm sure the only troubles we'll experience here is loss of electricity.  All the laundry is done, the fridge and freezer are bare bones, and the patio furniture and garden things are stacked so wind or falling branches shouldn't cause too much damage.

The plan is to watch movies until the power goes out, and then read.  Candles and flashlights have been dispersed all around the house.  If power is out for a lengthy period (days), I may even try to do some art. In the meantime, enjoy this photo I took this afternoon of some carefree youngsters.  It wasn't that long ago that I can remember getting excited about a hurricane coming because there was no work and no school.  Once you become a homeowner, that all changes. Anyway, keep up with Flickr since I'll post photos from my phone throughout the storm.  Good luck and be safe!

canoeing on Lake Ponchartrain pre-Isaac

  

Don't Call Me Jill!

That's going to be a t-shirt I make one of these days.  Just plain old black and white, comic sans.  It's a pet peeve of mine and people who think they know me always shorten my name.  It happened twice recently, so that's why it's on my mind. 

Anywho, I lied.  I renewed some Etsy items.  Some will definitely expire and not get renewed though.  Not much is going to happen artwise before my trip, but as always, there are ideas for things when I get back.  It's crazy how fast time is going by!  So many things to take care of!  Later!!

Continuing the Trend

I can't believe that in three weeks I'll be leaving for Ireland!!  I've already started getting things out to pack!  I also need to get serious about doing yoga everyday before going so I don't whine/cry like a kid who needs a nap from walking so much everyday while I'm there.  ;) 

New ideas have come to me about can/cap sculptures, so not quite ready to list things for sale on Etsy yet.  If I go forward with them and make enough stuff, I'll try selling at the Mandeville Trailhead Community Market one weekend in October or November.  The ideas will allow for a range of prices that will hopefully help to make some sales. 

As far as Etsy goes, I've moreorless decided to let all the listings expire.  The link will always be good, but only my favorite listings from other sellers will show unless I decide to list my personal items again.  The investment is minimal, but it's just one more thing that takes up a lot of time and isn't getting the return I hoped for.  Maybe if I'd figured out and allowed international shipping that would've helped make a few sales. Who knows.  The site is just so full of crafts people and artists that listings get lost in the mix - a great problem for the creators of Etsy to have, however. 

The website will get built and be up by Christmas for sure.  After my return from travelling, I will make myself sit down and finish building it with the help of my former webmaster.  The address may have to change a smidge, but we may also find a way around it.  Alternately, if anyone has a recommendation for a cheap website building human who could get it all done for me in a weeks time, I'll go that route.  By cheap, I mean, they just want some more experience to add to their resume and will do it for an art trade, or less than $50. 

Wishing everyone a great week!  The Olympics have been thrilling to watch, but the sitcoms on NBC are biting at its heels to get the new seasons started.  Looks like Mon-Wed nights I'll be wrapped up in TV land ;)   

Some coworkers and I came up with this whole scene and Tweeted it to our favorite Saints players

Upcoming Cap Projects

Day of the Dead skull and a dragonfly on a piece of driftwood.

Housecleaning and Maybe a New Direction

Happy Friday to all!

Today I've had major motivation to get rid of things both material and metaphorical that don't fit anymore.  Closets are being cleaned out, dontation and consignment bags are getting filled, things are being returned, etc.  I also found out that while Abita thinks my beer fish are great, they are too expensive to resell in their gift shop.  It was worth a shot, even though I was not surprised by their decision. 

That whole price thing may be why I've never made a sale on Etsy, and why everyone who wants a beer fish or any other piece of my art has not bought something.  This topic was included in a post before, but I can not fathom how these other artists and craftpersons are selling their creations for so little.  At the same time, Etsy is not the cheapest place in the world to buy things - it's often quite pricey - but the things that are similar to what I make are cheaper than what I feel comfortable selling mine for.  Maybe I'm too proud or too idealistic.

Either way, this cleaning out mode that's struck is causing me to consider getting rid of all the cans and bottle caps I've been collecting for the last several years.  I can always get more if I decide to take up that type of sculpture again.  I've done the math.  Over the last 8 years, I've sold 8 or 9 fish total.  It's not worth keeping all this stuff around for that since I don't like having backstock sitting around.  Maybe I'll try to sell all the supplies on Etsy rather than throwing it all in the recycle bin for folks who like to make bottle cap earrings and whatnot.  There are a couple more projects I'd like to make for myself before I make my final decision, but that's the direction my mind is headed. 

Photo taken from this site via Google image search

Blonde at the Roots

I think that's a book title....
Anyway, DUH!!! I just changed "my website" on Twitter to the Etsy shop instead of having it set to the blog.  That will help make a potential sale more than the blog will.  Heyyo!!  Been very dinghy lately...my brain must still be at the beach ;) 

Also, still waiting to hear from Abita about the beer fish idea.  Apparently, the big chief is very busy, as to be expected. 

It kept loading funny, but how hilarious is this?? Gulf Shores, AL

In Real Life....

I just got back from a short yet relaxing beach vacation with my good friend and travel buddy.  Real life didn't waste any time slapping me back into the daily grind either.  This has nothing to do with art - although, I will let you know that I have to take a break from that right now for a little bit to get the rest of things back on track - this has to do with my day job.  Pretty humorous if you're interested in reading this from 2008......

http://annoyedlibrarian.blogspot.com/2008/02/best-careers-of-2008.html

Sand Pipers at Gulf Shores, AL