Inspiration for today's Tip o' the Day over on the Journal Girl ML; it's SO much easier to just update with tiny email bursts over there than to post to the blog, that, and twitter (which you can see over there on the sidebar). I've been working almost non-stop of the next issue of Page by Page to make sure it's available by the 15th -- and no orders until then! I made a promise and I'm sticking to it!
Ooo. Centered typing. I'm certainly having fun. Plus, it's looks so groovy on Art. Tea. Life.
The BIGGEST thing that has happened is that I've decided, despite crippling fear and that little voice in the back of my head saying, "You MUST be a responsible adult," decided to try this starving artist thing full-time.
Insane, right?
It's the result of a few things and a lot of thinking, pondering, and prayer on my part.
You see, after my article came out, a lot of people started asking me if I sold those bags. "No," I told them, "I never thought of that." And I hadn't. They were made for me -- I never thought other people would enjoy such colorfully embellished bags. I just like taking plain bags and beautifying them!
Anyway, a lot of people were like, "Make them!" And these were RL people who'd never seen my art before. Let me tell you what a glowing endorsement that was...all these people from my day-to-day life LOVING what I'd created (my "second mom," whom I've known since I was 3, read my article out loud to me and kept saying how well it was written!). All this over a tiny article!
All this got me pumped up. There's nothing I enjoy doing more than designing bags. I've been making my own for years, either from scratch or by tearing part existing ones to make new Frankenstein-like monsters of my own design! So, why not sit and design some and make them fun and colorful and not like anything else and do it inexpensively?
And this reminded me of a chance encounter last summer, at a darling stationary shop I love. I was wearing my first collage pendant, and the owner asked me about it. I said I designed it myself, and she was all ready to help me figure out how to sell them and everything! I didn't have the funds for supplies at the time, so I never pursued it, but have always wondered, "What if?"
And then there's all those little artist's papers I designed for fun. They're so fun to make, so why not make some more? The one above's a freebee one just for YOU! Follow the link to Flickr and click All Sizes to get the original hi-res version. I LOVE making papers and sharing them....almost as much as I love seeing what people do with them!
And all of these decisions come from tiny moments. Those seemingly unimportant flicks of half-observed words and decisions that change your entire world. Either you let them get you down or you get back up, make another, and keep living!
So there's me...I thought I was stuck, but I was the only one in my way. I just had to get out of my own way and jump. So what if I don't land on my feet? At least I tried!
love, kira