Life Drawing - Skeletons

I took two Life Drawing classes at EMU. Typically, we worked from models in the class, or had homework assignments to work on self-portrait drawings. But at the beginning of each semester, we had a different type of assignment - to find an anatomically correct image of a skeleton and a skull (from the front and from the side) online, and to copy that image in pencil. The professor was usually against working from any sort of picture (even our self portraits were required to be completed from looking in a mirror, rather than from a picture of ourselves), but made an exception for this assignment.

The goal of such an assignment is obvious - to familiarize ourselves with the underlying bone structure of the human body so that we could better learn the appropriate proportions of different body parts. We would then theoretically use this knowledge to better our "from-life" drawings in class. We were instructed to label the skeleton and skull with the proper anatomic terms.

Here are my drawings for this assignment, which I did with a 0.7mm size mechanical pencil on large 18"x24" white paper. (Both drawings are from 2007.)

When I took my second Life Drawing class in 2008, I repeated the assignment (though this time without the scientific labeling). Here is my side-view of a skull - this time done in charcoal rather than graphite pencil.

Life Drawing

As I mentioned in my last few posts, I was first introduced to the Koh-i-noor "magic" pencil by my life drawing professor at EMU, Prof. Washington. He used the "magic" pencils in his own sketchbook, paired with a hatching or cross-hatching shading technique, and encouraged us to try them out as well.

Here are some of my best drawings using the Koh-i-noor "magic" pencil from the two Life Drawing courses I took at EMU (in 2007 and 2008). We also did a lot of drawing in charcoal, but I'll save those for another future post.

A couple of these images are #NSFW - Life Drawing classes tend to work from nude models. But most of these are sketchbook pages/self-portraits, focusing on the face.

Transitions and Marketing

This week marked my husband's last week working as a high school math teacher. He's been pretty unhappy lately - with the content he was teaching, the students who didn't put in any effort to learn, and the increasingly frustrating policies (from his district specifically and the state of Michigan in general) stunting teacher growth, experimentation, respect, and yes, even pay.

Thankfully, he was able to find new employment. Though he is sad to leave his current students in the middle of a school year, everyone has been pretty great and understanding toward him - from his students and their parents, to his fellow teachers, and the administration. They all know it's been tough for teachers lately, and don't blame him for finding something new.

Starting on Monday, then, he will begin a new career as an actuarial analyst at AAA. I'm excited for him for many reasons. First, the obvious - it seems like it will be a less-stressful work environment for him, and comes with a significant salary increase. The hours are more reasonable, too - which means no more waking up at 5 AM. It is unlikely he'll have to bring much work home with him outside of working hours. Of course, it is also a slightly longer commute (especially since now he'll be driving with the traffic), and he'll be giving up school breaks and summer vacations - but nothing new comes without some sacrifice.

The biggest reason I'm excited for him though is because he took concrete steps to change something about his life that he wasn't happy with. So many people get stuck in jobs they dislike and just stay there, for years upon years, without even looking for other opportunities. Change is scary, and it's hard to take a risk.

I know that I personally struggle with "avoidance." If something makes me anxious, I try to ignore it, or not think about it. Instead of acknowledging it and dealing with it and seeing if there is anything I can do to change my situation for the better, I often actively repress it and go about doing what I've always done - even if it means I'm hurting myself in the long run. Of course, being aware of this tendency of mine helps; I try to be cognizant of when I'm avoiding and curb it. I try to push myself to do things outside of my comfort zone. But it's not something that comes easily to me - or to a lot of people.

Self-marketing my artwork is one of the things I struggle with most. It feels comfortable for me to put my art up on Etsy, or post it on Instagram or Twitter or Facebook, so I do all of these things. But those things are not enough on their own. Instead of putting my art out there and waiting for people to find it, I have to work more at encouraging people to find it, at leading them to it.

One of my goals for this year is to submit my work to more exhibitions, to look at call to entries and see if any of my artwork fits what local galleries or art groups are looking for. I also want to start getting my art onto more websites - websites that do print-on-demand art prints, or other items with art printed on them - like notecards, fabric, etc.

I have been focusing a lot lately on my story because I am almost done with editing it. Once it's finished (again), I will be submitting query letters to agents and trying to get my manuscript out there. I hope to then also have more time to work on getting my artwork in more places, as well.

