The last two weeks have been absolutely exhausting as I worked 7 hour days - sometimes even longer - on the things I’m finally ready to reveal to the world! It didn’t help that I was down for four days with the worst migraine I’ve ever had and was trying to work through the pain (read: tried to work and felt guilty for not getting anything done!). But in the end, I’m so happy and excited about all I’ve put together, it doesn’t matter that I’m going through computer overload!

And isn’t that the danger of working for yourself? I’ve doodled and written in my journal over the last 2 weeks, but have barely done anything more creative - I did finish a painting (and will be posting it and prints for it tomorrow!), and am excited to have the rest of this week “off” to catch up on emails, paint, and meet up with friends.

So what’s new, then?

The new www.samanthakira.com!

I’ve never had a website for my work before - I’ve run off blogs for the last five years - and felt it was time to come out of my shell as a professional artist. Saying it is one thing - I see this new portfolio website as action that brings that into being. And what a coincidence that I received a letter asking me to subscribe to a magazine at the Professional Discount rate. A little yellow note that was a sign I’m on the right path.

Check out an expanded bio, a short FAQ, a selection of my best work from the past five years, and info on my workshops. There’s also one more thing over there...

My newest professional venture - consulting.

You know how you see these successful people, and they’ve all created jobs for themselves that are unique and creative and something you’d never have thought of? That things come easily and they love their jobs?

As I was thinking about my future while starting to build my new website, an idea came to me - I love creating and editing videos and want to help others do the same (see the next bit down on this post!) - so why not? Why not help people looking to create online workshops or make videos to share their work? This is something near and dear to my heart - a side-career I’ve kept up all these years while working on art or doing part-time jobs - and I know my knowledge can help others.

So now you have someone to go to when you need help with your videos. I have several packages available, including editing services - you film everything, upload it to my private FTP server, and I’ll put it together for you!

And finally, the long-awaited video workshop, Through the Lens!

Through the Lens has been created to teach artists and crafters the basics of making your own videos. Whether you’re filming content for YouTube or your newest online class, this course will gently guide you through the process as well as sneak in little “insider” tips along the way. All you need is a computer, camera, passion, and an adventurous spirit.

This 8-week course includes:

Weekly in-depth videos
Weekly live webcasts for you to ask questions and receive instant feedback
Video assignments
Reflections & Inspiration assignments
Beautiful PDF files for each lesson

Through the Lens starts March 1st, 2011 and will run for 8-weeks. You won’t be able to take this class until August if you don’t make it to the first session, so take advantage of this course now if you want to start the year off making videos!

Visit the workshop’s main page for an FAQ, more information, and the two packages you can choose between for enrollment. I’m actually capping student capacity so I can focus on each student for the best class ever!

I was out for coffee with Dawn last week and said, “I haven’t pulled out my A game in anything I’ve done so far.” And it’s true. But I’m ready to step up, present everything, and put my whole heart and soul into it. So keep your eyes out for new series here on the blog, more prints and paintings on Etsy, more workshop offerings, and a real step into my creative life.

This is a scary thing for me - standing up for myself, going out on a limb with my new consulting business, revealing a workshop that has been more work, more fun, and is more in-depth and aligned with my soul than anything I’ve done before. So maybe a nice computer break for the next few days will be a good thing!