March Madness

I didn’t blog at all in March.  Ooops!  I guess I should explain my absence. 

March was a tough month.  It started with needing to devote extra time to teaching (not that this was bad; the work was fun, creative, and rewarding).  Then I’ve been sick for about three weeks.  The cold/flu thing that seems to be going around and doesn’t want to go away.  I still have it, but am feeling better. 

For the reasons mentioned above I spent little time in the studio, which resulted in little to blog about.  As my to-do list got longer and longer, my momentum slowed to a snail’s pace.  Ah, but this is par for the course of being an artist. 

As I was filling out my timesheet for my paid job, the little light bulb above my head went on.  Why not fill out a timesheet for my studio work?  I like the idea of keeping track and holding myself accountable.  Also, this way I can gauge my productivity.  The rules are that in order for the studio hours to count, I need to be doing something to further my creativity, career, or business.  As I blog, I’m on the clock.  Checking my e-mail, surfing the web, or messing around on Facebook does not count unless it directly relates to promoting my art.  The other rule is that I need to complete at least one hour of work in the studio per day.  If I miss a day, I have to make it up within a week.

But the timesheet wasn’t enough.  I needed some sort of reward for my time.  After asking for suggestions from friends on Facebook, I went with cash.  I get paid $1 for every hour of studio work.  Yeah, I’m underpaid.  The beauty is that those dollars can add up.  The more I work, the more money I make.  I could use it to buy art supplies, treats, or clothes, but I needed a more compelling goal.  Of course, I knew immediately what that was: Mendocino. 

I love the Mendocino/Fort Bragg area of California.  I’d move there in a second if I could.  There is something about that wild and wooly coast; it reflects my inner wild and wooliness.  And I love the woods, the art community, the quaintness, the funkiness, the remoteness and quiet.  I am saving for a trip to Mendocino.  The trip will be completely justified, because I earned it.  I’ll go for quiet and inspiration.  I may even go alone, and make it a personal, spiritual, artist’s retreat.  But, I’m getting way ahead of myself.   If I don’t put in some serious studio time, it could be years before I can afford to go. 

I started clocking my hours on March 25^th.  I’ll pay myself monthly, so in March my earnings are $10.  That’s okay for starters, but I can do better.  And for Joe Q. Public out there; I won’t be keeping large amounts of cash in my house.  Once the money jar becomes more that I would carry in my wallet, it’s going in the bank.  I’ll leave an IOU note in the jar. 

Disclaimer:  I am full of motivation and inspiration to make art, the savings jar is just to get me over the hump between wanting to create and laying on the couch watching TV because I’m tired from working all day.  I’m excited.  It’s the little extra push I need.  I did great with my goal of getting my Etsy store up and running by a particular date, so this goal will be good for me.

In other news: during my month of "March Sickness" I started working on a clay commission for a friend.  I’ll share it with you later in the month when it is complete.  I finished the sculpting and the piece is currently drying.  It will be fired, glazed, and fired again.  She hasn’t seen it so I can’t share it yet.  It’s a surprise!  I also completed a commission of a wire wrapped beach stone pendant.  This friend found a beautiful piece of quartz on the beach and I wrapped it with sterling silver wire.  For some reason, I didn’t take a picture to share!  Finally, my paintings will be on display for another week at Studio Gallery on Polk Street as part of an Easter display in their front windows. 

Wow!  Look what happens when you don’t blog for a month.  I sure am chatty today.  I’ll be back to my 3x a month schedule, so stay tuned!

My Studio Door

February Goals

 

Now that my Etsy store is up and running I can shift my focus.  No longer is it all about getting the site up, now there is maintenance, networking and marketing.  I need to work on a business plan and make sure I’m utilizing Etsy to its fullest.  I also need to collect my receipts to see how far in the hole I am!  The good news is that I’ve made a few sales already!  It is encouraging to know that others like what I’m creating.  I feel very satisfied with what I’ve done so far and look forward to seeing where it will all lead. I hope that one day this blog may be of help to others looking to start their own Etsy shop or craft business.

