(Life) Full time commitment

I wanted to share this with you all because sometimes it's nice to know what bloggers actually do besides blog. 

I work on my art & my blog part time, & work at a "real job" full time. 

My art & my blog are fun for me & my passion, & having a steady, reliable job is my other passion. I enjoy work, I honestly do. It gives me a sense of pride in myself. 

My art & my blog provide me with an outlet to be creative. 

Being a creative person doesn't mean you only have to want to have a job with art or fashion, in fact your creativity can give you a skill set that will greatly benefit you at any job. I love working, & then being able to come home & work on my art. Knowing I have a bunch of things I know how to do gives me confidence. 

I'm also writing this because, if you have just graduated college like me, you've probably realized that the world of "going to school" & the world of "I graduated & now I work" are completely different and change, even though it's in this case very good- can be extremely overwhelming! 

I'm grateful to have an excellent support system, and these are the things they have told me: 

-be proud of what you've accomplished

-it's okay to be nervous

-don't get too ahead of yourself

-count your blessings you already have

-life works out 

-don't stop your passions (like me, I keep working on my art! :D) 

-you do not need a job that matches your degree. (This is very true, all kinds of jobs can make you happy, and they make me happy) 

-don't give up. 

About that last tip, don't give up looking for a job. Sometimes it takes a while, but you can do it, anyone can do it. 

Hopefully I've shown at least someone that bloggers do normal things besides what they put on their blog, & maybe helped another recent college grad feel more confident :) 

Good luck to everyone, & may we all find happiness! 

(Art Days) Artists in Buffalo

I created a profile for my artwork on the Artists in Buffalo website! 

I discovered the website this morning at about 8am, and decided to call one of the women who is in charge of the site. She was so kind, & answered all my questions. Her name is Anne Bliss.

Only after calling her did I realize how early it was! What a good person to help me that early in the day- for real. 

I just wanted to post this up, maybe some other artists in the area may read this & go join the Artists in Buffalo site. 

It is free to join! Here is the link:

http://www.artistsinbuffalo.org/

You can upload your artist statement and 10 artworks & you can edit these at anytime.

I uploaded a few, here is one of my favorites I added:

I drew this about a year ago, I adore it. I need to draw more like this. 

Good luck fellow artists! May we all find happiness!!

(Art Days) Zombies, Creepy & Cute

I just got them done

Forget us not

New lipstick

About Books & Reading

I collect first edition books, & reading is one of my favorite things. If I could, I would be the most epic librarian ever- but you need school for that and I do not have that degree. But I have often found myself thinking, "why do I not read more often"?

I'm very busy, and upon reflection came to this conclusion- books need to be read at a special time in a special place for one to enjoy them fully. Granted this does not apply to everyone I'm sure, but for me this holds true.

When I was younger I read feverishly, with everything I'd read culminating to me reading The Origin Of Species. When I finished that amazing book, it seemed to me as if I had read everything to be read- since I had indeed finished my life reading list- that I came up with when I was about 5.

I then as usual went to school, graduated, started pre-grad school all the while wondering "had I simply read all I wanted and now do books not interest me"?
Then for Christmas, my boyfriend gave me two really beautiful books and I realized then, that I may not need to consume all the information in these books as soon as I could as in previous years, I could simply enjoy them and read them as I wanted.

This was a new but comforting thought.

There was nothing suddenly wrong about my love for books, it had just grown & evolved. Now, I love looking at my books, reading them here & there, and collecting my first editions at my own pace. I no longer need to read all the books all the time and try to find all the old books all the time.
My love for books was basically a huge burning forest fire that has calmed down into a nice little campfire and honestly I quite enjoy this new phase of life with my books.

Working on my paintings

When I'm Rich

Of course, I'm still in school, but I'm planning on being successful. I have no clue if ill be rich by society's standards- but I do plan in having more money than I do now & being happy. That sounds like my idea of rich.
With my success, I've been planning on what I want to do.
I'd give more money each paycheck to the ASPCA than I already do.
I'm still going to donate half of the money from each artwork I sell to the ASPCA, just hopefully I can sell my art for more!
I'd love to have enough money to buy clothes for a women's shelter on a regular basis. We have donated to one before- it'd be fun to give them brand new clothes.
I want to donate art supplies to schools in my area that don't have well funded art programs.
I'd give money to Hospice Buffalo each month.
This is what I would do on a regular basis if I was rich, or just more than I do now. I wouldn't blow my money, success is meaningless if you can't share it.

Record Store Day

Record store day here in Buffalo for me was amazing!
At Record Theatre, they wanted to sell my artwork, they did an awesome job of displaying my prints! & when I went to buy my vinyl a man purchased on if my prints of Jack White, it was incredibly overwhelming but in a very exciting way.
I'm so thankful!


