Art Plunge

Burn and Renew. Like a Phoenix coming out of the flames, stronger. Its an image I often think of at the end of the year. This was a pretty good year for me considering...but it was a lot of work to make it so. This was a personal year...a year I went inward and dealt with a lot of things. My relationships with people...how am I treated? How do I allow myself to be treated? How do I treat others?  How do I treat myself? "Is this working for me?" was a question I asked myself daily. When I got sick of everyone's politics I turned away, changed the channel. When I got tired of emotional abuse and passive aggressive behavior I packed up my toys and went home. When I got the feeling I was being used I opened my mouth and addressed it. This was a year of No Bullshit for me. I needed it. I was pretty much a hermit just working to make ends meet but I had my nose in my business attending to me.  There was no gossip. There was meditation. There was no "escapism"...

A cold December day and it was time to kill two birds with one stone...make chicken soup and do a proper cleaning of the fridge. These things could be done separately but it's more fun to do it simultaneously. By the time the fridge is clean- lunch will be ready! Started with a big soup pot of water and 3 cubes of chicken bouillon. Added in onion, garlic and bay leaves. While the heat made the little pot creak and boil up it was time to get creative. Holiday food and food that got bypassed by holiday food was stacking up and causing chaos in my fridge. Half a rotisserie chicken got bypassed for holiday ham. I got to work stripping the bird and putting MOST of the chicken in the soup. Some of the chicken got put into a little container to make a last meal with the rest of the holiday food- namely mashed potatoes, potato salad and cranberry relish. There was just enough to condense that stuff into a small unit for dinner tonight. *Tonights dinner ✔ Next a bunch of steamed veget...

A little area for small projects....like vinyl record art About a week ago if I asked myself if my closet was working for me I'd have said NOPE. Or if I asked myself if my Art Studio was working for me I would answer Hell to the Naw Naw. But now....the closet and the studio are DONE! All the surfaces are clear and ready for work. All the supplies have homes and I can easily SEE everything and keep better track of inventory. I thought I needed to buy tarp but found quite a bit of it. Rolls of tape? I'm covered! I was able condense things and pare down. A lot of old boxes got tossed, posters were rolled tight and properly stowed and an army of canvases stand at the ready! I like to keep this photo of my Dad in my studio for motivation and good vibes. My Dad was a doer...and a fixer. If something wasn't working for him-he would attend to it. I think he would be proud of my little MacGuyver hacks to get my studio in order. A toilet paper holder to stash wrapping p...

                              Before                                   After Kicked major butt in the studio getting it ready for the New Year. The first thing I did was decided what my trouble areas were. Mine were : I NEED CLEAN SURFACES. PAINTS AND STUFF WERE EVERYWHERE. Case in point. This little green table is SUPPOSED to be where my palette, water, work area is where I paint in the back. A zillion water containers, brushes and stuff have accumulated over all the surfaces. After getting the "stuff" put in designated spots there is SURFACE again. Hallelujah! 😛 Surface space in a small studio is important. Space for digital work, matting, small detail projects, easel painting and cutting/saw work all need special areas. I pinpointed a major FAIL in my studio and it was this: Gridwall made a great pa...

           Tuco enjoying a CLEAN space! Bear with me as Im going to be discussing ORGANIZATION for a bit. Yesterday was an epic day in the declutterring department. About 9 bags of clothes and shoes were hauled off to the donation bin. My walk in closet is now a fully functional walk in closet and I can see all the things I have so I can cull even more. Vintage stuff is being set aside to sell on ebay. Old tshirts are being converted to paint rags or donated in the second round. Things are being repurposed and put to use. It feels GREAT! Somehow the closet project involved the laundry room debacle- as quite a few laundry bags and baskets had accumulated. I sorted through those and before I knew it the laundry room was decluttered and everything was in its place. Such peace of mind to have that yearlong project off my back! I feel like I've finally moved into my home. My bedroom floor is free of its pile of clothes. Carpet vacuumed and everythin...

