portrait of the artist. (+ 2019 goals/habits.)
last friday, the incomparably talented (i mean, okay there’s annie leibovitz, but still) eli warren came to my little home/studio/create space and took some photos for me.
i’ve been trying to update my etsy shop to rep my “brand”— i.e., bookish art for the reading home. or art for book nerds. anyway, i thought me holding my limited edition faerie tale feet reproductions in front of my crazy book wall would help get the colourful, literary message across.
“all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
~ j.r.r. tolkien, the hobbit.
so eli came over and we took my etsy pics, and then, as is his custom, he took a portrait of me for his artists series. (you can see his final image of l’il ol’ me HERE on his must-follow instagram!) so if you are in need of vogue-worthy headshots or otherwise, drop the dude a line. i’m sure he’d love to work with you.
updating my etsy shoppe has felt like an ever-changing, ever-challenging task. i had a decent sales year on there in 2018, but there are JUST SO MANY sellers. so unless you’ve met me at an art festival, or happen to follow bookish me on instagram, there’s only an iiiiiitsy*bitsy chance you’ll find my shoppe or my items.
so that’s yet again a goal for the new year: to increase my business from home. (because traveling to art festivals while engaging and enlightening and always an adventure and a pleasure to meet new fans, is really expensive!! at best, i might sell 25% more than my booth fee, road trip eats, hotel nights, gas, application fee to even enter and hope to get in, etc.!)
“if you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up somewhere else.”
~yogi berra
so thank you for bearing with me. thank you for telling your friends about me and sharing my art with them, too. word of mouth is still the most effective marketing tool. so know i’m trying to be cool enough for you to spread the word about. ;)
on saturday, for his birthday, my intellectual brainiac creative of a husband wanted to spend his birthday (with me, at least?) at LEAF Institute’s 2019 goal-setting seminar. will gray was great, and i have even MORE fuel in the fire to set those goals (via healthy habits) to continue making my art dreams come true.
so that includes the baby steps of not just wishing and hoping my etsy site shall someday look better, and that more people shall find me online, but getting those professional photos taken. and getting them saved & uploaded & showing off those updated listingsl! (inspirational quotes here were all ones mentioned on saturday!)
a bonus BIG thank you to REA for being my photo/personal assistant/lunch date/quick-change wardrobe consultant for photo day. i know all the pretty pretty “know your angles” model faces i practiced in the mirror for weeks ahead of time were for naught, but i tried. and having a fellow booknerd there to calm my nerves was a great help. (she also took all these behind-the-scenes shots for me!) ;)
i shall of course inform you as soon as halthegal.etsy.com has received its latest makeover. and praying/hoping/wishing i can get this round done before i head off to BEAULITFULCON this weekend to meet so many of my favourite book people and fangirl over favourite authors and fellow bookish shops. (look for a swoony thank-you to Metropolitan Arts Council for their much-needed, much-appreciated ART GRANT to help get me out to phoenix!! xoxoxoxo!!!)
so continued 2019 BUTTERBEER CHEERS to you and all your goals & healthy habits for the new year. i’m still working on it, but aren’t we all?