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State of the artist - hooray for spring!
10 years ago
NEEDLE FELTING IS TITS MCGEE
Hello friends! I hope you are enjoying the turn of the seasons like I am! The weather is finally getting nice here in my spot of the world, and it's opened up opportunities for new adventures, like gardening :3
First and foremost, the exciting stuff (and the stuff that you guys are here for): the art!
Sideshow X - I'm going to be in an art show next month! The show is called Sideshow X, and it's the show's tenth birthday! Congratulations Sideshow, and the Dayton Circus! I'm super excited because I'll be displaying with a lot of my friends, and the organizers have a lot of big plans for this year. I absolutely love the organization throwing this together, and I'm insanely happy that they've made it this far. It's going to be an honor to have my work in there gallery (which they OWN now!!! How exciting is that??!), and I'll be sure to take a lot of pictures to show you guys :3
This means I've been working really hard to stick to the deadlines.... I have to bust my butt this weekend to finish everything up, because set up is this week and then the show itself is on May 8 & 9. That's okay though, I'm the sort of person who is used to working under a rapidly approaching deadline.
Other art - Getting everything ready for Sideshow X really hasn't left me much time to do other art, but I've at least been trying! I've been working on some smaller, cheaper pieces for my Etsy shop, and once I have everything done and set up for Sideshow X I'll be able to show you guys some more stuff that I'll have for sale. There will also be more cat beds available for sale! I'll keep you guys posted as I add stuff to my Etsy :)
Commissions are open - In case anyone is interested, I'm still open for commissions, they will just take a little longer than usual to get finished since I'm still working on one piece for Sideshow X.
Now on to the less exciting, less artsy-stuff....
The Belgariad - my dad bought me The Pawn of Prophecy, the first book in a fantasy series called The Belgariad. (Well, really... he bought me the books on CD so I could listen to them in my car while I'm on my breaks at work... same difference, right?) And I am hooked! I love cheesy things, I love trope, I love the classic "Hero's Journey" story-arch, so this book series has been right up my ally!
Day Job - As some of my may remember, I have a day job working in a pet store. What I think I've failed to mention (in almost three months!) is that I got promoted and transferred again. I'm not working in the oldest store in our company any more - in fact, I'm now working in one of our newest stores as the Assistant Manager! Woo hoo!!
It's been a really rough month for us, logistically: at the beginning of the year our local company merged with a larger, multi-national chain(okay well.... "multi-national" in that the larger company has stores in the US and Canada... that's multi-national, right?) and April was the month our store got remodeled. The first week of April was also the week our Store Manager decided to go on vacation - which meant I was in charge the whole first week of renovations. I have never been so stressed in my life, not even when my store got robbed!
So the past three weeks of April have been tough - I've worked over time the past three weeks, I've worked so many doubles they've all started to blur together, but the renovations were finished this previous Wednesday and we can finally get back to normal! (Huge shout-out to all my employees, some of whom even worked more than I did. And I'm freaking management. I couldn't have done it without them!) Honestly, the store remodel was the reason I'm so behind on my art: I was working so hard at my store I didn't have as much time or energy for my art when I got home, and so I'd really only get to work on things about once or twice a week... But I managed it!
Other boring stuff - the good news about working OT is that it's helped me financially. That, along with a well-timed tax return and a huge overhaul to how I handle money, and I'm finally out of the little hole of debt I dug myself into over the past year. Here's to new beginnings!
Learning to weave - the other reason I'm behind on my submissions for Sideshow X is because I've begun a sort of apprenticeship learning how to weave! On a traditional loom and everything!! WITH CATS IN THE ROOM!!!! I met an older lady while I was at work, we hit it off phenomenally, and she saw how my jaw dropped when she mentioned her looms: so she invited me out to learn, and she's taken me under her wing as a sort of apprentice. This week I started working on the big loom with paddles, and learned how to follow a pattern. So much geometry!!!
And... This all deserves a bit of honesty from me: I'm a smoker. I'm gross. I know how bad it is for me and I've tried quitting so many times - and every time I end up cracking and going back. The phenomenal news is I found my smoking cessation program, and it is weaving! Seriously, the second I sit down at the loom I totally lose track of everything, including how much I want to smoke, and I can go literal hours without even thinking about it! I hope I get even more chances to weave, because it will be good for my health and my creativity :D
Other life-stuff - What else is there? Oh, there's my pets....
