Grafton Arts Mill Opening

Friday night was the opening of the new Grafton Arts Mill. It was insane! There were so many people there. Which of course made it difficult to view the artwork, but the atmosphere was spectacular. Many members of the Cedarburg Artist's Guild came out, many old supporters of the Artpost (our old studio and gallery), and of course the News Graphic was there too.
I was hearing lots of great things from the people that came out. The space was beautiful (thanks to those that worked their tales off), the concept of the place was cool... etc. We were open from 5-10pm, but as I was cleaning up at 10:45, the 3rd floor gallery/temporary wine bar was still full. People were still sitting around the tables enjoying the night. It was an amazing night, the Arts Mill sold tons of work, and I was so overjoyed to be part of something again. Can't wait for the next event!

Greener Green

What a day...where to begin? I rented studio space!!! Ironically located above our extinct gallery.

Now, I never thought I would find a space that fits my needs. So, I wasn't looking...at all. I had decided that I did not want to show my work anywhere where they would take 30% or more my selling price. I did not want to have to price my work so high that it wouldn't sell. I can't afford to pay more than $100/mo. for rent. And I can't really be there much because I have to be in the workshop building the stuff. So that was it for me. Like I said, I wasn't looking because I didn't think such a place existed. I was content to keep on keepin' on the way things were. Work by referral, do more shows, and keep up the Etsy site. The grass is green enough here. Goog is good. Presently present and all that.

Wham O! Found it. It's a co-op. I will work there 12 hours a month. The rest of the time I will be in the workshop building while someone else is manning the boutique. They do take a small percentage, but it is small enough that I can eat it. And their / our grand opening is this coming Friday. But it's cool, I'm oddly enough, prepared. I have a couple accent tables, a few cutting boards, buttons, earrings... It's like what Oprah says, "luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.". If someone would have told me when I got out of bed this morning, that I would be painting a 1/2 wall in my new studio before I picked up the kids from school, I would have laughed hysterically. But there I was...painting the wall.

So there it is. A new chapter. A greener green.

Presently Present.

Ugh. I am not feeling well. I have some sort of sinus thing that came on late yesterday afternoon. Rotten headache and really zapped. I called in sick to myself today. I feel bad that I am not getting anything done. Normally, I would power through it, but I know that usually just makes it last longer. So here I am...sitting here.

I poked around on Etsy and looked for fresh ideas. I saw a lot of people ripping each other off, actually. Some days I think I would love to be able to post something new in my shop everyday and be some sort of Etsy success story. Quit you day job, join us. The fact is, it takes a lot of time to make the things that I make, so this is never going to happen for me. I am trying to be more okay with where I am at.

I am not exactly patient. Fact, I am working on a nice commission. Fact, it's going to occupy 4-6 weeks of my time. Fact, it will bring in some money. Fact, it has been fun to document because I like to watch the progress. That's it, that's exactly where I am at.

Lent begins this week. I always give something up, like sweets. Usually, it makes no difference, because I just wind up replacing sweets with popcorn and it all evens itself out. One year I gave up cussing, and that actually stuck. Now I say stuff like Holy Hannah! Jeepers creepers! Which is a good thing, the kids actually ask me if jeepers creepers is a naughty word Ha! This year, I am going to give up believing the grass is greener somewhere else. This year, I will work on realizing where I am right now, and that it is good.