On a Dark and Stormy Night...

Happy Halloween fearless readers!!! I will be closing up shop early today to go home and hand out candy, and by hand out, I mean eat mini kit-kats while watching the Blair Witch Project and painting!!!

I have been going on and on about Halloween and Autumn so I won't bore you with it today, suffice to say I won't be babbling about it for much longer, I will have to move on to how much I hate Thanksgiving, or as I call it "Happy Small Pox Giving" Day...but that's just me.

You will probably also hear an awful lot about how strange it is to be with someone who loves "Everything Christmas" yes, I do mean everything, this is something he really should have told me before I moved out here...giggle.

I am still having my 20% off sale in my shop, come on people spread the word and show the love...I need to get my asthma medicine.

ok, guilt trip over, and besides, I know you're all as poor as I am, unless Bill Gates has been secretly reading my geeky blog, if that;s the case...BUY MY STUFF BUDDY!!

The piece I am featuring today is still new and available for sale in My Etsy Shop, I chose it today for obvious reasons. The title is "Masquerade"

If I do not post tomorrow, it must be because I have slipped into a diabetic coma from the chocolate feast I will be eating tonight.

xoxoxo

Happy Halloween

This is my favorite weekend of the whole damn year!!!! This is better than Christmas.

Though I have no big plans I am really looking forward to cuddling up with Keith and watching some spooky movies. I just love that!

To celebrate the reason for the season...I am having a sale in my Etsy Shop all weekend. 20% off of everything, just wait for an invoice!

It is also my 6 month anniversary of my shop on etsy, so it is yet another good reason for a sale, that and I need my medicine in a week and have to come up with $200...ouch.

Again, the glamorous life of the artist.

This weekend I will be putting together my book proposal for the publisher as well, so wish me luck with that, and my sale.

Also, I finally finished lettering my book (Stiletto Heights #3) so hopefully that will be out soon.

The piece that is featured is one of my latest, it is called "When No One Was Looking" and it is available for sale in my shop.

happy halloween to all my devoted readers.

Are Slackers still cool?

wow, here I am...I have not updated my blog in a week. I wish I could say that U have been wildly busy in a crazy cool kind of way.

truth be told, I have been busy, in the hectic do nothing kind of way. basically I have been too lazy to lazy and scattered to get my mind wrapped around the blogging thing.

I have been desperate to finish lettering my comic as well as keith's and now I am almost done everything I need to, I am feeling a bit better.

I was asked to speak on a panel about small press at this year's Mid Ohio Comic Convention, which will be really good, too bad I don't have an artist for my book, maybe I'll find one there.

Other than that, one of the galleries that was interested in my work has now had to close down, so that's out, and I still have not heard back from the other one.

I am still getting the book proposal together and should be done with that next week, hopefully that will end up being areally positive thing for me...I dream of the day when I can get ahead, even if it is just for a minute.

this is one of my latest pieces, I am really proud of it, I think it manages to be very personal while still being very powerful. It is called "I thought this feeling would last forever". I am always worried about pieces that might be too personal, like I am hurting my chances of selling something, but then I realize that I don't care about that. Yes, I need the money but I need to express myself this way more right?

it is available for sale in my etsy shop.

Sometimesbad things happen

I have a wonderful friend in a horrible situation, it is not my placfe to tell her story...suffice to say...this is a strong and beautiful woman with children and she is in a dangerous situation.

I donated some money to her, but really want to be able to do more.

10% of everything from my shop is going to go to her, to help her find a safe place to stay and the beginning of a new and wonderful life, with a man that really loves her.

There are a few pieces in my etsy shop that once purchased, she will get 50% of the sale price, all pieces are marked with her name in my shop.

If you read this and you can help, please do...there are a lot of people on etsy who are helping out right now, it is times like this that I realize how wonderful a place the etsy community is, makes me forget the competitive nature and the silly bickering that can happen.

the piece I am showcasing today is part of the 50% donation. It is called "Will You Be Returning to Me"

thanks for reading this

Behind Schedule

do you ever all of a sudden have way too much on your plate that you can't do anything...that is how I am feeling right now-eek.