The fish are fish. The tank itself is doing alright after a moderate crash after my heater in the tank broke right when our heater in the house broke (cold feeshes), and I forgot a water change (I'M SORRY TANK!!!) The Dr. Zoidbergs (my collective name for the Dojo Loaches) were the only ones who didn't seem phased by the crash. The White Cloud Minnows didn't seem too bothered, and the Red Gold Honey Gouarmi did fine.... But the guppy population definitely suffered, and my Otocinclus Cats and Sparkling Gourami are all MIA... It's okay, though - after the crash I got a new heater, cranked it up to 80, plopped some Cherry Shrimp in there, and now I've got little shrimpies all over my tank! Now the problem I have to deal with is an outbreak of algae and pest snails, thanks to some contaminated plants I brought home from work... Time for more Oto cats!!!
The three (non-blind) mice are all fat and happy. I have them all in a 55 gallon tank, and I've put them on coconut fiber substrate. They are happier than clams! They spend all day digging tunnels and dens into the dirt, and living life like mice are supposed to. Honestly, looking at their subterranean world, I kinda wish I could shrink down to there size and explore it all...
The rats are quite rattish. My female rat got squirrely and escaped from her cage, only to find herself in a cage with the boys... I fixed the cages so there are no longer any escapees, but now I have ~10 extra rat pups I wasn't planning on. That's why it's handy to work at a pet store: I've been hitting up my employees and customers, seeing if anyone would like to adopt one when they're ready.
I have a ferret named Leif Ferretson! He's roughly 5 months old now, and he is huuuuuge! He's such a cute, clever ferret! He's old enough and big enough now that I've been taking him out on a leash with me for adventures, and last week he even got to play in the park.
Leif is best friends with my cat, Stormy. They spend hours playing together, chasing each other around the living room, getting into things they shouldn't, and wrestling on the floor like maniacs.
My husband is working even harder than I am! He is one semester away from getting his Bachelor's degree, and he's been applying for (and got accepted into!!!) his Master's program. He's also been accepted for a small scholarship for his Master's, and now we're waiting to hear back from the university to see if he's been accepted into their job program there. We hope he gets this job because it means he will be able to work at the university, in his field, and get real-world experience he can apply toward his career when he finally graduates.
We are gardening. Rather.... I garden, he grills and offers moral support. We have a really large yard (well... by our city's standards) that has a couple large flower-beds and three actual garden beds. This house is old, and was abandoned and mistreated before our land-lord moved in a couple years ago, so the gardens are in a bad way. We want to get them all ready for the year, so that by next spring we will be able to grow some of our own food.
So the tl;dr version: Work is a bear, but I've been persevering in my art career anyway! I have an art show coming up, and new art to share with you guys. My hard work is paying off and I'm finally out of debt, and my husband's hard work is paying off and getting recognized. The animal family is doing well, and altogether I am happy!
First and foremost, the exciting stuff (and the stuff that you guys are here for): the art!
Sideshow X - I'm going to be in an art show next month! The show is called Sideshow X, and it's the show's tenth birthday! Congratulations Sideshow, and the Dayton Circus! I'm super excited because I'll be displaying with a lot of my friends, and the organizers have a lot of big plans for this year. I absolutely love the organization throwing this together, and I'm insanely happy that they've made it this far. It's going to be an honor to have my work in there gallery (which they OWN now!!! How exciting is that??!), and I'll be sure to take a lot of pictures to show you guys :3
This means I've been working really hard to stick to the deadlines.... I have to bust my butt this weekend to finish everything up, because set up is this week and then the show itself is on May 8 & 9. That's okay though, I'm the sort of person who is used to working under a rapidly approaching deadline.
Other art - Getting everything ready for Sideshow X really hasn't left me much time to do other art, but I've at least been trying! I've been working on some smaller, cheaper pieces for my Etsy shop, and once I have everything done and set up for Sideshow X I'll be able to show you guys some more stuff that I'll have for sale. There will also be more cat beds available for sale! I'll keep you guys posted as I add stuff to my Etsy :)
Commissions are open - In case anyone is interested, I'm still open for commissions, they will just take a little longer than usual to get finished since I'm still working on one piece for Sideshow X.
Now on to the less exciting, less artsy-stuff....
The Belgariad - my dad bought me The Pawn of Prophecy, the first book in a fantasy series called The Belgariad. (Well, really... he bought me the books on CD so I could listen to them in my car while I'm on my breaks at work... same difference, right?) And I am hooked! I love cheesy things, I love trope, I love the classic "Hero's Journey" story-arch, so this book series has been right up my ally!
Day Job - As some of my may remember, I have a day job working in a pet store. What I think I've failed to mention (in almost three months!) is that I got promoted and transferred again. I'm not working in the oldest store in our company any more - in fact, I'm now working in one of our newest stores as the Assistant Manager! Woo hoo!!
It's been a really rough month for us, logistically: at the beginning of the year our local company merged with a larger, multi-national chain(okay well.... "multi-national" in that the larger company has stores in the US and Canada... that's multi-national, right?) and April was the month our store got remodeled. The first week of April was also the week our Store Manager decided to go on vacation - which meant I was in charge the whole first week of renovations. I have never been so stressed in my life, not even when my store got robbed!
