I've been fusing the last couple of days about the lack of sales in my Etsy store
it's discouraging to put in the work, try to do what everyone tells you you're supposed to do and have none of it work
this morning someone on one of my mailing lists was talking about waking up and finding that she had 9 sales out of her shop -- wow!
of course I went right away to see what she was doing -- heh, well -- price things at under $100 then offer a 25% off sale with free shipping
right
nuts
do you ever wonder if you're just not ever going to figure it out?
on the other hand, this morning I heard that something I had sent to someone as a gift has been the source of encouragement in a difficult time
now that's a good thing
Monday, December 05, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
further ruminating
when last we saw our hero -- heh, yeah
in our ongoing ruminate photos, here we have 3 Suffolk sheep
when I posted here last I was talking about the new Etsy store I had been putting things in
now that it has been open for a while, I've begun to think I really need to keep both of the Etsy stores open -- the new one will continue to be where I list my jewelry and bead work, the other one will be where I put my fiber art
this will take a bit more work, and I'm still thinking about it, but I'm pretty sure that's where its going
with the hope that I can actually sell some things that way
in our ongoing ruminate photos, here we have 3 Suffolk sheep
when I posted here last I was talking about the new Etsy store I had been putting things in
now that it has been open for a while, I've begun to think I really need to keep both of the Etsy stores open -- the new one will continue to be where I list my jewelry and bead work, the other one will be where I put my fiber art
this will take a bit more work, and I'm still thinking about it, but I'm pretty sure that's where its going
with the hope that I can actually sell some things that way
Sunday, May 08, 2011
back to ruminating
with sheep
in the past couple of weeks I've been posting things in my new Etsy shop in an attempt to sell some of my creations
most of what I've posted has been my jewelry, and as a result of some "fiddlin' around", I've been invited to join a juryed team on Etsy -- all entirely new territory
there is a certain amount of panic involved in this
partly because it means I've spent a lot more time doing computer work and I'm concerned about actually getting any creative work done
its all about balance -- and its long been known that I'm "a bubble off plumb" (heh, right!)
also because I'm worried about balancing the bead work with the art quilts -- both of which are extremely satisfying to work on, give me an opportunity to create art, and take up lots of time
I'm trying to hang on to a quote that was on a book mark my daughter gave me a while back --
"Its never to late be be what you might have been"
I'm tying a knot here to hang on to ----
in the past couple of weeks I've been posting things in my new Etsy shop in an attempt to sell some of my creations
most of what I've posted has been my jewelry, and as a result of some "fiddlin' around", I've been invited to join a juryed team on Etsy -- all entirely new territory
there is a certain amount of panic involved in this
partly because it means I've spent a lot more time doing computer work and I'm concerned about actually getting any creative work done
its all about balance -- and its long been known that I'm "a bubble off plumb" (heh, right!)
also because I'm worried about balancing the bead work with the art quilts -- both of which are extremely satisfying to work on, give me an opportunity to create art, and take up lots of time
I'm trying to hang on to a quote that was on a book mark my daughter gave me a while back --
"Its never to late be be what you might have been"
I'm tying a knot here to hang on to ----
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
baaaaaa
this could have been titled "Ruminating V", since (as my daughter recently pointed out to me) sheep are ruminates too
but "baaaaaaa" seems to be a more appropriate title for this post
WARNING: this post contains whining!! if you are faint of heart, turn away now!
I spent this morning writing all the bills (except the utilities, for which the bill has not yet arrived) for the month
and after doing all the calculations I figure we have about $150 in our account to cover gas, groceries, dog food, RX and whatever else we need to have between now and May 25 -- 22 days hence when we get paid again
I had been carefully saving up little bits of cash for months so I would have a bit of money to use when I attend the SAQA conference up in Denver -- good thing I did because that will probably buy groceries for the rest of the month -- but I'm totally pissed that it will have to go there
and why are we here again?
one $400 car repair and my total inability to sell any of my work anywhere
(and that doesn't even include the fact that our dishwasher has died too, and since that would be probably another $300 plus to replace, I'm back 30 years ago, hand washing the dishes)
sometimes I wonder why I even keep making stuff, but since its that or just sit in front of the TV and turn into a turnip, I think its preferable -- maybe
sure wish I could figure this out
but "baaaaaaa" seems to be a more appropriate title for this post
WARNING: this post contains whining!! if you are faint of heart, turn away now!