I have to get some stuff together for 2 galleries, get my book proposal together, finish a bunch of commissions, keep the shop up and running, I have to letter Keith's book...and I have to letter mine.

YES...you have heard it here first, the long anticipated issue #3 of Stiletto Heights will finally be coming out, after a ton of drama etc. it will be heading to the printer by the end of this week or beginning of next week.

I am so happy, this is something I am so proud of, though like everything there are down sides as well. Seth (the artist for issue #3) has decided that he does not want to do the book anymore...which sucks for me because his work was great, but like so many...I think he wants to do superhero stuff and that books about people and emotions are too boring.

Oh well, such is life, Harvey Pekar worked with different artists on almost every story...maybe that's like me too...only with drastically better shoes.

The image shown is the first page of issue #3. It will be for sale in my etsy shop. If you have not done it, head to etsy and pick up a set of issue #1 and #2...if I don't have any left just send me a message and I will list one for you.

Other than that, Keith and I have been watching massive amounts of scary movies during our annual "Shocktober Film-fest".
"
If you want to be scared to death...watch "The Exorcism of Emily Rose", I heard it was boring, but IT IS NOT!!!!

So Many Things

First...I am having a sale in my Etsy Shop...Everything is 20% off, just write "Blog" in the message to seller section.

Second - I am still talking to the publsiher who want me to do a book about collage, and as it turns out...they don't want me to be a part of a larger book, but they want me to have my own!!!! That is just the coolest thing, I have a lot of work I have to do before the end of the month in order to get my ideas to her...I just want to scream it is so amazing!

I am really trying my hardest not to get to excited about it. I will say this, it feels like it is not even my life, this is the life I wanted to have...that I dreamed of...can it actually be happening?

Third - today I ended up on the Home Page of Etsy...Lauren of Stellaloella picked the choices and she picked me as one of them! This is the first time I have been on the home page. I am just in awe!!

My piece is on the bottom right hand corner!

All this being said, I am still flat broke and hoping to get a little money to cover the bills and get Keith a little something for his birthday next week.

Hope hope hope.

Oh No!!

I am having one of those days when I look at my money situation and just sort of cry out with an oh no!!

I hate complaining, everyone has money problems, I know this, but I just realized I only have $20 in my account, and my ebay fees still have to be snatched out as well as my monthly internet...eeek.

I am hoping for a little pre-Halloween miracle of sorts, and I will sell a few things and my computer won't get turned off.

Also, I am having a special promotion, whoever is my 350th sale on my etsy store is going to get a free 10 x 14 inch painting! I have 10 more items to go until then.

I also have a bunch of art cards on sale for just $3 too, hopefully this will spur some interest and save my internet addicted butt...lol. That's the sad thing, no money and rather than think "how will I eat" I wonder about the internet.

This is one of my latest ACEO's it's called "A Woman of Shadows" I really love the way it turned out, so subtle and sexy.

The calm before the storm?

things have been strangely quiet lately...there was such a rush for me to get a ton of stuff done for the two shows...and now, nothing.
It has been real quiet on etsy, a lot of people are complaining, and I amtrying not to fret about it. I was hoping to sell a little bit more this week so I could get Keith a little birthday present...but I still have a little time to go, so I am not giving up hope yet!!
I am a bit scared at times though, this is what I am trying to do, this is how I make money...but at the same time I don't want it to be about the money, I want to just create things, and not worry about the rest.
I at least have not gotten to the point that I am only creating things that I "know" will sell, that's just not me, I can't do it.
Keith and I did talk, and if we decide to close the shop when our lease is up (3 years) that he is cool with me not getting a job, that I can be the artist I always hoped I could be.
So that's the plan, I have 3 years to make a go of it...crossing my fingers and taking the swan dive.
But I am still scared. Don't people tell you not to turn something you love into your job...

oh well, maybe I am just feeling anxious because we have the peanut this weekend, and though we love her to death...it is always a stressful time.

This is my latest piece, it is up for sale on etsy, it is titled "A Night Of Theatre and Champagne".

have a good weekend everyone!

Because I cannot do a self portrait.

