Mission Complete! Now What?

Hi Lovelies,

It's chilly over here in Seattle and I need to wear warmer clothing ASAP. How is it going on your end? I hope swell. Anywho, I wrapped up Make It in Design Summer School. Yay for me! After six weeks of work, I can finally say MISSION COMPLETE. I had so much fun and connected with so many other talented designers. I can't wait to do some more learning. As promised, I have the delight of sharing the designs from my last briefs.

Third Brief for the Beginner Level: Jewels Theme

Mockup for Third Brief of Intermediate Level: Feathers Theme

Mockup for Third Brief of Advanced Level: Intricate Chaos Theme

Now that summer school is over, now what?! I mean I know the answer. I must continue forward. There is no turning back now. I told a group a few weeks ago, that I am going to put in my 10,000 hours so that I can master the craft of surface pattern design. Yep. I said that. And I am making that commitment. After using Gimp and Inkscape for years, I have been upgraded. My sweetheart gifted me with a subscription to the Adobe Creative Cloud as my birthday present. :-) Can I say, AWESOME! And while I have watched and read plenty of tutorials on Illustrator and Photoshop, it is nothing like actually doing the do. There is still much to learn and skills to acquire. No biggy.

As I venture into my 10,000 hours I shall take further inquiry into finding my style and brand identity. At times, I think I know what it is and at others I question what I'm all about. It's all good regardless. It's all celebrating what this beautiful life is offering in the moment. As my mantra goes: Life's a party. Be sure to celebrate. For each step I take, I am celebrating these milestones. Today, I had to sit back and think of how far I have come along this career journey. I know so much more than I did when a started. I am aware of what it really takes to operate a business. And I have beautiful connections to others doing the same thing. I am grateful. So, here's to taking steps and making the commitment. No more excuses to why I can't follow the course. I leave you with a quote from Molesey Crawford, Founder of the Queen Code, "Queen, it’s time to move beyond your excuses and your fears. Believe in your vision enough to take the first step." And so I shall.

Til next time, have a beautifully designed day.

Thriving in a Big City

Currently I live in a small town but I grew up in a big/major city. Now, I have the urge to return to the city life. I'm miss places being open late besides fast food/chain restaurants and Wal-Mart.  I miss the energy of people on the go. As I am preparing myself for a move, I have this big question looming over my head "How do artists live and thrive in big cities?" I'm really speaking about the cost of living. As I peruse places online, all I can see are $$$. I intend on staying with my current job and landing another position, and going hardcore at being a craftpreneur; however, I want to know if it's possible to have a thriving life if I were to be solely a craftpreneur. For any of you dear artists and craftpreneurs, I'm reaching out for help.

Stop Pressing 'Pause'

I wouldn't say I'm stuck on creating but I am on pause from moving forward. My aim is to make art a full time business but I can honestly say that I'm sucking at the part-time position. This week I've been trying to prepare myself for opening an Etsy shop. Each day I think I have done more at browsing other shops than focusing on my on. My excuse this week has been on photography. I've read so much on styling and photographing items for Etsy and blogs that I've dug myself into a deeper whole. In order for me to get customers, I feel like my shots have to be just right, but I guess I have lost some creativity in this area. Therefore, I'm not making moves to list items yet until I am satisfied with my photos. I need to get over this insecurity because I'm just starting it out. Nothing has to be just right. The process is to improve over time. So I guess in righting this I realized that there is a definite need to get unstuck and release the pause button. And I'm just making up reasons to hold myself back. Wow!

Replacing the Tire and Making Way for the New

As a new year typically brings about resolutions to lose weight and be healthy, I have made the focus of my resolution on the total revamping of myself and my career. For the past year and a half I have been slowly grasping the life of an artist, designer, entrepreneur, or whatever I wanted to be at the moment. At the end of this period, I have not made a drastic change from where I've started. Yeah, I can say I have I made a few sales here and there from my art on RedBubble and a shirts on Cotton Smoothie (Spreadshirt) or been in one show, but that's not going to cut it if I really want to thrive. Therefore, a change needs to be made. Though I have done plenty of research about starting a business and such many times before, I think the start of 2011 brought me the real insight I needed to get over the hump in my life. More realistically, it wasn't the hump that I needed to be concerned about but the old tire of a cycle that has been worn down for some years. I need a replacement instead of a spare or donut. 