I spent this morning writing all the bills (except the utilities, for which the bill has not yet arrived) for the month
and after doing all the calculations I figure we have about $150 in our account to cover gas, groceries, dog food, RX and whatever else we need to have between now and May 25 -- 22 days hence when we get paid again
I had been carefully saving up little bits of cash for months so I would have a bit of money to use when I attend the SAQA conference up in Denver -- good thing I did because that will probably buy groceries for the rest of the month -- but I'm totally pissed that it will have to go there
and why are we here again?
one $400 car repair and my total inability to sell any of my work anywhere
(and that doesn't even include the fact that our dishwasher has died too, and since that would be probably another $300 plus to replace, I'm back 30 years ago, hand washing the dishes)
sometimes I wonder why I even keep making stuff, but since its that or just sit in front of the TV and turn into a turnip, I think its preferable -- maybe
sure wish I could figure this out
Sunday, April 17, 2011
the Civil War -- from a more personal point of view
one of the most amazing things about doing family history is that you get a lot more personal view of the bigger picture
this week there have been a lot of things in the news about the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War
like one in seven people in this country, I have a direct line connection to someone that fought in that conflict
his name was Sloman White -- that's him there, sitting in the middle chair
his wife, Mathilda Caroline Earp White, is on his left -- his sons, Andrew Jackson and Thomas Benton (wish I knew which one was which) standing behind him and his youngest daughter, Tennessee is sitting there on his right
he volunteered to the Confederate army (and served in a unit from Arkansas under his brother-in-law) even though he was older than the age of the men who were being conscripted
his unit fought at Shiloh in March, 1862, and he was discharged at Corinth, Mississippi, shortly after that for "illness" -- rather he was part of the measles outbreak that infected many of the troops there I do not know
I do know that at the time he joined the service, he and most of his family lived in Polk County, Arkansas
and I know that when he returned there, he signed an Oath of Allegiance to the Union
his sister refused to speak to him after that, and not long after that he moved his wife and children to Washington County, Arkansas, and had no contact with the Polk County group again
how do I know this?
because he lived until 1920 and claimed his veteran's pension and I was able to get the records
but what little I know only raises a million more questions in my head
"Civil" war indeed
this week there have been a lot of things in the news about the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War
like one in seven people in this country, I have a direct line connection to someone that fought in that conflict
his name was Sloman White -- that's him there, sitting in the middle chair
his wife, Mathilda Caroline Earp White, is on his left -- his sons, Andrew Jackson and Thomas Benton (wish I knew which one was which) standing behind him and his youngest daughter, Tennessee is sitting there on his right
he volunteered to the Confederate army (and served in a unit from Arkansas under his brother-in-law) even though he was older than the age of the men who were being conscripted
his unit fought at Shiloh in March, 1862, and he was discharged at Corinth, Mississippi, shortly after that for "illness" -- rather he was part of the measles outbreak that infected many of the troops there I do not know
I do know that at the time he joined the service, he and most of his family lived in Polk County, Arkansas
and I know that when he returned there, he signed an Oath of Allegiance to the Union
his sister refused to speak to him after that, and not long after that he moved his wife and children to Washington County, Arkansas, and had no contact with the Polk County group again
how do I know this?
because he lived until 1920 and claimed his veteran's pension and I was able to get the records
but what little I know only raises a million more questions in my head
"Civil" war indeed
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Rumminating IV -- taking stock
a lot of people review and make resolutions on New Year's Eve
I've never been good at doing that, but around this time of the year I usually do a sort of mental review
this year seems especially momentous for this purpose
today is my birthday -- I'm 60 years old -- the age I remember my grandmother being and certainly not an age I've ever imagined myself being
I can say that aside from my body reminding me that I'm not 20 any more, I'm not unhappy with that number
10 years into being retired from the corporate world, I can finally say I feel like I've made the transition from that daily grind to something more in keeping with what I enjoy doing
so here are the main points of where I am
1. am I an artist or a craftsman? I'm now comfortable with saying I'm an artist, and acknowledging that being a good craftsman was a necessary step in that direction -- being comfortable with the materials and processes of working with them is an important step in being able to say I am an artist
2. abstract or representational? still in the representational area -- I have really enjoyed doing the landscape or pictorial pieces in the last year, and I have a lot more of them calling from my head to be worked on (although I do have one abstract percolating in there too)
3. process or product? Yes! many of the pieces begin because I have at least a vague idea in my head of what I want it to look like when I get finished, but recently I did a whole piece just because I had the opportunity to learn how to work with a new medium
4. wearing my art? this has been a new question -- for the most part when I make a new piece of jewelry I don't wear it because it is my intention to try to sell it -- but when I do wear some of my work (for instance the repurposed shirt that won a blue ribbon at the state fair) I get very positive feedback -- I still need to work on this idea and be willing to make a few things specifically for myself
so where does it go from here?
more pieces entered in competition is the road to success I think -- which means I also need to get into the studio and actually make (or finish) some more pieces
and to continue to connect with other artists
things are looking good!
