My old cat, Cootie, really knew how to avoid burnout

I think I can easily say that I’m beginning to burn myself out because now when I dream at night, I’m filling numbers into spreadsheets or endlessly drawing the same picture.  When I used to work with a catering company, I [...]]]>

 My old cat, Cootie, really knew how to avoid burnout

I think I can easily say that I’m beginning to burn myself out because now when I dream at night, I’m filling numbers into spreadsheets or endlessly drawing the same picture.  When I used to work with a catering company, I would come home from a wedding and bus tables all night long.  I used to joke that I should be paid overtime for all the extra work I did after the event in my dreams.   I’ve put in so many hours this past week drawing, printing, sewing pillows, and all around getting ready for the upcoming Renegade show plus a show in Oakland this week.

When people imagine working for themselves, they imagine all the fun times.  The times they just get up from their desk and go for a walk.  The times they sleep in way past sunrise and snuggle with a good book till lunch.  What they don’t imagine are the very long nights where you work pretty much right up until the point when the lights go out.  Or the weekends that feel the same as weekdays because you can’t seem to stop working.

My boyfriend constantly tells me that I don’t know how to relax.  Even on vacations if I’m not constantly on the move or ‘doing’ something, then I’m crawling up the walls trying to get moving.

But that’s not the sort of lifestyle I want to have in my business anymore.  I want to turn off my computer at 9pm.  I want to sit on the couch and read until noon some mornings and not feel terribly guilty about it.  Life is much too short to be constantly working and goodness knows a burnout is the last thing I need or want right now.  It’s summer time!  You’re supposed to be full of creative energy right now!

So this week my goal is plainly and simply to RELAX.  I would like to:

• Read a good book till noon one morning
• Go on a leisure bike ride with my boyfriend to the old abandoned railroad tracks we’ve been meaning to visit
• Take a nap whenever I want to any day this week
• Loudly proclaim, ‘I’m not going to do that until I have ice cream!’ and then eat ice cream

What about you?  Should one or all of these things be on your to-do list as well?

Papa Pigeon – not a carrier pigeon but certainly a chubby pigeon

During the wrath of the Spanish flu, not only were the streets full of people running to and from the hospitals, but the skies were full of birds flying to and from the same places.  While the [...]]]>

Papa Pigeon – not a carrier pigeon but certainly a chubby pigeon

During the wrath of the Spanish flu, not only were the streets full of people running to and from the hospitals, but the skies were full of birds flying to and from the same places.  While the general public simply assumed London was witnessing a surge in the general pigeon population (which happened every few years back then before they started employing noblemen to practice their skeet shooting in the city streets), what they were actually seeing was the rare medical carrier pigeon  at work.

It’s still all quite hush hush but Mrs. Pleasantlyton’s Museum of Oddities, Novelties, and Curiosities has two de-classified documents on display which they managed to save from the shredding pile when the blitz bombs hit the Royal London Hospital’s classifieds archives.  Apparently the hospital staff had been training regular carrier pigeons for months to fly not from one roost to another but from one hospital to another.  More specifically, from a flu-ridden one to a healthy one.  Human messengers would have carried the virus, in addition to their letter asking for more vaccine, while the pigeons only delivered the latter.  Thus the pigeon soon became the best way to transfer medicine in times of need.

The hospital staff injected the birds with a mix of steroids and amphetamines to speed up their flight time and double the amount of vaccine they could carry in one trip.

You can see one of the stuffed specimens on display at the museum as well.  It was also saved from the shredder pile.  The birds had larger wing muscles, elongated legs (to tie more vaccine to), and, if you peer closely, you may just make out their tiny six-packs.

Stanley, the museum’s bird, (his name is on his leg tag) caused quite a stir when he first arrived because the special director of the Royal London Hospital demanded his return.  The museum, of course, refused (mostly because their cat, Beatrice, had become attached to Stanley) and after a few idle threats, the director gave up.  It may have been because another bout of the flu (Portuguese this time) broke out and he became quite busy creating another generation of medical carrier pigeons.

So look carefully the next time you’re in the city.  If you see a pigeon with a tiny six-pack flying amid the chubby ones, you can bet he’s delivering medicine to people very much in need.

“Reindeer Kite Flying” – one of Norway’s little-known national sports

It’s not official yet since we don’t have our signature on a new lease, but as official as unofficially moving the first of September can be, my boyfriend and I are doing that.  We won’t be going far.  Less than 100 [...]]]>

“Reindeer Kite Flying” – one of Norway’s little-known national sports

It’s not official yet since we don’t have our signature on a new lease, but as official as unofficially moving the first of September can be, my boyfriend and I are doing that.  We won’t be going far.  Less than 100 miles but more than 30 to somewhere with more art, less oh-my-goodness-the-index-doesn’t-go-this-high UV, and an equal amount of adventure.

