New Location - California!

I haven't been very active with the blog lately, but if you're on my Facebook page, you know that I recently relocated. I'm no longer in snowy Wisconsin, I'm in sunny California! The move was a long time coming; we've been planning it for the better part of a year. It was so lovely to finally set a date on it. Things were so busy I closed down shop for a bit.

Now that I'm here and fairly settled in, I'm back to work! My Etsy shop is fully stocked and ready for a sale - 10% off when you use the coupon code BUYHANDMADE. Despite having a major sale just before the holidays, I still have almost 200 items in stock, and I'd love to clear them out and make room for new!

It is so beautiful here. The weather is so warm and the sky so clear and blue. I feel so much inspiration that I've been shifting focus from accessories to painting. If my ideas go well, I might end up putting a few paintings in the shop; we'll see. I'm currently not working so I have plenty of time to work on art! I am also trying to get in better shape while I'm at it. My schedule has been 1/2 hour to 1 & 1/2 hours of exercise in the morning, housework and/or walks and exploring my new surroundings for a good chunk of the day, and then working on projects for as many hours as I can stay awake for in the evening. Currently I'm working on a tattoo design for a friend, two paintings, and a couple other little projects to keep my hands busy.

I will post more when I have more pictures of ART to show you! I better get to work so I can finish them! :D

Painting

You remember that package I was so excited about? I finally got it - of course, on my working weekend when I don't have much time to play with my fun new trinkets. Ah well. I should be painting instead of crafting anyway. I did find a nice way to multitask though. Everything needs to dry sometime, right? So I paint as much as I can until the layer needs to dry, then I turn to the other side of the room and work on crafts until I have to let their glue dry. If the paint isn't quite ready to be worked on yet, I'll go to the opposite end of the room and knit for a bit. This trifecta can keep me busy all day.

I feel really lucky to have a fairly spacious art room to work in. Moving is a possibility in the near future, and I can only cross my fingers and hope I'm able to have a similar space. I could probably fit into a smaller room, but I'll have to pack everything into a lot of storage containers and bring things out piece by piece.

I was so nervous about painting again that I put it off longer than I should have. I don't know what I was so nervous about. It took me a little longer than usual to mix the colors, but that could actually be due to the age of my paint. Once the colors were in front of me and the brush was in my hand, I took a deep breath and dove in. Within the first few brushstrokes I felt a warm sense of familiarity, and as I continued I was overwhelmed by a silly urge to cry. I don't know why. It just felt so good, and it had been so long. I don't know why painting is so different than all my crafting. I could spend pages and pages trying to talk that out, but I won't. I think I'll sum it up by saying that it's just a more emotional outlet for me.

So I had a good day getting back into the habit. I got pretty far on my practice painting, and sketched out the scene for the commission piece. I'm looking forward to really taking some time to paint. I have plans almost every day this month with the holidays coming up soon, but I'm sure I'll be able to work at least a little every day and get it done soon enough.

Now Listening To: Caberet Soundtrack
Pics: An older painting, and a sneak peek of my practice painting :)