The Vinyl I purchased was:
Horemoaning by Nirvana,
The Raw & the Cooked by Fine Young Cannibals
Soundgardens Record Store day release
Demolition by Ryan Adams
The Fear of Missing Out by Thenewno2
God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise by Ray LaMontagne

Jack White Drawing

I was commissioned by a local record store ( Record Theatre ) to draw portraits of musicians to sell for Record Store Day 2013.
So far I've done a cute cartoon of The Beatles & a more gritty drawing of Jack White.
This is proving to be so much fun! I'm so excited, & Record Theatre has generously offered to sell my art for me since I have a guitar lesson that day- scheduled prior to them asking me to draw- & I was so happy because I felt bad I could not be there all day to sell my work.
I'm definately stopping by and I'm going to be purchasing music from my local shop- I value having local music stores to go to, make sure you go out on April 20th and visit your local shop too!

Stress & art, and dealing with life

Life can bring about a lot of stress that leads to you stressing about your life.
"My room isn't clean enough"
"I don't get to my studio enough"
"If I go to my studio my lil chihuahua is going to feel lonely"
"Oh God, am I becoming a hoarder?"
The way to solve this perpetual cycle of stressing then stressing more then freaking out is to:
Stop what you are doing
Realize you are good the way you are
You can never be perfect
Work on the things you want to do one step, or one inch at a time.
This is what I have been dealing with as an artist, who is in school, working, has the best little furry friend ever, and amazing friends & a loving boyfriend. Balancing life can be hard sometimes, for everyone. I've found doing the things mentioned previously really help me calm down.
I make lists too, and I write down things I like about myself. Doing this is like giving your mind a chill pill without the chill pills. It really helps.
And, if all else fails- it's OKAY to freak out, to feel upset. That can be just as relaxing when you have let it out.
As long as you are not hurting others, keep on doing what you are doing!!
How do other artists balance their need to create with their need to live their lives as well? Have any tips/ideas?

Favorites

Favorites from my week:
New nail polish
My Princess Merida Doll
Burt's Bees Rose lip balm
A picture I took at CEPA gallery
A silly photo of my boyfriend and I

This week had it's super lows & super highs, I hope the coming week is less of a roller coaster ride!

Pampering Things

So, basically I love to pamper myself & I love excess. Hence my fascination with the Victorian Era, & the absolute fantasy world created by classic rockers. The opulence of The Beatles psychedelic era, the overt over the top sexuality of Aerosmith, and the faerie witch style of Stevie Nicks.
So, in keeping with my fascinations, I dress up each day the best I can and I do things that make me feel as if I could be Dolly Parton sittin on top of a cupcake with baby kittens. Yes. That was just said.
I fix my false eyelashes each day, put on red lipstain before bed and I am a believer in lipstick and Chanel No5.
Maybe this post sounds frivolous, I mean, my blog is about my art & life as an artist- but I think that as a woman, however you choose to, pampering yourself gives you so much confidence. I choose a rather traditional route for the most part, but I also LOVE collecting vinyl records & playing my guitar. Vinyl records are so special in my opinion, they have such a rich sound that CDs cannot replicate. As for my guitars- they literally make me so happy I could explode.
I believe that indulging yourself in things that make you happy each day keep you sane, personally they help with panic attacks, for others I know they just help remind the person that no matter what the day had brought into their life, there is always something nice & comforting to look forward to.
Maybe I sound like a feminist a bit, but that's okay by me. Make up should make you happy, it should not be a mask. Your hobbies should let you express yourself, not what society thinks a woman should be fascinated with. I've always had these strong views, and often wanted to turn them into art but I'm still letting the idea stew in my head until its good & ready.
So, the moral is, pampering I believe helps you be yourself & let's you figure out how to fly your own freak flag.

FYI: freak flags are the best.
Ps: making weird faces is also one of my hobbies.

Favorites

For my favorites posts I'm going to do something different than most bloggers- I'm going to post things I already have.
Lé gasp! Yes- I am. I've come to notice that people get to fixated on what they don't have instead of what they do- including me- and I want to change that. So here is my first post of favorites that I have already!

1) my mushroom salt shakers
2) my Abe Lincoln doll
3) my Green Day poster from the early 90's
4) a painting that I bought from one of my very good & talented friends.

What I wore

Sweater: Goodwill
Tee: Clothes Mentor
Lace Button up: Clothes Mentor
Jeans: Target
Moccasins: Bon Ton
Fossil Necklace: DIY

What I wore

Sweater: Walmart
Tee: Clothes Mentor
Jeans: Target
Boots: Scoop Shop

Resurrection Show

I'm in ARTVOICE

Thank you 464 Gallery & ARTVOICE!!!