As far as transitions go, however, I have another big job transition to mention - my own. I met with the communications department of Temple Israel in West Bloomfield this week to discuss working for them part-time on a temporary basis (the next eight weeks or so) while they catch up on a lot of design projects that need immediate attention. Someone I used to work with at EMU's Campus Life works there now and thought of me when they started realizing how swamped they were and how nice it would be to bring in another designer. It's always so rewarding to be remembered! I will forever be appreciative of the people who have contacted me about opportunities - especially since I'm so often neglectful of seeking any out.

It'll be nice to have regular projects to work on (and a regular paycheck) for a while. I think this will be good for me, and still provide me with enough time to work on wrapping up my manuscript edits and doing what I want to with my personal artwork.

What a coincidence that my husband and I both will be starting new opportunities next week!

Studying Art in College

Art is one of those subjects that you really don't have to go to college to learn - because so much of it is just based on practice and doing some art experimentation every day, there's a lot you can do at home. And with the rising costs of college (at least here in the U.S.), it can start to seem a little futile to go spend all that money (and likely go into debt) to study something that will bring you little job prospects. (The term "starving artist" doesn't exist for nothing.)

Creative writing is another field like this. There's a big debate among contemporary literary writers about the importance of the MFA - some insist that a good MFA program is crucial to learning how to write good stories; others insist that it's not necessary.

I can certainly see both sides. I pursued a BFA in watercolor and graphic design at EMU, and can speak to the great experiences I had there that I wouldn't have gotten anywhere else. Of course, on the other hand, I'm currently writing a novel (without ever having pursued an MFA), and thus hope that I can find success with my writing without going through this step.

A lot of it depends, I think, on your financial situation. Given today's economic climate, I don't know if I'd recommend going into massive debt for either sort of degree. The financial pay out will likely not be worth it. On the other hand, if you have the resources to cover it (or most of it), there are definitely positive aspects to pursuing higher education in a field you love. The networking opportunities (if you take advantage of them) will likely be helpful, as well as opportunities for building up your CV.

My CV would be a lot shorter if I didn't have all my projects at EMU to showcase - from the yearly symposiums I talked about in recent posts to the senior art exhibitions EMU set up in its student and university galleries. Furthermore, because I wanted to graduate with "highest honors," I wrote a senior honors thesis - which has probably given me the most exposure of anything, due to its free availability online. I got to do that interview for the Montreal TV series "L'art Erotique" because the producers found and read my thesis online, and I have also been contacted by others (college students, fellow artists, fellow feminists, etc.) from around the world who have read it.

I was lucky enough to have scholarships to attend EMU, and to have family (my uncle in particular) kind enough to help pay for many of my remaining expenses, including room, board, textbooks, and art supplies. I did accumulate a small amount of debt - but it was small enough that I was able to pay it off soon after graduation (despite having no steady income). I realize this is not the case for everyone (which is why I am hesitant to say "Go to college! It's worth the cost!" without knowing others' specific situations). But I did give a lot of thought to my finances in choosing to attend EMU. I also got accepted into the University of Michigan - a school with a vastly greater reputation, but a higher tuition. It was difficult to turn that down - especially given that many of my high school friends were attending U of M. But U of M did not give me the amount of scholarships EMU was willing to (EMU gave me a full-tuition scholarship for four years), nor did they promise the same sorts of opportunities. At U of M, I would've been a small fish in a big pond. At Eastern, I was a big fish in a small pond. I was guaranteed opportunities to showcase my artwork at the symposiums every year. I chose EMU because I knew it would mean I could skate by with very little debt; if I had chosen U of M, that might've (probably would've been) a different picture.

I do have to say - one of the drawbacks of the amazing opportunities at EMU was that I got a little spoiled. So many things were offered to me without my having to put forth much effort to seek them that I had very little experience scouting opportunities after I graduated, and little confidence to try. College is a beautiful, protective bubble - which is great while you're there, because it gives you room to try new things, figure out what you really want to study, and begin to define who you are. But it's not so great after graduation, because then you're faced with a rude awakening when you enter the real world.

It was harder to stick with art once I didn't have assignments to complete, or quotas or deadlines to meet. I didn't have professors (or anyone else) expecting artistic output from me. It was also harder to find ideas, harder to find critique groups, and harder to find places to show my work or try to sell it. This is also true for writing. Though I didn't take advantage of many creative writing classes in college (I only took one), I'm sure if I'd prioritized it, there would have been greater opportunities to find in college than outside it. Critiques would be built into classes, and fellow writers would be easy to find and befriend. Outside that protective college bubble, none of that is the case anymore.