I've never been good at doing that, but around this time of the year I usually do a sort of mental review
this year seems especially momentous for this purpose
today is my birthday -- I'm 60 years old -- the age I remember my grandmother being and certainly not an age I've ever imagined myself being
I can say that aside from my body reminding me that I'm not 20 any more, I'm not unhappy with that number
10 years into being retired from the corporate world, I can finally say I feel like I've made the transition from that daily grind to something more in keeping with what I enjoy doing
so here are the main points of where I am
1. am I an artist or a craftsman? I'm now comfortable with saying I'm an artist, and acknowledging that being a good craftsman was a necessary step in that direction -- being comfortable with the materials and processes of working with them is an important step in being able to say I am an artist
2. abstract or representational? still in the representational area -- I have really enjoyed doing the landscape or pictorial pieces in the last year, and I have a lot more of them calling from my head to be worked on (although I do have one abstract percolating in there too)
3. process or product? Yes! many of the pieces begin because I have at least a vague idea in my head of what I want it to look like when I get finished, but recently I did a whole piece just because I had the opportunity to learn how to work with a new medium
4. wearing my art? this has been a new question -- for the most part when I make a new piece of jewelry I don't wear it because it is my intention to try to sell it -- but when I do wear some of my work (for instance the repurposed shirt that won a blue ribbon at the state fair) I get very positive feedback -- I still need to work on this idea and be willing to make a few things specifically for myself
so where does it go from here?
more pieces entered in competition is the road to success I think -- which means I also need to get into the studio and actually make (or finish) some more pieces
and to continue to connect with other artists
things are looking good!
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Ruminating III -- embroidery or thread painting?
this seems to be an ongoing series
of cows that is
it just seems so appropriate when I'm discussing things that are little bits of thought that I've been turning over and over in my head
mooooooo, moooooooo
I've been working on a competition entry for the Hoffman Fabric Challenge
last year's entry (the first one I had ever done) made the traveling show, which in a way makes the creating of this year's entry even a little more intimidating -- big things to live up to after all
so along the way I'm using some different techniques
like this one
there has been a lot of discussion among art quilters about the use of what they call "thread painting" as a technique for embellishment on a quilt
"thread painting" is done on the sewing machine, but it requires a foot for the machine that I don't have (and that is a pretty pricey item)
I did this this sample piece by hand
it looks like thread painting
the process felt like embroidery to me, but with quilting thread instead of embroidery floss (which actually was less of a hassle and allowed me to put the rows of stitches closer together)
so, when I fill in the entry form there will be the question of what do I call it?
since the competition makes no differentiation between hand work and machine work, I guess I can still call it thread painting
and in the long run I don't think it matters what I call it so much as rather I execute it properly
of cows that is
it just seems so appropriate when I'm discussing things that are little bits of thought that I've been turning over and over in my head
mooooooo, moooooooo
I've been working on a competition entry for the Hoffman Fabric Challenge
last year's entry (the first one I had ever done) made the traveling show, which in a way makes the creating of this year's entry even a little more intimidating -- big things to live up to after all
so along the way I'm using some different techniques
like this one
there has been a lot of discussion among art quilters about the use of what they call "thread painting" as a technique for embellishment on a quilt
"thread painting" is done on the sewing machine, but it requires a foot for the machine that I don't have (and that is a pretty pricey item)
I did this this sample piece by hand
it looks like thread painting
the process felt like embroidery to me, but with quilting thread instead of embroidery floss (which actually was less of a hassle and allowed me to put the rows of stitches closer together)
so, when I fill in the entry form there will be the question of what do I call it?
since the competition makes no differentiation between hand work and machine work, I guess I can still call it thread painting
and in the long run I don't think it matters what I call it so much as rather I execute it properly
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Ruminating II - what's in a name?
today's cow picture courtesy of the local newspaper
moo two!
