Depth of Change

I don't know if it's the depth of change brought on by the art business class that I am taking, or the fact that I am not 100% sure of where my income is coming from right now, or the exhaustion I am experiencing from sleeping on a broken bed and dreaming about killing zombies (seriously), or the intense email that I just got from my dad, but I AM DRAINED.

For the past week and a half I am supposed to be working on de-cluttering my space, and organizing my time and money. But I feel like for every step I take I add three more steps to the list. I guess that is just what deep cleaning does, but today I am frustrated.

On a more positive note, I have been waking up every single morning, brewing a cup of coffee, choosing a song on my iPod that affects me strongly, and playing that song over several times while I draw in my sketchbook. This morning my drawing went quickly, so I also made a little ACEO, pictured above, entitled, "Squid Love #1."

Yay! Front Page!

Thanks to my friend Danielle, I just found out I was on the front page last night! Doesn't my paper look pretty?

Well, it's check-in time again! I did blog 3 times (more I think!), but didn't finish a painting. The coming weeks are going to be big for me, though. I just finished a very intense, emotionally draining & powerful weekend, which was the kickoff for a 12 week artist's business class. I have learned a lot about myself and my art already, and a lot of things are already coming into focus for me. I have been taking my art in the wrong direction, not painting nearly as much as I've wanted, and completely avoided doing the types of shows I need and want to be doing.

So, there is much to be done, starting with my home, my money, and my time. It is about clearing things up so that I can be a more productive artist. This week is a clean up my home and my finances week, take care of some things I have been avoiding and make my apartment more liveable. I will take some photos along the way and post them here!

Need something to do?

If you are feeling a little bored and need a project to get your creative juices flowing, check out my new diy kits!

I currently have two, with more to come. The first is a make your own shrinky dink pendant kit, complete with enough materials to make two of your own unique pendants, along with complete instructions.

The second is a decorate your own slide top tin kit. It comes with one large slide top tin, the perfect size for storing MOO cards, and a surprise collection of collage materials. Check out my flickr to see how I decorated a couple of tins for my Valentines!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

In celebrations of this lovely holiday, I am offering all of the pendants in my shop at 50% off! Stop by the sale section of my shop and check it out!

Autumn

"Autumn," 2008, by Lea Keohane. Acrylic and oil on masonite. 18" x 24".

I finished this painting last week, in time to bring it along to Crafty Wonderland. I built my painting surface as always, by putting a support frame on the back of a sheet of masonite, then gessoing the whole things, edges and all. Someone asked me las week if I hated putting the gesso on the canvas, but I actually love it. Building my painting surface is kind of meditative for me, and it feels good to end up with this gorgeous white surface to paint on. I do need an electric miter saw, though--the only part I hate is trying to cut the frame pieces with a miter box and a hand saw!

"Autumn" is the first in a new series, painting the seasons. Not very deep, perhaps, but fun and lovely. Each season gives me such a different feeling, I would like to express it. I am also working on developing some aspects of my visual language, and this series will give me the means to do so. This particular piece has a hint of an Art Nouveau-inspired border. I did an acrylic underpainting, made stencils of the leaves in the background, and used oil for the figure, the border, and the border leaves. Now all I need is a better picture! I was having some glare issues :)

Week 1 Check-In

Well, I said a week ago that I would check back in to see if I met my goals for the week, and here I am, so that's a good start, right? I blogged 3 times, finished a painting and built a canvas for a new one, and was all set for Crafty Wonderland yesterday. Yay me! Here's what my booth looked like:
Very cute, don't you think? But it was painfully slow yesterday, and the things that I sell, people don't need, so I had very few sales. Then again, my neighbors, Mugwump (awesome purses), and Frosty Petals (cute fingerless gloves), seemed a bit slow as well, although they have really great stuff and people need purses and gloves more than art.

You know, it is really okay though! Maybe right now is a good time to take a hiatus from crafty shows, from all shows, while I focus and build up my body of work. My supply shop did amazingly well this weekend, which takes a lot of pressure off of my art sales too. I need that right now.

Okay, so this week's goals: Blog 3 times again, promote SupplyRiot, paint a painting. Oh! And the Guerilla Exhibitor class starts this weekend! I can't wait!

What next?

I guess by now if you've been reading the past couple of weeks, you will have noticed all of the changes and updates I've been making to my shops, and do my life. I am terrified, honestly. I am terrified of being solely responsible for my whole income (and exited at the prospect), and even more terrified that I will fail and be forced to go get a "real" job. I can't handle that last idea.

So now I am selling some fantastic things as SupplyRiot, and I am completely revising my LeaKarts shop. I am taking the pendants out completely. I like them, and they were a fun project at the time, but not what I want to invest my energy in. In fact, I will be selling them at a huge discount at Crafty Wonderland this weekend!

I have been pulling my sketchbook out regularly, and painting again, and regaining my focus. I have a distinctive style and a particular talent that I need to be putting to work. I will update here in my blog in the coming weeks as I make changes to my shop, re-create my website, and have lots of new paintings & services to offer!

Announcing....SupplyRiot!

As a part of my plan to work 100% for myself, I have started a new business venture selling art and craft supplies.

Introducing...SupplyRiot, my new etsy shop! Currently offering slide-top tins, gorgeous Japanese Washi Chiyogami papers, bails and other jewelry findings. Very soon I will also have a supply of luscious hand-dyed silk ribbon, diy kits, and more! If auctions are more your thing, you can also find me on eBay with the username All_For_Indie.

Wherever you decide to stop in, let me know that you found me through my blog and I will give you $1 off of your order!

A time for change

Things are really stirring around in the land of LeaKarts lately. I have been working for LittlePutBooks for several months now as her etsy shop has really grown. But as the "slow season" overtakes us, she just doesn't need me as much. Which is scary, because I am now forced to depend mostly on myself for income, but it's also very exiting as I am honing in on what I really want to be doing, and finding ways to actually do it.

My main obstacle is my own brain, which has the amazing ability to come up with a gazillion ideas all at once, only to sideswipe itself in a paralyzing panic as it gropes for a way to implement all of it's ideas at the same time. NOT helpful. So, in an attempt to calm my anxiety and find focus, I am going to try to think of the littler picture and put my weekly goals here in my blog. I think this will give me some accountability as well, no matter how small my readership may be :)

This week I would like to: Blog at least three times, make my first supply purchase for my new shop (announcement coming soon!), paint one painting, and get prepared for Crafty Wonderland, which is coming up on the 10th. And I'm off! Oh, one more goal--check back in here to see how well I did this week!