For awhile, I didn't really try to find places to show my art, or try to network much at all. I just didn't know what to do, or where to start. And so now there's this gap on my CV, between when I graduated in 2010 and when I started trying to put myself and my art out there more this past year. I wish I'd made more connections earlier, talking to local art councils or art galleries. But at least I'm doing it now.

EMU Symposium (2009)

I've been talking about the great opportunity I had to display my artwork every year (and earn money doing it!) for the Undergraduate Symposium at Eastern Michigan University every March and today I'm going to talk about the one I participated in during the 2008-2009 school year, when I was a Junior.

At this point, I switched faculty mentors - not because I no longer wanted to work with my drawing professor, but simply because at that point I had officially changed to a Watercolor concentration, and it made sense to work with my watercolor professor, who I had classes with every week.

As I said yesterday, I went into this school year with the idea that I would use source photographs taken abroad to create watercolor paintings. In July-August 2008 I went on the "Mediterranean Cultural History Tour" which spent a several weeks in Switzerland, Italy, and Greece.

We were in Zurich for two "orientation" days, where were were acclimated to the program and met everyone else on the trip. Then, we headed off to Italy. Three days in Venice, four in Florence, five in Rome, and two in Naples. We then took a night boat to Greece, where we spent one day in Olympia, and one day in Nafplion. We traveled (again by night boat) to the island of Crete, where we stayed for three days. Back on the Grecian mainland, we saw Delphi (one day), Kalambaka and the clifftop monasteries of Meteora (one day), Thessaloniki (two days), and Athens (two days). It was a whirlwind trip, but a lot of fun. Prior to that trip, I had only ever been to France in Europe, so it was my first time visiting many of those locations.

I took a lot of photos during those few weeks, and created several watercolors from them. Some of these watercolors I have already shown in previous posts, but here they are together, as a set.

Because I had a precedent for combining writing with my artwork (as I'd done for the previous two symposiums), I also wrote poetry and included these poems onto my watercolor paintings, to help capture the emotion I had at that time. Some of the poems are written traditionally (one line at a time, straight lines, reading right to left), while others are more a jumble of (illegible) words; the way the words are written was also meant to give an indication of my emotion.

Some of the paintings took on an almost "cartoonish" appeal, when I used markers to define some of the muddier parts of the watercolor paintings. (I had only taken a few watercolor classes and was still learning the craft.)

"Siena" 11x15 watercolor painting (with marker outlines and poem)

"Naples" 11x15 watercolor painting (with marker outlines and poem)

From Rome to Delphi, I was suffering an eye infection. First it was my right eye, which started on our last day in Rome, and continued on to Naples and Greece. By the time our boat docked and we headed toward Olympia, my left eye was also infected. To make matters worse, I (stupidly) forgot to bring my glasses, assuming that my contacts would be sufficient for the duration of the trip. When my eyes were infected, I couldn't wear my contacts - so not only did my eyes look all red and gross, but I also couldn't see very well. I relied on my camera to help me see (I'm near-sighted, so while everything at a distance was blurry, I could at least take a picture of something I wanted to see, or point my camera at it, and then look at the digital screen close-up to see what I was missing).

The infection finally started to clear up on Crete, and when we got to Delphi I was able to put both of my contacts in for the first time in days. It was a relief to be able to see again.

"Delphi" 22x30 watercolor painting (with white paint pen poem, and white acrylic paint in background)

Detail of the "Delphi" poem, which alludes to the eye infection I was battling at this point in the study abroad trip

Besides my eye infection, I also battled some gross foot blisters (so much walking!), and (naturally) self-pity. I couldn't believe I was on this amazing once-in-a-lifetime trip and yet suffering through such physical ailments that made enjoying the moment difficult.

In Olympia in particular, I ended up missing all of the planned sights for the day. I had tried my best to attend everything, even if I couldn't see, up until that point. But when my second eye got infected and I had to go find a pharmacist (again), I had to prioritize my health over seeing the sights. I got more eyedrops, and then stayed in the hotel room all day while everyone else went out to have fun.

Walking around Pompeii in the hot sun was excruciating on my feet, which at that point in the trip had some nasty blisters.

And in Athens, I ended up tripping on a rock walking through the agora, and skinning my knee. Our hotel was also in a sort of shady part of town, where there was a lot of graffiti on our street.

