No Maps on the Career Path

I need to move on. I need a new direction. A new horizon, a new job... but not any ol' job. I need something that will inspire me to smile or whistle while I work. Something creative. Something I can feel good about. Something that I want to do when I get up in the morning. Something that will contribute to the happiness of other people or animal's lives. I do lots and lots of things that fit these descriptions on a daily basis, but the point I am making is that I need the things I do to PAY ME!

Cleaning houses is a fine job. For someone of a heartier constitution, it may be a lifelong career. It pays well, the people are generally very happy you are there to make their lives easier, usually no one breathing down your neck so you are free to work as you please. BUT! I have been having physical issues that complicate my work. Back pain, joint pain, dizzy spells, and low blood sugar have been making work uncomfortable lately. Well, for a while actually. I just am getting fed up enough about it now that I'm whining. Audibly.

Let's brainstorm ways Melanie can make money creatively:

Etsy

My etsy store has sold a whopping nada since I opened it. But that could because I've neglected it horribly since I listed my first 18 items. I hear tell that the pictures on an etsy page will make or break a store. The pictures not taken by me are just lovely. I hired a photographer friend of mine to photograph some of my work for my etsy site on trade. (I still owe her a set of gloves) The ones I took are hideous and don't show the products in good detail. My camera gives me a case of the "goddammit"s. I just can't get the lighting right. So, I haven't listed anything else since because I have only gotten crappy photos. I think my crafty things are better appreciated when held in your hand anyway.

I think the whole etsy thing is not for me. I spent more time online than making things to put online when I started it. That's not really productive. I'll keep it up and probably will add things here or there, but it's not going to be a full time pursuit.


Craft Markets

My husband has suggested I take my creative vomitings to the local arts and crafts markets on Saturdays throughout summer. I suppose it's a start, but it's hardly a full time job. I mean we just bought a house! I need a regular income! Once a week for 20 or so weeks is not going to feed us year round. I may give it a shot next weekend... but what would I sell? There's my knitting, quilting, stuffed critters, dyed fabric, paintings, drawings... where do I focus? That's like asking an amphibian to pick land or water!

I'm not a very fast knitter, which makes keeping a full inventory difficult. Though, people do really like the things I make. I've had numerous requests for my gloves and hats. Sideline maybe? But not my main focus... I just wouldn't make enough off of it.

I've not been doing much in the way of painting or drawing lately. The "good stuff" comes in spurts of creative genius (HA!) with lots of crap in between. Not good for making me rich either. No one wants crap.

I LOVE making my little tater stuffies! They are so fun. I really just want to keep them when I make them. And set them on my bed. And talk to them. But I've yet to sell a single one... I don't know if anyone else is as crazy as I am about armless furry things. Maybe I'll push them for a while and see where it takes me. Maybe.


Art quilts are fun. They are fantabulous to make. I really enjoy the process of dyeing, printing, hand sewing, and touching all that fabric! But I don't know if there's really a market for them. I seem to have a ton of them on display around town and have sold 2 in the last year. I suppose that's better than the big fat zero etsy sales.

Something Completely New

I've recently toyed with the idea of doing something new. Daring even. Like opening a gallery/studio space for other artists ala the Ceretana. I have ideas on how to run things in a more professional way than how they were run at the Ceretana. Things there didn't run all that smoothly at times... but that's another story. There are many open store fronts downtown and a ton of artists in this community who need space to work and exhibit on the cheap. With maybe a small modest shop for selling arty/crafty things too. I think I'd focus on mixed media and sculpture since that is a niche that seems not overly full in this town.

This all takes money though. And I am not exactly rolling in it. I could share responsibility with other like minded artist types or business folk. But do I want it to be a co-op or a profit driven environment? Do I want to let other people have a full share? I'm not really sure I'm that trusting or giving. But then, if it were a co-op and it failed... it's not JUST my fault and it's not JUST me who loses. I'm not thinking failure right now though. I want to succeed!

Fact of the matter: I must start something. Soon. I can't wait forever.

Holiday Bazaar

I have been working my fingers to the bone to get ready for the Ceretana Holiday Bazaar. I've been knitting, felting, quilting, making papercloth, painting, drawing... yup, to the BONE! It is on December 4th during the ususual Missoula First Friday events. I figured that I had so many extra art and craft supplies around that I had better start making something out of them and maybe even try to make some dough from them.

But I'm not the only one working hard to have tons of pretty things ready for the Bazaar. Kim Shirley has made cards and posters from her wonderful original watercolors, Patricia Thornton has tons of artworks and her lovely Manny pillows ready, Don John Linton will have some of his amazing photo prints for sale along with so many other artists and crafters!

There's going to be an art raffle and a Cheap Art Salon for artists to sell their "mess ups" and "practices" on the cheap. All art in the Cheap Art Salon will be $1 - $20.

Here's a preveiw of what I will have for sale:a smattering of fingerless mittens,

a few warm scarves (this one's camelhair/wool!),

a dash of papercloth in the form of ornaments,
a couple cute felted purses,

and more to be seen!

Goings on and On goings

I guess I've been busy. Probably too busy. But if I wasn't I wouldn't know what to do with myself. And besides, soon it will be winter and I'll be wrapped up on the couch for at least 4 months. SAD and all. Ick... So, what have I been doing? And what am I going to do?