To prepare for that upcoming event, I’m having a moving sale on some of my original artwork.  I’ve never EVER sold my original pieces before but I simply can’t fit them all into the car for the move so I hope you’ll help me find them good homes!

“Rigel the Cat – Having Coffee with His Cream”

Everything is signed and dated by me.  I’m attaching them all to mat board so they’ll be ready to display and arrive safely at your door.  This is a really rare opportunity to buy original artwork at moving sale prices.  Yep, it’s all priced to move so that I don’t get the dreaded ‘eye roll’ from my boyfriend when I haul my artwork out to the car.  (Don’t worry, he’ll be getting one from me because I’ve peeked under his side of the bed and his art boxes are just as big as mine.)

The sale on originals runs from now till I move, which is unofficially September 1st but I may have to end it early to pack things up.  So shop early because once a piece is gone, it’s officially gone for good.

I [...]]]> This week has been so magical, I simply had to start this post with a unicorn.  Or a unicorn according to artist Millee Tibbs.  If I had seen this as a little girl, I would have upgraded my pleas to my parents for a horse to a unicorn.

I made a big decision to cut back my hours from the last VA job I’m planning to quit by December 31st and the response that came back to me included cutting more hours than I had intended due to a bit of re-thinking from my ‘boss’ on my duties.  Well, it scared the pants off me for a bit but I knew I couldn’t back out.  Less than a day later, I received two emails out of the blue from people about commissions.  Yes, that’s right.  In less than a day the universe had given me the opportunity to make up the money I was going to be ‘losing’ for the next 3 months.  I never cease to be amused by how ironic the universe can be sometimes.

The first commission piece is nearly finished and it’s for a very young poet.  The piece illustrates her poem about a young wolf having his first run in the moonlight.  I’m waiting to hear back from her but so far it sounds like she loves it.

No matter how many times I work with clients, it’s always the most nerve-wracking thing to send them my illustration and wait for the response.  Normally when they reply, I put my hands over my eyes and read the email through my fingers.

But that wasn’t the end of the good news because 3 more shops accepted my work into their offerings!  Yes!  Nothing makes me happier than knowing lots of new eyes get to find my work in shops around the country.  Some of my king salmon brooches are even going all the way up to Alaska, where salmon really is king.

Oh, you must have been crossing your fingers really well for me because I did indeed get into Etsy Wholesale!!!  I scared the fish a lot when I opened that email and began skipping from room to room, much to the annoyance I’m sure of the lady below our apartment.  My Etsy wholesale shop is now set up and ready for shops to make some orders.

My goals for this week include:

• Start my sale on originals.  That’s right!  For the first time ever, I’m letting you buy my originals.  As an extra bonus, they’ll be going at ‘moving sale prices’ in anticipation of my upcoming August move.
• Design an embroidery pattern for Feeling Stitchy’s July stitch-a-long.  If you like embroidering, you’ll definitely want to join in this free event.
• Finally figure out my booth design for the upcoming Renegade SF summer fair.  It took me three long years to get into this show and I’m determined to make it my best one yet.  If you’re in the area, you’ll definitely want to stop by as I’ll be showing off some new merchandise.  (hint hint)
• Clean the apartment to make room for all of the stuff my boyfriend accumulated in his school studio space as that will be coming home this week.  It’s a natural phenomena that art supplies reproduce and multiply when left in a studio and thus we’re both a little scared to see the amount that returns to our apartment after three years of study.

Day #154 is the cute couple [...]]]> Another week of 365 portraits.  There are so many exciting things I want to tell you but I have to save it for tomorrow’s check-in with the Seven Months to Self-Employment post.  Until then, you can see all the portraits I’ve been creating this past week.

Day #154 is the cute couple Jai and her boyfriend.

Day #155 and #156 is the beautiful, newly-wed couple Lisa Congdon, the SF artist, and Clay Walsh.

Day #157 is a bit of an unusual portrait but Arianna couldn’t wait to see her wedding dress drawn by me.

Day #158 involved pulling out my brown ink and sumi brush to paint the artist, Lesley Myrick.

Day #159 is the sweet Stephanie.  I hope she likes her portrait!

Day #160 is yet another sumi drawing and it’s the classy Deb today.

I can’t believe that the end of the month marks the halfway point for me for this challenge!  When I started out January 1st I had no idea I would even make it this far.  If you haven’t sent in your picture yet to be drawn, please do so!  At this point I don’t have enough to make it to December 31st.

If I can climb to the top of Yosemite Falls, then certainly I can make a living from my artwork.

You know when you’re little and you had the ‘best idea ever’?  For me that generally involved attempting to read 5 books at once, although it once involved sticking [...]]]>

If I can climb to the top of Yosemite Falls, then certainly I can make a living from my artwork.