I include these anecdotes so that the next several watercolors make sense. The following paintings were small - "postcard size" to reflect the "travel" theme - but instead of focusing on the beautiful moments, as postcards usually do, the imagery and poems reflect the negative aspects of the trip.

"Sorrento" postcard size watercolor painting (with marker poem)

"Olympia" postcard size watercolor painting (with marker poem)

"Pompeii" postcard size watercolor painting (with marker poem)

"Athens" postcard size watercolor painting (with marker poem)

An article about me and my symposium work for an EMU publication that year

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I participated in the Undergraduate Symposium one last time as a Senior in 2010. There, I displayed my thesis watercolors (which I have already talked about in depth in several blog posts, and therefore won't get into again here). I used my symposium money that year on a nice, new digital camera (to take photographs of the "mutilated flowers") and on custom frames and mats for my large watercolors.

EMU Symposium (2008)

Yesterday, I discussed the lucky circumstances for how I was allowed to, as a college student, basically get paid to create whatever art I wanted to. I also described the theme I adopted for that first Undergraduate Symposium I participated in back in 2007 - self portraits.

The following year, still working with that same drawing faculty member, I took the idea of "self portraits" in a slightly different direction. Instead of depicting my face ad nauseum in different media, I focused on my subconscious - my dreams.

Similarly to how I copied text from my journal onto the poster I displayed next to my wall of self-portraits in 2007, in 2008 I copied text from my dream journal and displayed these fragmented written descriptions of my dreams next to visual depictions of them.

I'll admit - this was the year I put the least thought into the symposium. I was still deciding what I wanted to concentrate in at Eastern Michigan University, and was deciding between drawing and watercolor. I let most of the year go by without any planning, and then, at the last minute, threw some things together. I was a little disappointed in myself - I had all this "free money" in my name in the art department, and I hadn't come up with any good items to purchase with it.

It was precisely because of that 2008 "dud year" that I thought hard about what I wanted to do for 2009. I knew I wanted to study abroad, so I decided to combine that desire with the symposium. In 2009, I would create artwork for the symposium that was inspired by my study abroad trip; in this way, I got my scholarship fund to pay for part of that trip. (I'll show pictures from that symposium tomorrow.)

Here are some images of the art I created for my 2008 "Dream" theme.

I went through my dream journal and found all instances of a brand name that appeared in my dreams. I then created a hand-drawn/painted collage of the logos of those brands.

Drawing/painting

The next image is another drawing - this time a "collage" in metallic gold pen/marker of abstract roses. This was inspired by a terrifying dream I had in which I was attacked by a strange man and woke up in a hospital bed to see that my legs had been tattooed up and down with gold roses that were only visible under certain lights.

Drawing

Finally, this last image is a drawing/painting/collage I created based on another specific dream. There were (adorable) fuzzy little aliens who had landed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, causing a riot. To escape, I had to run from the blazing inferno Ann Arbor had become, across a river (which does not exist in real life), to the safety of my own college campus - Eastern Michigan University, in Ypsilanti. Television screens floated in the air around me as I ran.

Drawing/painting/mixed media collage

In addition to these 18"x24" pieces of artwork, I drew a few smaller (cartoonish) images that were also inspired by dreams, and printed up "flyers" that mimicked flyers found in my "Riots in Ann Arbor Dream."

Fuzzy Alien Poster

"Whale Plane" Watercolor

"Red Monster" Watercolor/Drawing

"Beer Tree" Colored Pencil Drawing

To clarify - when I say 2008 was my "dud" year, I don't mean I had nothing to show at the Symposium. I mean only that I felt I hadn't made the most of my scholarship money, because I hadn't planned anything in advance to spend that money on.

EMU Symposium (2007)

I was very fortunate with my time at Eastern Michigan University. The year I started there (2006) was the first year they implemented a new "Symposium Undergraduate Research Fellowship" program ("SURF" for short) and before I even took my first class, I received a call from the SURF organizer inviting me to be a part of it. I did not apply, or indeed do anything but register for honors classes and take part in their Presidential Scholarship competition (where I was awarded the "Regent Gold" level scholarship, which included full tuition for four years).

