Studio on the Go

It seems as if I have spoken about our purchase of 5 acres in Ely, Nevada last fall many times already.  Well here I am, talking about Ely once again.  For you that don't know, Ely is a small mining community about 240 miles northeast of Las Vegas and has been a wonderful summer retreat for us in the past.  A few years ago, pre-pandemic, we spent a whole 2 months enjoying the cooler temperatures, the beautiful sunsets and all the wildlife. Because the town of Ely is at about 6500 feet in elevation, the summer temperatures are always 20 degrees cooler than in Las Vegas.  Even on the hottest days the evenings cool right down and are wonderful.  

The 4 separate summers we have spent extended time there, I've always referred to them as my "Art Sabbatical". It is such a inspiring place, that even stuffed in a tiny camper, I felt a surge in my creativity while we stayed there.  Now we have options and can actually work towards moving there and maybe only coming back to Las Vegas for a visit or to load up on supplies. It's going to be a big adjustment year for sure.

One thing I know is that I don't want to loose any momentum as a small business owner.  I've worked so hard and enjoy my time sharing my little critters with you all.  My old laptop was just unacceptable and since I needed an upgrade, I decided now was the time to take that plunge.  I really wanted a MacBook but decided that would just have to wait.  This is an HP and I'm already impressed with just how quickly it turns on and how fast it is. You can't see this but the laptop is a dark teal color and so I had to splurge and get a aqua keyboard and mouse.  I also invested in a nice teal microphone. I'm still committed to growing a video audience in this next year and the microphone will just add validity to that goal.  To complete my set up I have a large screen monitor on order and it will be here soon. 

The unknown now is just how reliable the Verizon network will be for me.  They assure me that there is a strong 5G service there and that I should be able to work without any issues using my phone as a hotspot.  I guess if I run into issues, I can always go the Elon Musk's Starlink route.  I know that I have seen many Ely residents raving about that service but it's a big initial investment and another monthly bill to pay.  

I'm sure you will be seeing lots of photos and videos in the future of my little studio set up.  I'm planning on sharing our journey with you.  It feels like we are going to be little pioneers.  I might even get some chickens and grow some vegetables.

    

 

I Couldn't Let a Cute Design Go To Waste

Yesterday, I wrote that I had started drawing some graduation designs but realized that I was really too late to be working on them since it was already the first of May.  I was kicking myself once again for not having a well mapped out plan for my art for the year.  Instead, there is LOTS OF LABOR and LITTLE FRUIT at times and this has to be changed.  I need to work smarter BUT I couldn't just waste this adorable graduation cap that I had drawn.  I spent a little time yesterday coming up with these 6 super cute graduation card designs.  They are now on my website shop and maybe someone out there is just starting to shop for cards.  Graduation Card Collection

Let me know which design is your favorite

    

I've been gone far too long

Writing has always been a part of my creative process but in the past few years I have neglected this very important step.  To write your thoughts on paper requires extra concentration and focus that just isn't there for me on a normal day.  I feel strongly that I need to start fresh giving my gray matter a daily workout here on this blog.  I'm hoping it will help me become more focused and purposeful with my creative efforts.  I feel as though I've gotten into such a runt of just throwing the proverbial "Paint" on the wall to see if it will stick. 

One day it's "I've got to start this shop" or "I need to create this design or listing" or "Print on demand has to be my future."  I find myself running around in circles so much these days that I'm making myself sick.  It has become increasingly clear to me that as an artist I need to slow down and have my work become more carefully planned and researched out.  I can't completely forget about the numbers but I have to change my focus to be more on the "creating process" and not so much numbers driven.

So with those two rambling paragraphs out of the way, I can get to the good part.  What I'm working on right now on my iPad.  I started sketching elements with graduation coming but now that I look at the calendar I realize that I'm really too late to work on that.  This is the lack of planning and researching that I was talking about earlier.  I guess I can change that "3" to a 4 on the gold charm and have a head start for next year. 

This week I was told that one of the best places to do trend research is the Target.com website.  I personally don't shop at Target but many of my friends do.  I didn't realize this but the creators at Target.com are really good at predicting what will be popular with their styles and colors.  So earlier this week I was checking that lead out.  I saw they had a denim collection and I was immediately overjoyed at that prospect.  I've always loved denim as a fabric and adore those little denim flowers made from scraps. Let's not forget just how amazing embroidery on denim looks.  So the other night I just started working on my first denim flower clip art.  I plan on adding a number of single flowers that I can then arrange together in Photoshop to make pretty patterns with. This should be a lot of fun.  I will be sure to share more of my progress in the next few days.        

my current sketch page I'm working on in Procreate