 This entire blog stemmed from a conversation with my mom where she said and I quote “how do you always find such cool things? When I go on Etsy I get too overwhelmed.”
Ditto. Maybe it’s being a millenial or maybe it’s just being resourceful, but a lot of cross referencing from Facebook groups and Instagram profiles has gotten me to my perfectly curated Etsy wishlist. And now… I want to share it with you!
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 With October coming to an end and Autumn officially in full swing, artists and entrepreneurs are going full throttle for the last couple months of the year. #INKTOBER has become the most popular drawing challenge when it comes to the art community and the #LAST90DAYS challenge has been sweeping the self-help community. With all of this emphasis on making the most of this year - it seems like there’s nothing you can’t do… or in my case nothing you can do right.  The entire craft show experience is a whirl wind. The days leading up are stressful and the moments talking with customers are sheer bliss just because you were able to get this far. I'm writing this to remember the people I met. These are my people, my neighbors and friends, and likely a reflection of any local community. They're quirky and opinionated, they will support you and they will be honest with you.  Ripple effect - a spreading, pervasive, and usually unintentional effect or influence. - Merriam- Webster Dictionary  I remember everything about that moment clearly, because I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “It looks like you have everything you need, you just have to go for it.” What? I have everything? I don’t need to do anymore research? No more email conversations with my accountant or using my lunch break to read (literally everything) about owning a small business? I should be excited… but I’m not.  A month ago I was feeling really down on myself about my Instagram followers (or lack there of) and I wanted to do something to change that. What I found not only changed my attitude, but my entire mindset on the world of social media and I picked up some tips that helped me get what I really wanted. I participated in Ria from Craftsposure’s free webinar and this is what I learned.  So I’m wrapping up a good three months worth of fruit sketches right now and I’ve been inspired to talk about my process. Everyone’s drawing process is different depending on the medium he/she works in, the amount of detail in the piece, and the artist’s drawing style. I decided to pick one of my smaller pieces (this one took about half an hour total because I was filming at the time) and show how it went from sketch to finished design.  The end of May is a stressful time. For me, it was filled with exams, new projects at work (the interior design world thrives in the Spring) and the promise of Summer.
Trying to find inspiration when you’re so bogged down by endless lists of life chores that have to be done, let alone all the actual chores you’ve been neglecting can make you feel like you’re trapped in an artist’s quicksand… and sinking fast. While I still wanted to draw, I didn’t have time to fully develop any drawings, so I came up with the #alphabetminiseries  As I’ve been discovering my love for markers this past year I realized something; the number one reason I didn’t touch markers in High School is because I didn’t know how to shade. When you think about popular mediums such as acrylic paint, watercolor, and colored pencil you can easily find tutorials on how to shade and make artwork look incredibly realistic. Markers are a lot harder to work with when you’re going for realism, or so I thought. So I want to pass on the knowledge I’ve learned about shading in marker and a particular tool that helped me achieve realistic marker drawings, my Prismacolor blender. |