The Crunch

 

I’m in the home stretch!  My goal is to have my Etsy store up and running by the end of January.  There is still so much to do.  I’ve learned I can’t always know how long a task will take.  I can only hope most of these will be quick and easy.  I think my greatest challenge is creating a new business card and postcard.  My strategy is to do the hardest things first.  I’ll be blogging updates all month.  It will be challenging because I am hoping to teach two after school classes a week, so I have less time than usual.  Hopefully I won’t fall behind on the blog like I did in December.  I don’t know if you noticed, but while on vacation I made up for all the blog entries I missed.  

Wishing you a warm, wonderful New Year!

Holiday Crazies

I’ve been away from the blog for a couple weeks and don’t have a good excuse.  I could say I got caught up in the holiday crazies (shopping, decorating, partying, baking), but that just isn’t true.  I did partake in a few of those things, but not to the degree I suspect most people imbibe.  I can only blame procrastination.  I wanted to blog about how I was making progress towards my December goals, when in fact I was making no progress.  I had nothing to write about. 

The good news is that is changing.  For the past several days I’ve gotten myself back on track.  I have about 200 photos to process for my upcoming Etsy store.  Each picture needs to be handpicked out of hundreds, titled, filed, cropped, spot corrected, and adjusted.  I’m on my way.  This is the drudgery of opening an online store.  Five photos for each item, and I have about 30 pieces.  You do the math.  I’ll need to retake a few along the way, but it is all progress.  I was gifted with the perfectionist gene, so what you see is my absolute best. 

Rollover

December Goals

Ah, my goals for November were too lofty.  I finished the month with many items on my to-do list un-done.  I couldn’t have known that it would take so long sketch each piece, and even longer to photograph them.  It has been challenging. It has been work.  So, the unchecked items get rolled over to the December list.

November Goals - Incomplete

“People are most creative when they care about their work and they’re stretching their skills.”  - Teresa Amabile

“One must work and dare if one really wants to live.” – Vincent van Gogh

Inventory

New designs!

I’ve been working very hard this past week to create an inventory of jewelry for my future Etsy store.  I found that the more I worked, the more ideas I got for new pieces.  As I was designing what I thought was my last piece, an idea for something new would pop into my head.  I worked this way until I got close to running out of supplies again.  My stock of jewelry includes 11 necklaces, 12 pairs of earrings, 5 bracelets, and 3 rings.  My next task is to make complete detailed sketches to use as references in case I want to create the piece again, and to post in the shop for potential buyers.  I'm so happy that I'm moving forward and slowly accomplishing my goals!

New Goals

Well, I almost did it.  I set 9 goals for October and completed all but one.  I failed to create at least 15 pieces to sell.  It might have happened but I ran out of materials.  On Tuesday I expect a new delivery of supplies and then I’m off and running again.  I can’t wait!  Today I wrote out goals for November.  I’m looking forward to this month’s work because it is almost all “hands-on”.  In addition to making the pieces I planned for last month, I’ll sketch them too.  I think the sketches will look good in my Etsy store combined with the photos.  Then I get to do the photography and write descriptions of everything.  I have the week of Thanksgiving off and expect that this will be a very productive time for me.  I’m getting there, baby step by baby step. 

Making Progress

The list!

I’m at about the halfway point on my September/October goals.  I ordered some supplies for my new designs.  I’m still waiting on the mail; UPS misdirected my package to San Marcos, CA, between Los Angeles and San Diego.  Whoops!  So I’m not “making” anything yet.  I might have bitten off a little more than I can chew with blogging 3 times a week.  Soon I will start teaching two after school art classes, making me extra tired when I return home.  I also find that writing is a slow process for me.  If I blog in the evening I don’t have time to work on anything else.  Still, I’m going to stick with it for as long as I can. Twice a week might be a little more doable.  I have been carrying around my little notebook for a couple weeks and only wrote in it once.  Either I forget I have it, or I’m too busy to jot things down.  I think it will take some practice and discipline to make good use of my new “tool”.

Setting Goals

  

If I’m serious about selling jewelry on-line, then I need to set some goals.  My first big goal is to get an Etsy shop up and running in January.  I’m giving myself three months.  Today, I made a list of 9 things I think I can accomplish by the end of October, and I already crossed one off.  I bought a small notebook like the one I mentioned a couple entries ago.  I’ll carry it with me to take notes (design ideas, blog entries, etc) and do small sketches.  I also did some research on finding good prices for jewelry supplies, and tested out one of my designs. It’s going to be really striking, but I can’t show you just yet.  ;-)