You know when you’re little and you had the ‘best idea ever’?  For me that generally involved attempting to read 5 books at once, although it once involved sticking my tongue to a bleacher in sub-zero temperatures just to see what would happen.  Well, recently my ‘best idea ever’ was to set out on a 7-month journey to self-employment.  You may wonder why it isn’t simply the best idea ever (no quotes) and that’s because of the simple fact that my boyfriend just graduated and will be starting his own business as well.  Oh, and we’re planning to move.  And we plan to visit Germany next spring.  See the problem?

Most people (most sane people anyway) would not take a flying leap away from a safety net in the hopes that another one made of even safer materials like bubble wrap and Mithril will appear before I hit the rocky bottom of food stamps and going back to retail.  But I never admitted to be like most sane people.  I may simply be too naive.  Or too stubborn. Either way, these next 7 months will be a true test of my character (which I’m guessing is pretty built up due to all the experiences my father put me through for that purpose – like eating steaks that could be confused with the charcoal briquettes and sandbagging with the National Guard and several college football teams in sub-zero temperatures), discipline, and ingenuity.

This month, my first month, is all about preparing.  I have two big shows this month and a HUGE art fair in July for which to get ready.  I also have a list far too long that notes all the changes I want to make to my website and my social media platforms to get them more up to snuff.  It could be said that I have an affinity for making lists and writing things out by hand but I’ve learned a trick recently that are really helping me make some serious leaps.  I take a sheet of paper and number from 1 to 31 (or 30 depending on the month) and list out one task for every day.  That way, no matter how hectic things get, I’m always sure to get one small step done in the day.  After a whole month, you’d be amazed at how much those little steps add up.

My goals for this week include:

• Hanging my show at The Rare Bird in Oakland
• Finishing a commission piece for an 11-year-old poet
• Getting accepted by Etsy wholesale (fingers crossed!)
• Finishing the first editing phase on my 2nd book (I can’t wait to share more details!)
• And cleaning our 2 fish tanks – I have to keep some things easy, right?

Day #147 is the adorable little boy of Rachel (Day #104) who desperately wanted to show off his Lego creation.

This week was a bit crazy since I was hiking in Yosemite for four days but I still managed to get all of my portraits done for the week!

Day #147 is the adorable little boy of Rachel (Day #104) who desperately wanted to show off his Lego creation.

Day #148 is the amazing Chris Guillebeau.  He’s the author of The $100 Startup and the creator of the World Domination Summit.  I cannot believe he let me draw him!

Day #149 is the beautiful LaDonna.

Day #150 is the Master’s student Annah who is just one year away from earning her M.S. degree in Economics!

Day #151 is Corinne, who provides writing services for businesses and non-profits.

Day #152 is the adorable Dan.  His girlfriend (Jill – Day #108) of 11 years sent in this photo.  It was the photo used to ‘auction him off’ to her and they’ve been together ever since.

Day #153 and #154 is the lovely Jai and her humorous boyfriend, who apparently acts up whenever a camera comes into play.

Last week was a whirl of graduation, parties, family, and all around celebrating.  I cannot believe that after three years of hard work and creativity, my boyfriend is finally a Master of Fine Art.  However, we’ve come to the agreement that I don’t have to call him ‘Master’ but that ‘Photography Meister’ works instead.

The official degree won’t arrive for another 3 months but he has the robe with silly sleeves and hood to prove it!

This week we’re taking his parents into the friendly bear-infested park known as Yosemite.  Though we’re fans of backpacking and camping, this is the one park we refuse to sleep in when taking guests.  Years of silly tourists and RV campers have turned the bears into the equivalent of drunk party guests who smash up your car, eat your food, and then try to crawl into your sleeping bag to sleep it off.  So instead we’re staying in a yurt in a town just outside the park.  Three days of hiking, yurting, and eating granola like bears here we come!

Day #140 is [...]]]> Whew!  This week flew by thanks to my boyfriend’s graduation and subsequent celebrations.  This week we’ll be taking his parents off to Yosemite so you might not hear much from me but don’t worry, the portraits will still get done!  This week I had the pleasure of drawing some really big names.

Day #140 is the dynamic duo Michelle Ward, the When I Grow Up Coach, and Tanya Geisler, an amazing life coach.

Day #141 is the voice-finder and rabbi, Minna Bromberg.  Last summer I helped Minna put out a beautiful CD.

Day #142 is Gemma.  I bet I’m not alone in being jealous of her hair.

Day #143 is the energetic, creative business coach April of Blacksburg Belle.  I love watching her weekly blog videos about how to be more productive and run a profitable business.

Day #144 of my 365 Portrait Challenge is the designer, Amy, of Lined and Layered.

Day #145 is the adorable Mira, the daughter of relationship coach, Michele, of The Hot Love Revolution.

Day #146 is Brad.  His entire family was drawn a few weeks back but I had to wait a little bit to get a picture of him.  He has no idea his wife had their portraits drawn so I hope it’s a pleasant surprise.