First Stained Glass Piece

Just dropping by to say that I posted my first stained glass piece on Etsy - a little rosebud suncatcher. Check it out:


You can purchase it here!

Needing a Little Love

So, it's been over a week since my first sale. I really need to sell something else.

I know if I make more of my Black Mage, he'll sell - but he's also a blatant copyright violation and I don't really want to get sued.

So I worry if people actually like my work or not. Maybe my stuff just sucks. Maybe I just need more variety. On the plus side, Denise added me to her blog roll - but I already know most of the people that read her blog.

I'm being depressive. I'm going to stop before I get maudlin.

Yeah, So I'm a Slacker

So it's been nine days since I posted last. I haven't listed much recently either. I've been kind of busy.

I went to Chattanooga with my husband this past weekend. I honestly thought there would be more to do there, and we probably would have shopped more, but it was bitterly cold. We did go to a really awesome art gallery in the art district though. I would have liked to have seen the museum as well, but the entrance fee was a bit pricey.

I'd post a link to the gallery's website, but I can't find it. I think, though, that I'd like to start trying to get some of my stuff accepted to galleries. I just have absolutley no idea as to how to go about doing that. I do think I need a larger body of work though.

Honestly, the whole prospect of attempting to get my stuff exhibited scares me a bit. I know I have a few options, such as next year's SAMA conference, where my mosaic artwork will be taken seriously. But I'm afraid to apply to that because I'm afraid my work isn't really "polished" enough. And as far as regular galleries go, I know a lot of them won't want mosaics - it's too much of a "craft" and not an "art". Unfortunately, if I charge "craft" prices for my work, I probably wouldn't even break even on materials and shipping!

I want to be a real artist, but I also want to eat too. I should just be patient...I'm getting ahead of myself, I need a larger body of work before I can get all anxious about exhibiting it anyways. And I know Etsy is a great start - several artists have gotten real careers started through people just browsing the site.

I don't need to be the next Picasso. I just want to make a few bucks doing what I love - maybe even enough to do what I love full time. I'm still paranoid my work isn't good enough, but I need to stop worrying and start producing. I also know I'm really not all that different. I need a "hook" - something that makes my work specifically mine. Like they were saying on American Idol last night, I need something that makes me stand out from the crowd as incredible. I just have to figure out what that is, exactly...

First Sale!

Oh my God, I got my first sale! A wonderful buyer just bought Black Mage. I am so excited that someone on Etsy likes my work! With such a high quality group of sellers, I am so glad that people think enough of me to buy one of my items.

Today's Agenda

Well, I'm at my "real" job today. So far, I've done eight pages of a fourteen page report, and it's taken me since 6:30 this morning, because almost every item on the report requires investigation. All but one of these, so far, has turned out to be a false alarm. Sigh.

Rather than being bored, though, I've been trying to think up fun things to create with the new grinder I bought. :) So far, I've come up with a couple of great designs - a fun little palm tree window decoration and a very girly flower. I think I can even turn the flower into an earring holder that might be fun for teenaged girls. Now I've just got to be able to afford more glass...which is why I'm at the boring job, right?

I printed out business cards yesterday, too. I'm going to take them to Kinko's on the way home to have them cut. Then tomorrow I'll send out cards for the business card swap. I've also got to pick out Palchemy supplies for my palchemy pal - she does jewelry, so I'm sure whatever she creates with my mosaic and glass stuff will be interesting!

I started working on that castle yesterday - I'm totally being free form with this, since I couldn't make my sketches look right, so I really hope it turns out ok. I might take some "progress" sketches and post them as I go. :) But since I started working on this, I don't have a new item to post today on my site - I will definitely start one, but the last candle holder I was working on had an unfortunate accident with my sander - the attachment I was using to clean off the grout ended up scratching the glass, so it's kind of a bust. I did post my Black Mage yesterday, so I guess it's not a total loss. And I should have something new, maybe a vase, done by Wednesday at the latest.

This weekend my husband and I are going out of town, so I won't be able to post or create. Maybe I'll find something interesting while I'm gone though! Well, I'd better get back to work on this report...

Yay!

I didn't get much work done at the studio yesterday, but that's OK, because I got a grinder! Thanks to SarahSky, who answered cry for help in the forums and pointed me to a grinder on sale. I'm really excited, and I can't wait 'til it comes in - I'll be able to make all sorts of great glass stuff! I've already got a few ideas for pendants.

Right now I just wish I could get someone to buy something from me. I've posted pictures on Flickr, but I definitely need to add some more and organize a bit. I'm also thinking about placing an ad on Craigslist. Mosaics are just such a niche area, I have to make sure that I'm targeting the proper audience. I do intend to submit stuff to SAMA (Society of American Mosaic Artists)'s big conference this year, but that won't be until the end of the year. Hopefully that will help get my name out! In the mean time, I'm going to create - time to get back to work!

Busy Busy Busy...

Today's Friday, which is my day off - supposedly. I'm off of my day job, but I've been working my butt off trying to get some of my artwork done! I just posed a new candle holder on Etsy:


I'm working on another one, too, but the grout's still drying, so it will probably be tonight or tomorrow before I get it cleaned up.

I've also started a new "big" project, like River Moon, this one featuring a castle. I'm going to go to the stained glass store and pick out some glass today. I kind of want it to have a Starry Night feel, but I don't really want to rip off Van Gogh either, so we'll see what happens.

Well, I've got to run off to the stained glass studio. I've got some grinding to do on a lamp for my class. My Etsy sales are all going to the purchase of a grinder, so I can do this at home!

Everyone Else is Doing It

...so I figure that I should probably jump on the bandwagon too. :) I am usually bad about keeping these, because my interests bounce around pretty drastically - one week I'm obsessed with my art, the next week about a videogame, the next week about a great new diet...but I'll try to stay on track here, and I may let a little World of Warcraft seep into my creative commentary.

I'll start by setting some goals:

• I'll do my best to post once a week
• I'll create a new mosaic piece once a week for my Etsy site
• I'll attempt to feature a new Etsy shop each month

So follow along, and I'll be back soon!