So the past three weeks of April have been tough - I've worked over time the past three weeks, I've worked so many doubles they've all started to blur together, but the renovations were finished this previous Wednesday and we can finally get back to normal! (Huge shout-out to all my employees, some of whom even worked more than I did. And I'm freaking management. I couldn't have done it without them!) Honestly, the store remodel was the reason I'm so behind on my art: I was working so hard at my store I didn't have as much time or energy for my art when I got home, and so I'd really only get to work on things about once or twice a week... But I managed it!
Other boring stuff - the good news about working OT is that it's helped me financially. That, along with a well-timed tax return and a huge overhaul to how I handle money, and I'm finally out of the little hole of debt I dug myself into over the past year. Here's to new beginnings!
Learning to weave - the other reason I'm behind on my submissions for Sideshow X is because I've begun a sort of apprenticeship learning how to weave! On a traditional loom and everything!! WITH CATS IN THE ROOM!!!! I met an older lady while I was at work, we hit it off phenomenally, and she saw how my jaw dropped when she mentioned her looms: so she invited me out to learn, and she's taken me under her wing as a sort of apprentice. This week I started working on the big loom with paddles, and learned how to follow a pattern. So much geometry!!!
And... This all deserves a bit of honesty from me: I'm a smoker. I'm gross. I know how bad it is for me and I've tried quitting so many times - and every time I end up cracking and going back. The phenomenal news is I found my smoking cessation program, and it is weaving! Seriously, the second I sit down at the loom I totally lose track of everything, including how much I want to smoke, and I can go literal hours without even thinking about it! I hope I get even more chances to weave, because it will be good for my health and my creativity :D
Other life-stuff - What else is there? Oh, there's my pets....
The fish are fish. The tank itself is doing alright after a moderate crash after my heater in the tank broke right when our heater in the house broke (cold feeshes), and I forgot a water change (I'M SORRY TANK!!!) The Dr. Zoidbergs (my collective name for the Dojo Loaches) were the only ones who didn't seem phased by the crash. The White Cloud Minnows didn't seem too bothered, and the Red Gold Honey Gouarmi did fine.... But the guppy population definitely suffered, and my Otocinclus Cats and Sparkling Gourami are all MIA... It's okay, though - after the crash I got a new heater, cranked it up to 80, plopped some Cherry Shrimp in there, and now I've got little shrimpies all over my tank! Now the problem I have to deal with is an outbreak of algae and pest snails, thanks to some contaminated plants I brought home from work... Time for more Oto cats!!!
The three (non-blind) mice are all fat and happy. I have them all in a 55 gallon tank, and I've put them on coconut fiber substrate. They are happier than clams! They spend all day digging tunnels and dens into the dirt, and living life like mice are supposed to. Honestly, looking at their subterranean world, I kinda wish I could shrink down to there size and explore it all...
The rats are quite rattish. My female rat got squirrely and escaped from her cage, only to find herself in a cage with the boys... I fixed the cages so there are no longer any escapees, but now I have ~10 extra rat pups I wasn't planning on. That's why it's handy to work at a pet store: I've been hitting up my employees and customers, seeing if anyone would like to adopt one when they're ready.
I have a ferret named Leif Ferretson! He's roughly 5 months old now, and he is huuuuuge! He's such a cute, clever ferret! He's old enough and big enough now that I've been taking him out on a leash with me for adventures, and last week he even got to play in the park.
Leif is best friends with my cat, Stormy. They spend hours playing together, chasing each other around the living room, getting into things they shouldn't, and wrestling on the floor like maniacs.
My husband is working even harder than I am! He is one semester away from getting his Bachelor's degree, and he's been applying for (and got accepted into!!!) his Master's program. He's also been accepted for a small scholarship for his Master's, and now we're waiting to hear back from the university to see if he's been accepted into their job program there. We hope he gets this job because it means he will be able to work at the university, in his field, and get real-world experience he can apply toward his career when he finally graduates.
We are gardening. Rather.... I garden, he grills and offers moral support. We have a really large yard (well... by our city's standards) that has a couple large flower-beds and three actual garden beds. This house is old, and was abandoned and mistreated before our land-lord moved in a couple years ago, so the gardens are in a bad way. We want to get them all ready for the year, so that by next spring we will be able to grow some of our own food.
So the tl;dr version: Work is a bear, but I've been persevering in my art career anyway! I have an art show coming up, and new art to share with you guys. My hard work is paying off and I'm finally out of debt, and my husband's hard work is paying off and getting recognized. The animal family is doing well, and altogether I am happy!
Anbessa
~anbessa
wow, so many things going on... looks like your only way is up. :) much success!
