so much to do...

It seems I have an enormous pile of creative projects to attack right now, but I have not had a lick of energy since my art show. My only explanation is that it was so exhausting preparing for the show (and exhausting being in the spotlight, given my introverted ways) that my creative brain has shut down this week, taking a non-negotiable break. Unfortunately, I do not do "breaks" very well. I have this drive in me to be constantly creating, producing, and moving. It's a blessing and a curse. And because of my boom and bust nature, I usually go through periods of crazy productivity, followed by a completely depleted and non-functioning state. Oh, will I ever find balance?! 


So, I thought I'd focus myself a bit and make a list of projects I'd like to be working on right now….and will get to when my energy returns.


1. Painting for my niece Lila's room: I have painted and repainted the base layer so many times, and at the moment it is a cotton candy shade of pink. My plan is to let my inner hippie out on this one (much different than the painting I did for Lila's sister's room). The focal point will be a peace dove with bright, patterned wings, surrounded by hippie flowers. I'm thinking it will be more of a collage.




2. Abstract ocean painting for my girl Natalie. I think I've finally settled on a direction to go with this piece, so hopefully I'll finish it soon!

3. Give my etsy shop a huge makeover! When I first put the shop up, I was so diligent about reading all the Etsy articles, being part of the community and putting effort into marketing to try to get the ball rolling. And then...life happened. I've neglected my shop for the majority of this past year, what with a wedding to plan, vacations, honeymoons, jobs….needless to say, it could use some attention. My art show really helped focus me in this area though. Seeing people get excited about my art work and selling several (7!) pieces made me realize that I can do this…..I can sell my art. 


So far I have streamlined my prices in my shop this week, which means less work for me and better prices for you! Left on my list: make a new shop banner, add new items (including my canvas prints, matted prints and stickers!), revisit my marketing efforts and try to make this happen!


4. Painting based on this lovely piece of fabric from Down Shadow Lane  (which was featured in my post about fabric as inspiration). I have realized in starting to paint again how much I LOVE color. I'm actually quite shocked by my palette selection most of the time, and intrigued by how bright I seem to like things. 

5. Experiment with watercolors!

6. Finish editing the 636 wedding photos I bought from my wedding photographer, but chose to edit myself to save money. It's been 7 months since the big day….could I procrastinate on this any more?

Just to name a few things I've been meaning to do…...