For Your Tuesdays

This morning I had to take my car into the shop for some repairs. It was only about a quarter mile from my house so I walked home. Other than some wind the weather seems pretty nice outside, pretty mild. Makes me hopeful for Spring to get here.

On my walk I got to come up close and personal to something that I love seeing from my car. When my friend Jane Ryder graduated and prepared to move away she took all of her woodblocks and nailed them to various trees around the town. It's a fun game to find Jane's woodblocks. It almost feels like letterboxing. I suppose I could ink this up on the tree and stick some paper to them for a stamp. Or do a rubbing like people do at cemeteries. If you live in this area keep your eyes open for some of these great blocks.

I still have two free prints left for the first two customers who purchase something in my shop for ten dollars or more. The money goes to the good cause of helping me get my thesis show made.

Don't forget to check the blog mash-up schedule today!

Get Inspired

Phew, I think this is the most images I've ever uploaded on my blog. But today is my day in the fun blog mash-up started by Victoria at sfgirlbybay. There are 300 bloggers participating in this experiment and so far it's been really fun. I'm scheduled to go today after following 2 Days in the Rain. The mash-up will take a weekend break and then Monday The Diary of Lovely is scheduled to follow me. Also blogging today is Bliss in a Teacup, Cursive Design, Good Measure, Kizz Designs, Mochatini, Papers and Packages, San Diego Songbirds, Sweet Sassafras, and The Window Ledge. So many! That's what makes this a really exciting thing to be part of.

So, the theme for this blog is inspiration, what inspires us. I've been thinking about this for a few days now and am having trouble really articulating my thoughts. I know that what really inspires me right now is reading other people's blogs. I'm always encouraged by seeing others going through similar experiences as me. These are people who work on their art daily, making it their business, their world. Many of them have children and families and houses and they continue to work day to day on their craft. There are times I get down and feel overwhelmed but it just takes reading a few blogs to get me motivated and ready to hit the studio, or add work to my shop, or write a new blog entry. I'm motivated to keep it up and stick things out because I see all these amazing women doing the same.

These are some of the first blogs I started reading when I decided to start my own blog. These women share their work and their lives. I look up to them and am grateful for their internet presence.

Inside A Black Apple, Emily has been so successful with her shop, it's allowed her to do what she loves and make it a full time business.

Aesthetic Outburst, Abbey is married and has two kids, she's always doing amazing and fun craft projects with her children and finding beautifully designed works on the internet creating her own gorgeous artwork.
Maria-Therese is always posting beautiful and inspiring work. She also has made her artwork a full time business, showing so much dedication and receiving tremendous amounts of success.
Vanessa De Lacy creates very whimsical drawings and illustrations. I love catching up on her life and work.
Gretchen Mist is another blogger with children who paints and collages and makes all kinds of beautiful things.

Heidi Kenney at My Paper Crane continues to blow me a

way daily. She's keeping up with two boys, always working, creating, baking. I wonder if she sleeps.

And of course there are my friends and peers who create inspiring blogs. I may communicate with them regularly or almost regularly, but their blog is a whole other way to get to know them.

Like Cassie's blog where I get to see wha

t she's doing when we're not having coffee breaks from our studios.

And my friend Michelle Moode at Millions of People Happy. Michelle lives much much much too far away from me right now so this blog is perfect f

or keeping me up-to-date.And Jane Ryder at Flux Biota always tells the best stories about her life as an artist living on a farm in Iowa. This is another person who lives too far away but I feel connected this way.
Of course, there is also just good old fashioned artwork that makes my heart skip a beat and really gets the inspiration flowing.

Like Kime Buzzelli. I've had an art crush on her since I discovered her artwork in the Myspace days.

Charming drawings by Pretty Little Thieves

Betsy Walton sets up the best compositions.
Amy Morken drives me nuts with all that color.
Peregrine Honig makes the most beautifully bizarre works.
I love what Caroline Hwang does with fabric.
Kimberly Hennessy's work takes my breath away.
and Diana Behl collages like a pro.
There are countless other people and blogs who inspire me. Countless. It was so hard to choose just a few. I really want to thank everyone who continues to do what they love and shares that with all of us readers. I feel like I'm really part of an amazing community.

Be sure to check out all the other blogs in this Blog it Forward challenge.

Happy Weekend!

Some Days are Harder Than Others

I'm feeling a little bit down in the dumps today. It's probably just this cold I have. I slept so hard last night that I didn't even feel the supposed earthquake we had. A 4.3 or something, I'm not sure how feelable that would be anyway. I did have strange weird dreams, silly cold medicine.

Looking at so many blogs and shops on the internet is so inspiring but also sometimes makes me feel like I'm pushing a boulder up and uphill snowy slippery slope. I know that all advice given to people to have a successful blog and shop is to be persistent but sometimes it doesn't feel like enough. What to do what to do. I think devoting more time to both is important but I'm so busy with school right now. When I graduate I would like to put much more time into it. There are so many people in the blogworld that inspire me, more on this in my inspiration blog for blog it forward. Any advice for a girl down on her luck?

It's ten in the morning and I know I should end my computer and coffee time and head to the studio but what I really want is an extra hour to catch up on blog reading. I subscribe to so many amazing blogs and keep finding new ones every day. I'm so behind and just want to read all day. But I have to admit I am also plenty excited to get to work in my studio. The break over the weekend really helped to get me motivated again. Plus, I've started listening to a new podcast that I'm quickly growing addicted to. It's called Stuff You Should Know from the How Stuff Works series. I listened to three episodes yesterday and learned some great stuff. I've got twenty-three more episodes downloaded and can't wait to listen. Podcasts are the best invention since... the ipod? I think when I make the sign for my thesis show that thanks people I will also thank the inventor of podcast. I heard a guy on NPR once describe a musician's cd as his sonic wallpaper. That's what podcasts are for me.

By the way, you may have noticed the badge in the margins that says Blog it Forward. I plan on taking part in a really interesting blogging experience that will be happening a little later in February. To learn more about it click here to go to SFGirlbyBay's website. It's going to be neat!

Have a great day!