manifesting my destiny

so, tomorrow morning i am off to the buyer's market of american craft in philly. i have prepared as much as possible, save for mental prep, and i think i am ready.

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actually, as i just wrote that, i wondered "am i really ready?" i have all the stuff i need for the actual show: booth, samples, catalog etc, but i have never experienced a wholesale show before, and so i can't really say i am fully prepared. even if i could, i know the first person to come into my booth would throw me a question that i would have to make the answer up to, thereby squishing my idea of being ready, so suffice it to say i am ready for anything to happen.

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also, i let some negative thoughts creep in yesterday, and it is amazing how they can really nag at you, and change your whole outlook. i was thinking that what if, after all the effort, time, money, stress, and general upheaval of my whole way of thinking about making, what if no one orders anything? really. what if? i found myself thinking of back up plans and regular jobs and really was quite sad. it is a possibility i guess, and if it happens then it happens, and i will cross that bridge when i come to it. i am not going to dwell on this thought, but it is out there. i will just have to imagine my success. plan for my success. manifest my destiny. which is to be making a living doing what i love and sharing the work i make with others.

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allrighty, then. let's do it! wish me luck. i'll report back next week.

market of artists

howdy y'all. here is a picture of my little booth at the farmer's market. most every saturday until the end of october i will be at the artist market which is part of the farmer's market in burlington in city hall park.

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i took the photo with my phone, but you get the idea, no? hmmm...as i look at this picture i think i really have some work to do on my booth. i did end up getting an old wooden plant shelf with wheels at a tag sale a while back with intentions to use it for the market. however, it is a bit shaky structurally and i have yet to bring it for some reason...i guess i leave it because of its rickety-ness, and mostly because it takes up a good chunk of the truck. as i look at this picture i think i should probably bring it next time.

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i will say though that the market has yet to be financially viable. while i do make the money back that it costs me to participate, it doesn't really pay me for my time yet. i had a couple of good days in the beginning, but the past few weeks have come up quite short. i continue to go because it is good exposure, and keeps me in touch with my friends and contacts in burlington, and i think that the more people who see my work the better. but, i have to say it is a bit discouraging to only come away with a few bucks for all my time and effort. i hold out hope that it will turn around someday soon!

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that's it for now...

busy like a beaver

hello all! so sorry to have been away for so long. i have been insanely making prototypes for the wholesale show, along with other show related business...booth set-up, catalog, order forms and so on...who knew there was so much involved? not me...well, that's not totally true...people have told me what to do and what i will need, but until you actually do it you really have no idea what it all entails! i keep telling myself that it is just this way the first time, and that next time i will not be so crazed because i will know what to expect. i think for the most part this is true and it keeps me going, through all the last minute-ness and "what? i need postcards by tomorrow?"

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honestly, when i get overwhelmed and stressed for something like this, i think back to my thesis show in grad school. it was an insane, and i mean insane, crazy frantic time. i had a complete melt down in the kiln, and had to scramble to make new work to replace it, (the only time, mind you, that a kiln sitter has ever not worked for me. lesson learned.) but, just the business of getting the show together, hanging it, and dealing with 30 other people also trying to fire their final work and the overall craziness of a busy full studio. it was the first time in many years i had pulled all-nighters to get work done. when it was over i slept for about three days, no joke. BUT, whenever i get in a situation like this, where i have a deadline and i am nervous and overwhelmed and have a never ending list of things to do, i find solace in the fact that i pulled off that show, and it was good. the work looked great, and i managed to speak eloquently about it (most of the time). so, thanks RIT, for helping me deal.

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pictured are a set of the luminaries i will be making for the show (shot at my friends mandy and george's sweet photo set-up in their basement.) i just brought them all to my awesome photographer dok wright who does a fabulous job and is fun to work with. figured i need some professionally shot images for catalogs, postcards, and so on. i can do it, usually, but for something like this i didn't want to cut any corners.

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on the homefront, i am still sleeping in the kitchen...the floors are finished, but the yukky panelling needs painting, and though i started it myself i could not finish as the show has taken over my life. i have hired a friend to do it and though it is going, it is going slow, so i wait and try not to think about it!

something new everyday

so, yesterday i learned how to wallpaper a room. not too tough, especially since i had some help. many many thanks to sylvia and dana, who is a pro at it, and tall, so he doesn't even need a ladder.

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it looks much better, and though the wallpaper is not exactly what i would love to have in there, it is waaaay better than what was there to begin with. sorry i don't have a before pic, but here are a couple of after pics. i took 'em from my phone, so the quality is poor, but you get the idea. don't worry...the curtains are going!

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i am procrastinating right now. the movers are coming tomorrow and i have so much to do still...so i bid you farewell until i am settled in a bit...adios!

new house business...

so, if you're wondering where i've been this past month or so, i am finally back to tell you all that i have been busy wrapping my head around buying a house!!! yippee!!

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it is a cute litte 1100 square footer here in town, with a garage and a little yard for me to mow and grow things in, and for my dog chicken to poop in!

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it doesn't really need any work, except cosmetically, and that mainly consists of some old peely wallpaper and an icky rug that needed to go. all the other stuff, like the old cabinetry and countertops, can definitely wait for a while. i need to live in the place and figure out what i want for it before i start ripping it apart.

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above is a picture of my new floor, sans yukky mauve/brown carpet. i ripped it up to find that, luckily, there was this lovely wood floor just waiting to be discovered by me. it needs refinishing, but i'll do that at a later date. now that all the staples and tacks are gone, it looks like a real room!

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i will for sure be posting some more pictures very soon, i just have to remember to bring my camera to the house...the phone cam isn't bad, but it doesn't do the place justice.

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next mini project will be to paint that panelling. hopefully i'll get to it before i move in, which is scheduled for the 5th of june, but if not i'll just wing it.

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i love my new house!

indie fixxed

one of my favorite weekly blog reads, indie fixx, posted an image of my work last week! it was a wonderful surprise and i was happy to be featured with other makers of porcelain jewelry. have a look here. thanks jen!

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i have been madly firing away and lustering my new pendant designs to have pictures taken and get my various applications out to shows. i have been anxiously awaiting a shipment of clay, that unfortunately is taking its own sweet time. i am a bit frustrated, but can do nothing, so i wait. there is plenty of other stuff to do, though, so at least i'm not sitting on my bum eating bon-bons.

wait a minute...that sounds kind of nice right now...

new pendant. porcelain, glaze.

milestone!

i finally sold something on etsy.com!! this is a picture of the necklace. it is made of hand colored and formed porcelain beads with laser-etched sterling beads. i'm so excited to be sending it out to its new owner, and i only hope she enjoys wearing it as much as i enjoyed making it.

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on another note, i finally made my third mold, with the help of my trusty assistant cory. only minor issues arose and they did not hinder the outcome of the final product. what a relief. i really hate making molds as it can be such an intense process, but i am realizing that if i take it slow it will all work out.

also interesting is the newness of actually having someone there to help me out. i have always, or mostly, been just alone in the studio and am used to getting things done that way, but now that i have some help i am realizing how great it is, and wonder how i ever managed to make it through before! thanks, cory!

only one more mold to make in this series, but others are pending, so stay tuned...i'm sure there will be more drama around it to report on.