Today we went to the Austin Art Alliance Fine Art Fair in beautiful downtown Austin. It was such a lovely day, not too hot, a little windy and no rain! Mia and Josie and my husband came, making it a fun family outing. Thom even got involved in the crafting fun!

 

 

I went exploring while the “kids” played!

This place was colorful!

 

 

I met many wonderful artists at the show, including jewelry artists, fine artists, and pottery makers. My absolute favorite fine artist was Mary Alayne Thomas. She does these wonderful mixed media pieces in which she uses a technique called encaustic. (It is certainly a great deal of work- click on the word to see a slideshow of how to do it!) I also saw a great deal of art nouveau influence in her work which I am drawn to also.

 

click on pic to go to her web site

My favorite jewelry artist was a man who worked with polymer clay in his designs. I do not usually like clay jewelry but his pieces were incredibly unique and beautiful! His prices were very reasonable for the amount of work that looked like went into each piece. I especially liked his “lantern” drop necklaces. It is on my Mother’s Day gift wish list!   His name is pretty crazy, but he really is an amazing artist-Wiwat Kamolpornwijit Oh, No! It’s looks like he does not have an on-line shop. If I want that necklace, I better go back tomorrow!     YIKES!                                       

 

Some other artists I enjoyed:

www.fineartoncanvas.com   Tanya Doskova

www.rachaeladamiak.com    jewelry design, Austin, Tx

www.fourfootedart.com      Yvonne Miller: fine art with an animal twist

www.SilvieGoldmark.com     beautiful & unique salt and pepper shakers

www.avanzare.com              Kristian Rangel:  amazing dream-like etchings

 

 

Here are more pictures of our outing to explore!

 

One of the most important books in my life right now is the "Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron. It has showed me how to unblock myself to creative inspiration and nurture my inner artist. It is such an inspirational and life-changing book. I am so glad I discovered it.
(finally, it's been out forever!)

Antelope Horn

(blooms look like little stars when closed)

Just a few rules for you Facebook fans! See the whole article here. Enjoy!

O.K. so I am having an issue with selling my jewelry on Etsy- I'm not getting any sales! So, I thought I should diversify, think of other products I can make and sale on Etsy and at craft shows. (craft shows are being inundated with jewelry designers also, and it's hard to get into a show right now!)



My darn psychologist- it's all her fault. She thought it would be such a great idea for me to sale my own jewelry so I would get out of my deep, dark funk I was in for say... 10 years. It has helped but now I'm just dealing with rejection and that is as depressing as ever. Thanks bone-head pychologist- she will remain nameless at this point. I love her though, really.



Anyway, to get to the point, I thought I should start making new and "fresh" products to sale on-line and at shows. Would they let me in if I were to sale..... tampon holders? I thought that would be a great idea. How many women in the world use tampons? How many tampons have been wasted because of the tampons falling out of their wrapper into a purse and getting gum stuck to the string? I found this on Etsy and thought this was the Roll's Royce of tampon holders:

click on the pic to go to listing

Wow! How can I top that? I don't even sew. So screw it. I think I'll make some "Tampon Rockets" with my kids instead.

I just saw this crazy necklace on Etsy. It is featured on the front page because it definitely desires to be noticed! How much do you think it weighs? OUCH!

I finished a necklace and a pair of earrings that I happen to love. I used some romantic- style bead caps on the drop earrings that I had never used before. I pay a little extra for the quality of the chain (it is gold-filled) but it really makes the earrings shine! I hate gold-plated chain-it just looks cheap to me!

My husband was helping me take pictures of my jewelry yesterday and when he was taking a picture of this one which I call' "Among the Wildflowers" , he said "I don't like this one".

At first, I was a little upset and offended, but then I thought; with my husbands taste, that's actually a good sign!

They will be up for sale at my Etsy shop tomorrow-perfect for Mother's Day!

Click on the Pic to take it too!

"MEOW MIX"

click on the pic

I love my new necklaces! They just make me so happy with their bright lime greens and luscious reds.
That color combination is so "yummy" to me. Maybe it reminds me of fresh, crisp apples or beautiful Poppies in a field of soft green grass.

O.K. so really the White Rabbit is the one that is totally worried about the time, but I took some artistic liberties with this one!

What's up with artists and time management? I just can't seem to get a handle on this time thing. It seems like no matter how much time I have in a day to get stuff done, it is never enough. Why am I always struggling?

I think I have not gotten a handle on running my own business yet. I am a stay-at-home Mom with only a certain amount of time each day to spend on creating, advertising, and Etsy-ing! It seems like instead of working on business, I end up doing monotonous chores like laundry and sweeping. But these things have to get done, right? Why can't I just be a slob and not care how my house looks? Because I'm a perfectionist. I just can't create when my environment looks like crap.

I did receive an article from Etsy the other day about this exact thing. It was first intended for Christmas planning for sellers, but I think it is a really great resource all year round.

http://team.etsy.com/timemanagement.pdf

Another thing I want to do is set goals for the month of April, just like my new fellow blogger "Crafty Mishmash" did in her post: Well, I've finally done it!

My Goals for April:

1. Finish 4 necklaces and 3 bracelets.
2. Finish taking pictures of completed projects & list on Etsy
3. Sign up for 4 craft fairs this Summer & get accepted to at least 2 of them
4. Treat my husband better
5. Finish one jewelry box
6. Blog at least 3x weekly
7. Don't die from exhaustion

I'll keep everyone posted on how #7 goes!

From the Heart Necklace Collection

Taking pictures, uploading them to Etsy, listing them, and pricing them can take a huge chunk of time. When do I have time to actually create? I have two kids at home, a house to clean, doctor's appointments to make, dinner to make. (O.K. that last one is really stretching it.)
I am frustrated with not being able to make more jewelry! Let alone, start a line of hand painted jewelry boxes, magnets, greeting cards, art prints, socks, the list goes on and on!
I am just happy at this point that I have uploaded two new necklaces to Etsy. They are from my collection: From the Heart. I found these wonderful Pewter heart charms at a Georgetown shop called, The Escape. I turned them into necklaces with a message. Some have stones and some have crystals. These further express the message conveyed in the pendant. I'm putting a couple for sale each day this coming week at my Etsy site!