Thinking and Rethinking

Thinking and rethinking, I suppose that's what we spend our days doing. I sort of half expected a huge sigh of relief and a big let down after the exhibition was up (see the previous post) and the reception was behind me. That hasn't been the case, which is a good thing! Creating all that new work energized me and I think it is a good sign that I just started the next day in the same way...let's get to work on what's next. So what has unfolded over the last several days? Well...

There's The Scroll for Meandering Lines that was quite fun to make. And, just finished is a book page inspired by the idea of mirrored histories and parallel lives. It is kind of uncanny to meet up with someone, even in the online world, who has had such a similar journey through life that it seems as if the two of you have lived parallel lives. This little freestanding piece, The Book of Mirrored Histories, speaks to that idea.

As I turn my attention once again to creating more of a living from my work, I realize I need to be smarter about my Etsy shop. Lots of tricks of the trade don't seem to apply to people who make art and especially those sellers who create one-of-a-kind works, but that's who I am. I don't think in terms of multiples and I don't feel good about creating reproductions (often called prints by most folks out there, but not in this house when you live with a real printmaker) because for me, the work I make is about the one-of-a-kind and about the actual mark, the texture of materials, paper, beeswax, teabags, thread....all of it. I can't bear the idea of the flatness that would come of only having an image of the pieces. I appreciate others who make there more expensive originals available in a more affordable reproduction, but for me, it just doesn't work.

So....I just have to streamline the way I proceed in other ways and operate a bit more efficiently. I'm thinking that if I limit myself to working in just 2 or 3 standard formats/sizes then shipping the work won't become a new invention each time. As it is now, each sale becomes a new challenge as I have to find and cut cardboard to the right size and then buy the appropriate shipping envelope at the post office when I trek into town each time I make a sale. Surely, this is a pretty inefficient way to operate, but then....well, my focus has always been the studio. But, the new promise I've made to myself is that I'm going to get smarter and more efficient. I'll have a store of shipping materials on hand, ready to go, in anticipation of an increase in sales!! Well, that would be nice, but I'm not going to focus on it.

For now, I've spent my morning trying to work on learning more about search engine optimization (SEO), using Pinterest in new ways and rethinking the listings I have already on Etsy. I need to get into the studio....I am an artist first and foremost and get a bit antsy when I'm not making. I know many of you are seasoned artists and have learned these lessons in working efficient....I'm certainly open to suggestions and happy to hear from you.

Thanks so much for your interest and support in my work! Cheers and enjoy the upcoming weekend. We're going to have 60 degrees tomorrow here in Burbank, South Dakota. Woo hoo!!