Chocolate Chip Pannetone and brownies...a small sampling of yesterday's holiday fare. Christmas is under the belt...and hanging over the belt 😋 and now its time to get back to work-for some of us. Today I do payroll work from home- no complaints. Working from home is the supreme best... and its simple data entry that takes about an hour tops. While I'll be in the "office" slash studio...I'll take a look at my inventory of paints because I had an epiphany. A solution to a problem I have. My studio needs a place for all its paints. Acrylics, watercolors and a hundred little bottles of craft paints take up all the surfaces...even surfaces I need to put my paint palette and water down and uh...WORK. I have bins and little drawers stashed to overflowing with lil paints. My studio currently ISN'T WORKING FOR ME. It dawned on me as I worked on my closet that there must be something I'm overlooking that would be the best solution. There was. And its been u...

Before I get into my organization rant I want to wish everyone reading a very Merry Christmas and happy holiday- however you celebrate! Its a frugal end to the year so my gift to my family is that Im cooking the Christmas dinner, opening my house and arms for another chance to come together and enjoy each other's company. It gets rare through the year as we are all busy so it's nice to end the year with another little feast together. I'll be doing a glazed ham with green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, roasted carrots and there's a chocolate chip pannetone and chocolate babka for dessert. We are abundant and I thank the friend who sent me $50 for my Christmas present so I could give them (and me!) this present. The ham usually gets stretched to green split pea and ham soup for New Years and reminds me of my new frugal quest to make things last, appreciate what I have and less, less, less. I'm expecting to do quite a bit of storing and freezing properly and lots...

I'm totally in conscientious and frugal mode as I coast into the new year. I'm very aware of having things that never get used or appreciated and a strong desire to change that this year. Im starting with my closet and then moving outward into the rest of the house. For instance my two guitar amps and my bass guitar- are totally getting used and appreciated this year. My house is also basically a library thanks to my writer/bookworm boyfriend. So reading and using those spaces that never get used to read- part of the new plans. Cleaning and organizing the art studio is going to be an undertaking but will help so much in productivity. Dare I organize allllll the paints by colors? Monster project. I'm still wrapping my brain around it. Im also planning to kick harmful chemicals out of my world and be wiser about recycling and reusing. I'm planning to use the products/items I already have to death and stretch things out as much as possible then not buy them any more....

I put my bad mood to productive use yesterday and did something I've been needing to do for a year... Started unpacking my closet. I literally moved in here- threw a bunch of garbage bags filled with clothes, shoes, scarves and purses into a nice little walk in closet and never looked back. For a whole year. I was either either sick, busy with work or tired....it never got dealt with, never a priority. I was fine to wear the same pair of jeans, 3 pairs of holey threadbare jeggings and a handful of rock shirts for a year. A pile on the floor and a little laundry basket was my closet. So lame! Super fab SPACE MOD two piece- dress and coat I unpacked! Im totally in appreciate and use what you have mode. And I have a WALK IN CLOSET...its small but mine! So Im doing my darnedest to purge pounds of clothes that don't serve me and make this space functional. Anything that isn't working for me this year- gets fixed or booted. And that will extend to all aspects of my life....

Definitely feeling some end of the year burnout. As I try to rest and recharge I'm constantly reminded that sometimes my time is just not my own. Even when it should be. Like evening winding down time- when my injured back feels like it's in a vice grip and I've just laid down...not the best time to call me into duty...especially after I've made it known that I can do whatever it is the very next morning. There's no respect for my time and its made me want to just crawl into a ball away from everyone and sleep. And when it happens it reminds me of every late night text or too early (before 8 am really?) message tugging on my sleeve about something needing to be done. And guilt trips...I don't need those. I don't get to take any kind of lovely trips so forgive me if I definitely say no to those kind of trips. If its always about you, you, you and there's never any regard to me, me, me I'm not going to be a happy camper doing whatever I'm being...