Lessee, I'm about to hang some pictures in a shop downtown for our First Friday Art walk. AHH! I got finagled into it because I know the owner of the shop and her brother is photographer who has a studio at the Ceretana. It's a Ceretana group show, so I have to do this or I'll be black balled by both my friend who owns the shop and the studio peeps. I'm thinking of hanging one of my older acrylic pieces and one of the quilts I have been working on. Not certain on this yet, but I've got 3 days to think on it. We hang on Tuesday. (sounds horrific, doesn't it?)

This is the quilt I just finished. I have framed it and pinned it to foam core board rather than hanging it. It feels more "artsie" that way.

I also just got an invite to be a craft vendor at a fair in November. I have never done one of these, but the chance to unload some work and make money is tempting! I've amassed quite a few random knitting projects and I've made some Christmas ornaments out of paper cloth. I was also thinking of making prints of a couple of my favorite paintings and trying to sell them too. We'll see. I haven't said one way or the other yet. Plus it's $50 to get in. That may be the "decider".

These are some gloves I just finished. I would probably do a few more pairs for the fair. But these are MINE!

Oh yeah! Yesterday I volunteered to teach as a sub at the ZACC again. I think I like this gig. Too bad it isn't a paying one. We made Picassoesque self portraits. The kids got a kick out of that! One kid thought he'd be a skeleton with multicolored bones in the wrong places. Halloween on the brain, anyone?

just another day in paradise

I had a blog all planned out about how my art class went and what we did. But I decided not to write it. I'm not feeling very originally creative lately. Nothing I write or draw or paint is coming out right. (I've had 4 typos in the last 4 lines!)

So, recap of the class: I gave a talk about nature journaling, they made journals, they made nature themed ATCs, they watercolor/sketched flowers and plants from the ZACC garden. It was fun and they all survived.

I've dropped an ATC swap that I was sure would be fun and I'd have lots to contribute... but I am blank. I've done lots of sketches and I hate them all. There's only one swap I'm in now and it's about inspiration. A tag book about art and inspiration. Sounds fun, right? *gah!* Hopefully I'll find some before the tags are due!

Part of the problem is that I have kids. My kids are great! They are young and energetic and also artistic. But they also require a lot of attention. I am used to having AT LEAST one full day a week to my self to be quiet and creative. Since the kids have been out of school I've not had one day fully alone. I am in need of some "me" time. I want to turn my music up loud and sit in front of a page and zone out. I can't really get creative until I'm in a zone... and that requires NO INTERUPTIONS! ahem...

Plus, my "me Wednesdays" have become "errand running Wednesdays". Today I sat in the lobby of Tire-O-Rama for 2 1/2 hours to get my brakes fixed for them to tell me they didn't have the right part, come back on friday.

I have been knitting up a storm though. I only learned to knit in (I think) the end of April and have so far made: 3 scarves, 3 purses, 1 project bag (think a duffel for yarn), and I'm in the middle of a beanie for my son. But following a pattern isn't the same as true creative expression.

I can't belive I'm about to say this: I can't wait for the kids to go back to school!

This is Mia being the zen warrior I wish I was

Summer Retreat

The Gardners have just returned from our summer getaway at Camp Tuffit on Lake Mary Ronan. It was beautiful, even when it was raining and thunder storming.

There is a nice sense of community to the camp. There is a shop, a cafe, a nightly hosted campfire, cozy, fully appointed cabins and a friendly staff. Most campers have been there years in a row. It actually is hard to make reservations because most families have a "standing" reservation. This is our second year. We had to wait till someone canceled last year and plan on booking every year for at least one weekend now that we're IN. Some families have been going for generations.

The lack of water in the cabins is kind of quaint. You have to lug buckets into the kitchen and use big basins to wash dishes. There's a lot of water chucking going on in the mornings out the cabin back doors.

I think the thunder and lightning added a little mystery to the camp. Especially when my 11 year old daughter went out on a boat with friends and then the lightning started right over the lake. It was a mystery to me that I didn't panic too hard. The moment they got back to the dock a huge clap and flash went across the far shore. Yikes!

The rain was intermittent but forceful. Bright sunshine mingled with drenching downpours. It was actually kind of refreshing.

I brought a knitting project to keep my hands busy in case the fishing was bad.

And it was.

But the knitting was good! It spawned a conversation with a wonderful woman with a wonderful name. Melanie Cross. One of the awesome people who work at the Camp saw me knitting and told me about Melanie. She owns a store in Kalispell Montana called Camas Creek Yarn. I struck up a conversation with her around the campfire. She is such a cool lady! In addition to some pointers and tips for the bag I was making, I got a "free sample" button for the front. A 2-inch abalone square. NICE!

So when I got home I immediately checked out her website www.camascreekyarn.com and the store is amazing. She and her husband Andy took an old historic storefront and restored it to the original brick walls and ornate ceiling. And her yarn selection is unreal! She carries yarn of all types- hemp, wool, mohair, silk, cotton, blends- from all over the world. Tons of books, patterns, and classes if you are lucky enough to be nearby.

I'm definitely going to stop by and shop... and say hi to my new friend.

In stitches,

Mel