What a Year

February 11, 2010 marks one year since I start selling my journals on Etsy.  Since then I have added my canvases, notepads and blank note cards.   It has been quite a ride.  I’ve made so many fantastic contacts and such incredible friends too.  Life’s path is never known and sometimes when we come to a cross roads we sit and wonder what the hell is up next for me.  Had you asked me 5 years ago where I would be I likely wouldn’t even have come close to what my reality is.  You can choose to sit and wallow in what you think things should be like or you can put your big girl panties on and take a leap of faith – or, in my case a what the hell let’s give it a go.  All the art work I create and list are created with music in the background, me disappearing into my head and letting the music dance with my paint brush or glue stick.  The finished product is always surprising to me.  I’ve been asked what motivates me and inspires me to create everything one of a kind, “like don’t you run out of ideas?”  I never do.  There are days I just don’t have it in me to create and then there are other days where there just isn’t enough time to get it all out of me.  When I run the ideas flow, words and flashes of finished images come together.  It’s the most calming, cheapest form of therapy available.  Me, paper, paint and glue.  I’ve walked through more places with torn paper stuck to my ass than I care to remember this past year but I have enjoyed the process.

It’s been a year I’ll never forget.  I met a bunch of fabulous women through Erica Ehm and Erica herself!  Thanks to Michelle Blau and Dusti Ohland I met Jann Arden which still causes me to grin ear to ear and I made a paper dress and am wearing it in this amazing book Meeting in the Ladies Room written by Linda Woods and Karen Dinino with Pamela Detlor.

My wish list for this year….continued creativity and lots of it.  I hope to finally meet Pamela Detlor, Linda Woods, Karen Dinino and many others from Meeting in the Ladies Room.  I have a new relationship with Zutter which will allow me to continue making my journals on well constructed chipboard and introduce new types of books as well which I’m super excited about.  I am also selling prints of my original sold artwork, the first is now listed in my Etsy shop.

Also…as my thank you for all your support I’m offering FREE SHIPPING on everything in my shop until February 12th!  Take advantage as it’s a great time to buy a one of a kind gift for that special someone – even if you have to hide it for a while.