Getting to this realization wasn't easy one bit. There were a number of you all out there that have helped me ask the critical questions for evaluating my life, understanding my resistance to growth and the necessity to follow spirit, and fulfilling my dream as a business owner. Whether it was from Write Your Life Right sessions, the e-course from Scoutie Girl, reading the early years posts from Kelly Rae Roberts, or venturing into the lives of all you great artists and craftpreneurs that help make this world a beautiful place; I am now in a space that is ready for a new life. I know what habits must be relinquished and I know what skills need to be developed. I also understand the power that fear played in the past and the power that faith has for my future. All in all, I know that this makeover will not happen overnight, but as long as I take action daily, my dreams will be realized and I will be at my full potential.

For you all, have you experienced any breakthroughs? Have you started witnessing changes in your life?

Going into Hibernation

Hey All!

I'm going into hibernation. I realized that I have been reading blogs more so than tending to my artistic and design career. How can I be successful if I'm not doing the work. Never got to share pictures from the Small Works Invitational at Elon because I haven't made it there yet. And now I think the campus is closed for the holiday. So during this time away from blogging, I'll be locked away doing business stuff and creating.

See you in the new year.  DLH

Doing Side Work

I haven't worked on any art because I'm doing some graphic design projects.  I am providing services for some great people and I am enjoying helping others. My main assignment is to create a package for Write Your Life Right.  The goals and objectives are pertinent to anyone feeling blocked and in need of clarity.  I am using the services, so I am committed to helping out in any way I can. 

During my spare time, I'll attempt to get some drawings or other creations scanned and put on here. 

I'm Magnificent As Well

Here's one of my pieces I call Magnificent As Well.  It's my little pick-me up.

As I continue to venture into the creative world, I still find myself being my worst critic.  I need to stop this.  I'm magnificent as well.  Whatever I desire, I will achieve.  I have the capabilities to accomplish much. Do you realize how maginificent you are?

What's Top Priority

Yesterday, I read some comments in response to my post The Dreaded Elements  about my resume and artist statement.  In one of the comments, Chewy made a valid point that I should decide if I want to be an Illustrator, Graphic Designer or Fine Artist.  I said that I wanted to be a Fine Artist.  Maybe that was the incorrect answer because my dreams gave me a beating last night.  Besides seeing body builders everywhere, fractals roamed and roamed in my head.  (Sidenote: I volunteered at the NPC North Carolina State Body Building Championship. Images are still in my head.) But I digress. 

Before I embarked on my journey as a fractal artist, I had one goal in mind--become a textile and surface designer.  It's been a goal of mine since I was in undergrad.  At some point, I thought of even transferring schools so that I could enroll in a textile science and design program. But I stayed where I was and received a BA in Mass Communications. Nothing wrong with this, but I still have an urge.  Seeing my designs on products and textiles is still apart of my vision.  It's not going away.  I thought I had to become a fine artist in order to get licensing.  Is this the case? I'm looking at all options.  Just wanting to stay happy and keep on the right track. 

The Dreaded Elements

Today, I intend to develop my artist resume. I am dreading this document. Though I knew this moment would come, I am still frightened. For a few months, I have been procrastinating on doing this resume. I know that in order to submit works to galleries and call for artists, I must have an artist resume and statement. Needless to say, I have neither.

In my dear green notebook, I have listed and brainstormed what items to display on these two things. However, I have displayed apprehension about actually typing such content. What am I afraid of? Well, I know what I'm afraid of. Get ready. I'm about to throw a mini pity party. Here it goes:

1. I've never exhibited in a gallery or venue.
2. No one has written about my artistic endeavors. I'm not in any publications. Well, unless you take the time when I was in fifth grade, and my picture and drawing were in the Washington Post. Oh, it was such a dear picture of a teacher and her students. "I love math!" is what captures me. Does that count?
3. Besides Intro to Visual Arts and one printmaking course, my art education is quite thin. I did take a scientific biological illustration course in high school. Maybe, I'll include that on the resume.
4. I'M SCARED!
5. I am unsure of how to organize my "credentials" so that I do not look like a baby fish out of water. I've read books and online articles about artists resumes, but still no example fits my situation.
6. Did I mention that I'm SCARED!?
7. Most of my artwork has been viewed in the online arena. Is this satifactory for curators and selection committees?

Okay! Enough of the pity party. Regardless of what I have and don't have, I need to get to work. I am an artist. And in order to fulfill my destiny, I have to have all my ducks in a row. This includes my resume and statement. Time to do the deed. Ciao!