I don't know how the SURF organizer got my name, or why they selected me and the other few incoming freshmen that they did - but I suspect I was one of the few considering an art major who had the academic credentials they were looking for, and perhaps that helped. Many of the other SURFs were in the sciences, or other departments with obvious research-based projects; they were paired up with a faculty member with the understanding that they would develop these research-based projects for their four years at EMU. As an art student, I was given more leeway. Instead of a "research" project, it was decreed that I would be allowed to showcase my art at the annual Undergraduate Symposium. I could choose whichever faculty member I wanted to be my "research mentor," I could essentially choose to do whatever art projects I wanted (even changing my focus every year), and to top it all off I would receive a scholarship, renewable every year.

Some of this scholarship money was roped off for me to use as "expenses" for my project - and was held at the art department office. But because I could argue that almost anything counted as an "art expense," I was able to use even that money for things I really wanted. I used the money to pay for typical art supplies (paint, brushes, pencils), but also Adobe software, mats and frames for my largest watercolors, a really nice digital camera (to help me get the "source photography" I worked from), and even to help fund part of my study abroad trip to Europe in 2008. To continue getting this allowance, all I had to do was 1) make art, and 2) display and talk about that art at the Undergraduate Symposium every March. I did this all four years that I was at EMU (who wouldn't?!).

Freshman year, I was kind of at a loss for what exactly to do for my art project. I was still in all of my intro art classes, and had not yet selected a concentration. (I would eventually go on to do a double concentration in Watercolor and Graphic Design, but Sophomore year, I was actually registered in the Drawing concentration, and as a Freshman I wasn't officially in the art department at all - but still an "undeclared" major.) "Selfies" weren't really a thing yet (this was the 2006-2007 school year), but I was living away from home for the first time and trying to figure out exactly who I was - so self-portraiture seemed like an obvious direction to explore.

I took self portraits of myself with a digital camera (my phone did not take photographs). I played around with Photoshop to alter these photos. And I used some of the photos as source material to make drawings (graphite, ink, charcoal) and paintings (acrylic). Over the course of the year, I amassed several of these self-portraits, and it was these that I displayed at my first ever Undergraduate Symposium in 2007.

Here are some photographs from that display:

A wall of self-portraits ranging from acrylic paintings, ink, charcoal, graphite, and colored pencil drawings, photographs, and Photoshopped images. EMU Symposium 2007.

A printed poster (designed in Adobe Illustrator) that paired an artist statement with text pulled from my journals and a collage of photographs.

I also laid out pages and pages of printed photographs on the table for guests to flip through if they wished.

Here I am (the blonde) showing the display to my husband (to my left, who was my boyfriend at the time - we had just started dating a few weeks prior) and his college roommate (to my right, who also happened to be one of my closest friends from middle school/high school - which is, in fact, how I met my husband).

The truth is, I used a variety of media and played around with a variety of lighting techniques and poses in the source photographs because I was experimenting. I didn't have a plan; my goal wasn't "to showcase a variety of emotions" or to show how one's opinion of oneself can change from one month to the next (or one day to the next, or one hour to the next) - though that is how I discussed this oeuvre at the symposium. I created a body of work - which included a lot of experiments and mistakes - and then came up with a narrative to explain the choices I made.

I feel like that often happens to artists. They go along making their art and then someone wants to understand an "overarching theme" or make an exhibition of work, and a narrative is created that might not have been conscious on the artist's part during the actual creation of the works. Art exists (people exist), and then later, that art (those people) are labeled and put into boxes.

I was encouraged by my research faculty mentor, one of my drawing teachers, to include everything - even the ones I wasn't as pleased with - because they worked together as a whole. She was a very positive person and wanted me to feel able to make mistakes. I think I grew a lot that year - in general, living away from home and trying to figure out who I was in college, but also as an artist and a self-confident person, and I credit my faculty member and the SURF program for helping me do that.

Happy New Year!

The end of a year is always very reflective for me. It is for a lot of people, I know - looking back at 2015 and making Best Of and Worst Of lists, looking forward to 2016 and making resolutions. The holidays don't help matters - when you see family and friends you haven't seen in awhile (maybe not since last holiday season), they want to know what you've been up to. We all have to share updates on our last year, and to do so we first have to reflect back and see what actually happened. But for those of us (like me, like my husband) who also have birthdays toward the end of December, we have yet another reason to consider the past twelve months.

I recently turned 27 (on December 20), and it's starting to feel like I'm getting into "scary territory" - nearing that big 3-0 mark where, if I haven't already started acting like an adult, I really have no choice anymore to put it off. My opportunities for youthful indiscretions are dwindling. Not that I do many (or any) youthful indiscretions - but maybe that's precisely why it's disconcerting. I feel like I haven't taken advantage of my twenties much, and now I don't have much of my twenties left.

