Mindless Musings : #1

I've been weathering the change of seasons in my life lately. It seems that many people are riding out various storms and there is a sense of change and transition in the air. If I knew anything about astrology I'm sure I'd know there is some planetary alignment that's throwing everyone out of whack...

After several days of feeling blue and off colour, watching entire t.v series, sleeping far too much and generally loosing momentum in life, I've finally turned a corner. Now I don't feel as though I'll be piddling time away at the studio, not knowing what to do.

My usual plan of action takes the form of rearranging. I usually shift the furniture around every three months and find it gives me a lift - it's the only holiday I can afford. I'm going to be moving into a bigger room soon, and I'm looking forward to pulling my old queen bed frame out of storage. Albeit I have no money for a mattress, so I'll be scraping together some coins to put towards a cheap foam variety until my prospects improve. I miss the space of a big bed so much! It's the perfect way to reorganise and throw out junk that accumulates.

I'm also pushing forward with my new business venture, which I will be sharing here. I thought it was hard enough deciding what I wanted to do in life, but it's actually the easy part. The tough cookie is having the courage to go ahead and take the risk and look fear right in the face.

As some of you may have gathered, I'm an artist. I'm still having difficulty categorising myself since I use so many different techniques and mediums. I've been wanting to set up my own online store for quite some time now, but the practicalities and finances have been tricky. In the end it's a matter of deciding on one product to start with and building from there. I try to do everything at once sometimes. At this stage I am looking to open a store on Etsy selling prints of my artworks. I'll start with postcards and small prints on recycled paper and move into limited edition giclee prints and maybe some silk screened t-shirts.

It's exciting and scary. On the one hand I feel like I've got a style and product that is commercial viable, but the reality is there are so many incredibly talented people out there that never make it. My dream is to be able to make a comfortable living off my art. I may be pig-headed and delusional jumping in the deep end, and in that sense I'm a regular Gen-Y-want-to-be-at-the-top-now stereotype. I'm terrified I will fail and have to get a 9-5 job or wait tables for the rest of my life. I've realised I am far too much of an artist to ever participate in normal working life.

In the meantime, I'm reading all these inspiring interviews with successful sellers over on Etsy. There is a wealth of information there to motivate and guide you and it's been an absolute god-send for me. I'm off to write up a new budget for myself and a schedule to get things moving. Stay tuned for sneak peeks at the whole process...