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.

Hocking My Wares in Grants Pass

Today I visited Grants Pass with a friend of mine, Wibby, who grew up there.  Nice to have a local human showing me around!  I found an adorable boutique on "G" street to carry my necklaces.  It's called Tierra del Sol and is at 129 SW G Street.  Make sure you visit it if you are in Grants Pass.  They had some other jewelry I was lusting after.  Note to self; must spend commissions on business rather than jewelry!  I also spoke with Bruk at Urban Renewal, they are going to carry my necklaces, but are moving this weekend, so I'll visit them next week and drop off a selection.  On the way back to Jacksonville, we checked out the teeny, tiny town of Rogue River and found a little pet groomers, Personalized Grooming by Tarey, who are going to carry my pet tags.

All in all a productive day.  I also walked Immy around Jville this morning with Jeanena, my local contact and friend for all things "Jacksonville".  Then I ran into another friend and artist, Ron Moore, (fantastic photography!) who recommended I go by the Catholic Rectory.  It's one of my favorite historic buildings.  They were having it re-roofed and I was able to grab some of the old shingles to incorporate into my art work.  I'm DYING to create!

Wibby getting shingles out of the dump trailer for me.

The beautiful old shingles from the Catholic Rectory.

The Catholic Rectory.  One of my favorite buildings in Jacksonville, it's so sweet.

Two New Retailers

Today I went to a few stores to place my Valentine necklace and card sets and take orders for the pet tags.  I've been taking this part of my growth fairly slow, trying to determine which stores I want to be associated with, how to place my product where I get exposure but don't over-saturate the small town market.  I'm happy with how the day went.  My two new retailers are The Crown Jewel in Jacksonville, who will be carrying my Valentine sets and a collection of my pet tags.  They have a really cute shop-dog who will probably sell them for me.  :)  Apparel For Two is the other store I will be working with.  Adorable store in downtown Medford with a great collection of vintage and designer clothing.  When I was visiting with the owner, Kim, I mentioned I had just come from Rogue Gallery and met the Elvis impersonator.  Turns out, he's going to be at her store on Thursday.  So I quickly pointed out the Elvis necklace I was wearing and offered to bring some to her store prior to Elvis' visit.  Now I just need to make them by tomorrow.  ;)

US Bank, Jacksonville, Oregon

I set up a table display at US Bank in Jacksonville.  They call it their "community display" and have a different local business set up a display for each month. 

I put a display of Jacksonville Christmas Cards, as well as Halloween and some individual cards showcasing the US Bank building.

Seasons Greetings from Jacksonville

I'm working on Jacksonville Christmas cards to place in local stores.  I emailed an order form to friends and neighbors as well.  I hope the local residents like them.  :)  I think I'll make this a tradition, a new design each year.  I guess that means I'll have to paint something "Christmas-like" during the year.  That'll be fun!

Celebrate Jacksonville in the Art

This morning I walked Immy, as per usual and saw a little farmers market on the museum grounds in Jacksonville. I introduced myself to the artists who were showing their work. Turns out they have a little Saturday group that shows their work through the summer. They were all so welcoming and nice. I think I may join them on the 27th.

The following weekend is Labor Day and I will be doing Jacksonville Celebrates the Arts in the same location. After seeing their work, which was focused on the history of Jacksonville and seeing the weekend tourist crowd, I think I will update my artwork to meld history and abstract. For a while I've been pondering including famous buildings in my paintings via photoshop. I like the idea of the historic buildings contrasting with the bright colors I typically use.

So, tonight Immy and I walked around Jville and took photos of some of the historic buildings. I tried to put Immy on the porch in all the photos, you can barely see her though. I had to tie her to the porch post and then walk way across the street to get the whole building(s) into the frame. I also had a problem with cars since there was a concert at the Britt. So, I am going to pry myself out of bed really early tomorrow and try to get some more photos.

At this time I think I'm going to make necklaces and maybe some framed prints of the photoshoped images. I'm kind of excited at the possiblity. To make it even more fun (at least in my strange and bored mind) I'm going to call the series Celebrate Jacksonville in the Art. I wonder how it will be received. Hm..

The photo I'm attaching today is the Nunan House which is right behind my Gramma's home. If you walked into the backyard of the Nunan House and turned left you'd be in my Gramma's backyard. Well, you'd have to climb a fence and fight off the wicked guard dog (Immy). ;)

The Starving Artist

I just moved to Jacksonville, Oregon with the purpose of taking care of my Gramma so she does not need to live in a nursing home. Beyond loving my Gramma and wanting in some small way to pay her back for everything she's done for me, I also was "bribed" by my parents with the offer of Gramma's garage as my art studio. I'm pretty excited. Reading back from when I started this blog a year a half ago, my goal that I couldn't even picture, was to live a creative life. Slowly I'm getting there.

Also, quite a life change. I just got back from riding my Vespa (to save money on gas) to the Grocery Outlet (otherwise known to me as the cheap-ass-grocery-store) and realized I have become a starving artist!

But, on the subject of my art. I have 29 paintings hanging in Issaquah Coffee for the month of August and half of September. Very exciting for me, it's the first time I've had so many paintings hanging in one place. And, keeping my goal of supporting myself as an artist in mind, I bravely contacted the Issaquah Press and requested they do an article. They were receptive (shock) and are going to interview and photograph me on Aug. 18th. I'm excited, except for the photograph part. The "starving" part of my goal has not affected my body yet... :( It's hard to put myself out there, but I try to think of cammydavis.com as a separate entity from myself. It's the only way I can try and promote myself! Ooh, I also got the DDI Magazine today and saw my 2nd place project in print. Pretty cool!!