As much as this was a Year of Me in a lot of ways it was really Year of Helping Everyone Else. Which is also just fine. I actually did NOT go out much this year. Sometimes I attempted social gatherings only to have my friends cancel on me. Or I invited and they canceled on me but I still went out. But when I did go out it was meaningful and fun, if not rare. But low key on the social scene made me super hype in my WORK this year. Which was necessary. This was the year I truly got fed up with the scratching to survive game and made a conscious effort to UPGRADE MY LIFE. (Invested in a new saw to work on mixed media pieces for myself) This meant taking a hard look at where my effort was going and where the money was coming from and troubleshooting all the things I was doing wrong. First MAJOR thing to get on track was INVESTING IN MYSELF. Do I believe in me and my work? Better believe it! So why wasn't I investing in me? I had the Scroogey attitude towards myself that I co...

"Las Grutas 2" now on view at Deep Ellum Art Co. We're almost done with December! But we aren't rushing through it- just trying to savor it and make it count. I got sideswiped by my old friend PAIN this week and it knocked me into bed for 2 whole days. 😬 Today my resolve is to get back in the studio and get these records done. But wanted to post about current stuff- the point of today's blog... Currently on view at DEEP ELLUM ART CO. I have three pieces on view and for sale at Deep Ellum Art Co, the exhibit will be up for 2 weeks so if you have family in town and are wandering around in that neck of the woods or feel like collecting new art for the new year- head over there for the exhibit "Winter Flight". And Im doing my BIGGEST SALE OF THE YEAR...40% off your purchase in my Shopify shop. Originals and prints! The one on the bottom SOLD yesterday but the one on top is still available, as well as a few other originals. Use code: HOLIDAY for...

I actually hesitate to use the word "zen" because it's a term that just gets tossed around as a catch phrase these days- usually to sell meditation classes online or a lifestyle that actually CANNOT be bought. But the word applies here- to cultivating an inner peace with yourself first so you can properly be at peace with the world and the way things are. As a freelance artist the first misconception people have is that I lead a freewheeling, fun and fancy free lifestyle with no schedule or rules. Wish that were the case but its so far from the truth. While I do have more control of my time management than most- Im still working for others- usually MANY others. So its a lot like having multiple bosses who think you're on call for them anytime day or night. Sounds fun right? You've just spent all day toiling on a project thats due and at about 8pm you throw your tired body into the bed...pondering sleep or dinner...when you get a text from a client remindin...

Thumb wasnt even fully healed before I had to pick up the paintbrush. December is not the month for playing around in the freelance world. Have three "hair" themed record pieces to create for a salon and finished that floral custom purse. Vinyl record art for salon in California Plus I had to get a portrait commission done for my neighbors.        Lupe Valdez portrait commission Lots of portraits and faces after a whole year of abstracts 😂 Next week more record portraits, etc. Hopefully on the last stretch of commissions so I can also enjoy the holidays and finally give both thumbs a vacation! Floral custom Projects already popping up for 2019 so if you need something it will be next year and will have to be scheduled in advance. Busy and grateful and taking it in stride. Try to enjoy the little snippets of holiday time as you can!

Normal sized thumb Swollen stupid sized thumb So who gave me the evil eye? December hits and I have a stack of work to get through. Im literally ALMOST done painting a purse for a client Work in progress When my thumb gets infected by....a cat scratch of all things. At least there's a cat scratch on the same hand so Im guessing it's the culprit. Woke up this morning and my thumb was in utter pain and could not be touched. So work is out of the picture today-which kinda stresses me out. I at least got through a wall mural project before the thumb went south. Its pretty amazing ALL the things you discover you use your thumb for that you can't when it gets disabled. Right now it's so swollen I can't bend it. Im on antibiotics and getting shots in the butt for two days and hoping tomorrow I can work.  I consoled myself with a six pack...of new socks. This blog brought to you with the help of my middle and index finger 😵😱😭😂  Please ...