Every week Aimee from Jewelstreet runs Creative Challenges on Etsy. This week our challenge was to create something that showed what Etsy means to you.

It was hard for me to do, because Etsy has done a lot for me on a personal level. Becasue of that site I am able to explore and create new things, I have opened up more and more about what I am doing artistically...

almost as if Etsy has been a step towards who and what I am really supposed to be.

In this piece I explore the concepts of letting go of who you were and transforming into something new, something real.

it is for sale in my etsy shop.

also head over to Funky Carter today where I wrote the guest blog. To cool. Thanks Aaron for trusting me with your brain child.

till next time...

Things I love that I wish I didn't...

Lately I have been very inspired by butterflies, which is strange, because if you know me...I don't seem like a "butterfly" sort of person.

As a rule, I am not a fan winged beasts...angels, fairies, birds, bugs, what have you. But butterflies, what can I say, I love them.

When I was a littlew girl my beautiful Aunt Sylvia has framed butterflies thoughout her fantastic apartment...the also had wood door beads and a killer drug habbit...but as a child she was the most beautiful thing I could think of, and so were the butterflies.

She died young, but everytime I saw a butterfly, I thought of her. So, 11 years ago when I decided to get a tatoo of a butterfly on my leg, I never thought that less than a year after that they would become trendy...I started having 15 year old girls rush up to me sqealing about it, asking me if it was real or if it was henna. So not cool for me....

So lately I have been inspired once again by the butterflies, the idea of the transformation, the beauty, their delicate nature.

I am writing about it now because Keith asked me if I was using butterflies just "because"...

the answer to that is...I am not doimg it just because.

The second thing that I love that I wish I didn't is......Justin Timberlake!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

that's all...oh and tomorrow I am going to be the guest blogger on my dear froend Aaron's website Funky Carter...so look for me there too!!

The piece featured today is an art card that will be listed in my etsy store.

So out of place

I think there might be something wrong with me...no seriously, something wrong.

I think I am missing a gene or some major part of my brain that is supposed to make me into something.

Last night I had my trunk show at my lovely friend Diana's house, it was nice and successful to a certain extent too. But while I was there I was completely overwhelmed by the sense that I do not fit in...

I am 31 (eek) have no kids, no plans for kids, and that makes me happy, so happy!! I am not a kid person!! Also, I don't own a house, I don't cook!! The last time I tried to be somewhat domestic I ended up burning my stomach while making Ramen Noodles...since then I have been forbidden by Keith to even use the stove!!

So last night was an eye opener...a view to what I am supposed to be as a woman...especially out here in Ohio...sometimes it's like being back in the 1950's...lol

I end up feeling still like I am a child compared to most women, they talk about children and houses and cleaning and cooking...and I stare blankly, as if they are speaking in Esparanto or some such nonsense...

Yet when I am around younger people, I feel old, cranky, and strangely off-putting to them.

I cannot win. It makes me realize why I stay in most times, sit quietly with my guy and just paint away....

This is one of my latest pieces, it is called "Could You Ever Really Know Her" and it is available in my Etsy store.

I have not had much time to do any real work, tonight I will be able to do somestuff though, and that makes me so happy.

A little list of stuff I hate

1- being hungry...I ran out of the house this morning sans breakfast or much in the way of coffee...had a ton on my mind, I am having my forst Trunk SHow tonight so I am feeling nervous and fat...when I got the shop, damn...no food!!

Diet Coke is not lunch

2 - why are low carb Monster energy drinks so damn expensive...

3 - stress, stressing about tonight, being out of my element.

4 - money problems

5 - republicans

6 - days when the weather people say it is supposed to be 80 outside, so I dress for that, and then it ends up being cold and overcast.

7 - missing my guy when he is gone all day

8 - having to put my entire etsy shop into "edit mode" while I go to a show, I am so lazy, any added work tends to amke me cranky. I have left a few pieces up in my shop, including this one I listed today called "Long Walk Home"

9 - not having talked to my mom in a while, I know when I call her she will be tense and strange because I have not talked to her, so it makes me put off calling her...making it all worse...eek.

10 - not coming up with a better use for my blog on a Monday morning. Bad Jenn, bad!!