A few updates and new beginnings.

The above is a very small picture of the girl and myself that I just completed for a competition that is being held in Canada.  It needs to be sent out this week.  I am still undecided if I want to send another work as well.  I probably should since you are allowed 2 entries for one registration price.  The picture measures just 3X4.  I have never done a competition before and must say I am super scared.  At least I do not need to be present, so if my work does not cut it, I do not have to hear it...  They reserve the right to sell the works as well and that would be nice.  It was interesting doing such a small piece.  I based this painting off another painting of larger size that I have done of Marnie and I but have not yet began to quill.  Way more challenging in the smaller size I assume.  I have been procrastinating sending it off because I need to include a portfolio and I have none.  I have never done anything nor sold anything, so I am unsure of what to include.  I guess I will have to figure it out however since it has to be sent out by the end of the month.  Due to our vacation in Disney that begins next week - I will need to have it sent out by next Wednesday.

Since I have made the decision to attempt to make a little money off my work and prove to myself and my family that all the time I spend rolling paper is worth it - I have been reading article after article about how to make money off art.  The general idea is that you need to sell prints.  This sounds great to me since often time a picture can take me 100 hours or more to complete.  It would be nice to have something to sell while I create new works.  It is pretty pricey to get prints made, so for my first time out I have decided to appeal more to my local demographic.  Traverse City is known as the Cherry Capitiol of the world and we get thousands of tourists each year for various events.  I painted this silly little thing as my base and will see what comes from it.  I always get a bit frustrated when I first paint something since I am really quite bad at it.  I do not know why it bothers me so much since I am just going to cover it up anyhow and my finished work will barely even resemble what is underneath.  It still ticks me off though.  Probably because I have to look at it for so long before it is complete.  Blah.

Here is another base I have painted and just begun to quill.  It may be a bit too much detail for the size paper I chose to quill to.  It will have to do though because I am running super low on materials.

I cannot tell you how excited I am to have an Etsy shop now.  It is nice to have my stuff out there in any capacity.  Unfortunately until I have some prints made, most of my stuff is is a little up there in price.  I want to be able to have a few less expensive items available at all times as well so I can reach more people.  I made up the little wind chime below and put it up on the site -   http://www.etsy.com/listing/69985545/quilled-paper-mobile-wind-chime?ref=pr_shop   There are quite a few more pictures there.  I am hoping it will do well.  I am going to make a few more in different color combos as well.  I have a few ideas for a few jewelry items I would like to sell as well.  I have too many ideas in my head to get everything out there.  

I need to get more organized and finish the few items that have deadlines first before finishing some of my pet projects.  We shall see how it all goes and I will keep you updated...

thinking, thinking, thinking.

I am overwhelmed with thoughts of where I want to be in a year's time.  I am positively at some kind of crossroad and wandering aimlessly around it.  I feel like there a lot of passions in my life and I need to narrow them down a bit.  I do many things but is any of it done as well as it should be?  No.  I am a mother, a wife, take care of a home, and artist and a worker.  I am also a person who likes to leave the house once in awhile  - this I almost never do with the exception of going to work.  So much to do and I feel as if I never get anything done.  Big plans are brewing and it is exciting to see where I will go.  There is much I cannot control, but I can be proactive.

My Etsy shop is set up and also linked to this site.  I think I linked it up to my facebook as well, but I am not quite sure about that.  Putting up any of my art of facebook makes me quite vomitus.  It is hard to show my stuff to strangers but way harder to show it to people I actually know.  I have never been one for criticism.  Little steps I suppose.