Dust and the Workshop

Vespa Baby needs a bath!  Poor thing lives in the workshop and keeps getting covered in sawdust.  Must get a dust cover and get it licensed for Oregon.  Gonna love these dry roads!

Spent most of the day in the workshop.  Loud music, sawdust flying, covered in paint, all of my favorite things in the world!  This is the newest display I am working on.  It will be a display for charms.

Creative Block. Fabulous..

Still bored....and still not sure what I'm doing with this painting.  I haven't had a creative block in a long time.  Ugh.  I bought a book a few months ago called "Thinking Creatively, New Ways to Unlock Your Visual Imagination".  Am going to dive into it tonight, hopefully it will help.  I don't even know why I feel bored because I do have so much to do.  I need to update the Third Friday Medford map for March, adding another street block in perspective and hopefully find a local restaurant that will do some type of green sample food in Vogel for the art walk.  I also met with my friend Jeannena yesterday.  She's my source for all things Jacksonville.  She asked me if I would do the promotional material for Jacksonville Celebrates the Arts.  I'm excited about the project although I've never done anything like that before.  Of course my first question was...."can I use my art in the flyers"?  One track mind...getting my name out there so my business will grow.  Sometimes I feel pushy or driven but others I give myself a break and acknowledge that I'm in survival mode.  I can either figure out how to build my creative self into a business that will support my future, or I can go back to work in an office.  I think I would wither away and die if I sat in an escrow office again.

Photoshop

Today was frustrating, although I should feel happy that I accomplished quite a few things. I purchased photoshop a while ago and have been afraid to try and teach myself how to use the program. I finally jumped on it today and muddled my way through a few things. My photographs already look better! I also figured out how to work with the layers function a little bit. You'll notice on my banner I have my name layered on top of the photograph.

The best thing I did today was hired my teenager to help me with my computer struggles. She quickly added links to my blog, something which I worked on for a few hours and never figured out. She also started a website for me. I had registered the domain of cammydavis.com, but that's as far as I got. She's started creating the website, so hopefully that will follow soon.

I'm ready to put some time into my actual art rather than trying to figure out how to become computer literate and market myself. I'm a creative person, the business side will always be the struggle for me!

Clocks continued

I continued working on clocks today, but felt a little discouraged when I searched etsy to see what prices people were using for clocks. I don't know how they do it. I hope when I list them on my etsy site, people will see the design and creative value of having one in their home.

Art Fairs

I spent the entire day working on art. It started with hauling home 5' mdf pieces on the scooter. Always an interesting adventure. I then pulled the miter saw out and set it up on my little apartment deck. About an hour and 6 canvases later, I'm sure the neighbors loved me. But, the good news is that I can continue creating rather than being stalled.

I'm also mulling over this idea of doing art fairs. It might be a good idea since I'm so afraid of the future, of actually making a living in Interior Design or some other creative activity. This might be an additional income while I figure the whole thing out. And, it might give me a creative outlet on the weekends if I end up doing office work again. Ugh, I can't stand to even think of that possibility!

The Beginning

I've been trying to figure out how to blend my desire for creativity with my need to provide a home for my family. Is there an answer? I don't know. Some people tell me that if you love something enough, you will be successful at it. Others say that work is what you do to pay for the weekends, when you do what you love.

This seems the right time to explore this question, since I found myself with the need to change careers..thank you to the economy.

I've decided as a way to keep focused (yep, I have a creative personality....staying focused is not on my list of qualities) that I will write a blog for one year detailing my search to live a creative life.