seriously though, one of the email lists I belong to has had an ongoing discussion about blogs and websites and businesses and what name you should use
this is a subject I've spent some time thinking about
back in the early 1980s when I first needed to register for a sales tax license there really wasn't anyone to discuss this with --- I liked the sound of the name Esmerldas (it was part of a John Denver song lyric), no one else had registered it in the jurisdiction I was registering it in, so I took it
because it isn't specific in terms of what the "product" is, it has been easy to use it for all the many art adventures we've been involved in -- mohair bears, jewelry, clothing, web design, art quilts -- just about everything
it has also been nice to be able to put the work that both the DH and I do under one "brand" instead of having two and the attendant duplicate paperwork
one of the discussion topics on that email list has been the idea of using your own name because people will be able to find you by putting in your name
that's a good idea perhaps, but I'm forever having to SPELL my name to people because they want to spell it with an "e" and 2 "r"s
what's the difference if I'm spelling my name or my business name to folks?
so there you go
guess I'll be keeping the name -- which means I really, REALLY, need to do something about the content on that website
and another thought -- perhaps its time to create an Etsy shop that carries the same name too
I feel the onset of more ruminating
moo two!
seriously though, one of the email lists I belong to has had an ongoing discussion about blogs and websites and businesses and what name you should use
this is a subject I've spent some time thinking about
back in the early 1980s when I first needed to register for a sales tax license there really wasn't anyone to discuss this with --- I liked the sound of the name Esmerldas (it was part of a John Denver song lyric), no one else had registered it in the jurisdiction I was registering it in, so I took it
because it isn't specific in terms of what the "product" is, it has been easy to use it for all the many art adventures we've been involved in -- mohair bears, jewelry, clothing, web design, art quilts -- just about everything
it has also been nice to be able to put the work that both the DH and I do under one "brand" instead of having two and the attendant duplicate paperwork
one of the discussion topics on that email list has been the idea of using your own name because people will be able to find you by putting in your name
that's a good idea perhaps, but I'm forever having to SPELL my name to people because they want to spell it with an "e" and 2 "r"s
what's the difference if I'm spelling my name or my business name to folks?
so there you go
guess I'll be keeping the name -- which means I really, REALLY, need to do something about the content on that website
and another thought -- perhaps its time to create an Etsy shop that carries the same name too
I feel the onset of more ruminating
Sunday, February 13, 2011
ruminating
I know -- "moooooo"
every now and then its a good idea to step back and try to figure out where we're going
I tend to get the cart before the horse sometimes - it kind of fits with my style -- as in "let's learn to play the piano with Moonlight Sonata"
and I think in some ways the pressure of finances sometimes makes me want to jump into the "lets see if we can sell this stuff" stage before I've had time to fine tune the process
so I'm trying to be patient and do this art quilt thing the right way
keep creating things, trying new techniques, learning how to use new mediums in them and entering shows or competitions with them to get feedback
and put a few of the better ones on Etsy -- especially the smaller ones, just to see if there is any interest
just keep doing the work and maybe, just maybe, there will be someone that finds it
I've been distracted by the idea of maybe selling a pattern or two, but putting those together takes time away from the other work that I want to be doing, so I will be listing those patterns that I've already put together, but probably won't do any more, at least for now
and I want to be part of SAQA's Visioning Project -- which means I need to set a goal that is defined enough to actually be doable
yup, need to chew on this cud a while longer
every now and then its a good idea to step back and try to figure out where we're going
I tend to get the cart before the horse sometimes - it kind of fits with my style -- as in "let's learn to play the piano with Moonlight Sonata"
and I think in some ways the pressure of finances sometimes makes me want to jump into the "lets see if we can sell this stuff" stage before I've had time to fine tune the process
so I'm trying to be patient and do this art quilt thing the right way
keep creating things, trying new techniques, learning how to use new mediums in them and entering shows or competitions with them to get feedback
and put a few of the better ones on Etsy -- especially the smaller ones, just to see if there is any interest
just keep doing the work and maybe, just maybe, there will be someone that finds it
I've been distracted by the idea of maybe selling a pattern or two, but putting those together takes time away from the other work that I want to be doing, so I will be listing those patterns that I've already put together, but probably won't do any more, at least for now
and I want to be part of SAQA's Visioning Project -- which means I need to set a goal that is defined enough to actually be doable
yup, need to chew on this cud a while longer
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
will I ever figure this out?
one of these pieces of jewelry is my work, priced at $50, available on my website for sale
the other piece was done by someone else, priced at $400 (!) available through a catalog that I received in the mail a couple of days ago
ok, it's not that my designs are so far off the wall that they aren't good enough for a catalog to the general public
sure wish I could figure this one out
the other piece was done by someone else, priced at $400 (!) available through a catalog that I received in the mail a couple of days ago
ok, it's not that my designs are so far off the wall that they aren't good enough for a catalog to the general public
sure wish I could figure this one out
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