Of course, that's kind of a glass-is-half-empty view. I still have three years of my twenties left, and three years is a long time. There's plenty of opportunity left. Furthermore, focusing on what I haven't done isn't very helpful. So here's to focusing on my accomplishments instead.

I've spent the last few posts recapping what television, movies, and books I enjoyed in 2015, and today (on the first day of 2016) I want to look at what I enjoyed about myself in 2015.

I took care of my health. When I felt sick, I actually went to the doctor instead of trying to "get through it" on my own. When my doctor recommended I see an endocrinologist about a high fasting blood sugar, I followed through. When the endocrinologist told me to start watching my carb intake and get more exercise to build up muscle, I tried to do those things. Yeah, I feel short often (my sweet tooth is so hard to curb!) but I did try, and plan to continue trying. I also tried to take care of my mental health by seeing a therapist and working on positive thinking. I did my "annual" gynecology visit for the first time in probably three or four years. And I started seeing a chiropractor - not because I was in enormous neck/back pain, but because I knew I had TMJ issues with my jaw that had persisted for years and would probably only continue to get worse if I didn't start following the "ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure" mentality. I even got a flu shot this year. These aren't things I often or normally do, but I prioritized taking care of my health this year, and I did them.

I recognized when I needed to leave something behind, and I did. I don't always know what to do to be happy, but I can recognize when something is actively making me not happy. This year, it was substitute teaching. I don't know what it was exactly about subbing that stressed me out, but I felt myself physically getting sick this spring, and thought substitute teaching was probably to blame. So I stopped taking jobs and started taking some of the above steps to feel physically better. I'm still trying to figure out what I should do instead of substitute teaching to make money, but at least I was able to leave that stress behind while I figure it out.

I worked on the projects I want to work on. I devoted more time to my art and writing my novel(s). Yeah, I did it with the hope that I might make some money at it, but I knew money wasn't a guarantee and I poured myself into these projects anyway - because I wanted to. And though progress is often slow, I feel like I am seeing some progress. My novel was a lot better at the end of December that it was at the beginning of last January. I feel myself turning into a better artist, a better writer - but only when I work at doing those things.

I took care of a puppy. I've never before been solely responsible (or jointly responsible, but with someone else who knows as little about caring for a puppy as I do) for something so dependent. Since I'm home with her most of the day while my husband is at work, I wind up doing the bulk of the puppy-care. I don't always know what Ginny needs, but my husband and I have done our best. And Ginny clearly loves us and feels comfortable around us, so I guess we're doing something right. :)

Honestly, it's that first accomplishment that I'm most proud of for 2015, and the one I intend to focus on as 2016 marches on. I've recognized when I needed to leave something behind before, and done it. I'm always working on projects I want to work on - I just don't always have the time to do so, like I made sure I did in 2015. And though I hadn't been responsible for a puppy (or anything comparable) before last year, I always expected I'd be able to when the time came - just like I kind of assume I'll be a (relatively) good mother when that time comes. I understand motherhood is a hard job, but it's something I've always wanted, and I know that I'm capable of accomplishing things that I want to accomplish and work hard to accomplish. I know that I'm capable of recognizing when I don't know something, and I know how to go about finding answers. (The times I've Googled "is it okay that my puppy just ____?" in 2015...) So yes, I'm proud that Ginny is doing so well and I had a part in getting her to that point.

But I am even more proud of myself for making my health a priority this past year. Not that I actively rejected it before 2015, but I didn't prioritize it either, and it wasn't really something I thought I ever would prioritize. I like helping others, and in the process of doing so, often neglect myself. I'm trying to retrain myself into understanding that neglecting myself like that is not a virtue, proof of selflessness and womanhood and kindness. It's actually just a really stupid idea. It's not like we have to do one or the other - I can take care of myself and take care of others. (I think prioritizing my health and adopting and taking care of a puppy this year kind of proves that.) So why wouldn't I try to do both? Especially when my ability to help others is so dependent on how well I've taken care of myself first.

Custom Watercolor Signs

It's that time of year to start thinking about holiday gifts - especially if you want to commission artwork!

I have a listing on my Etsy shop for a custom 8"x10" watercolor painting on white watercolor paper. The photos below show an example of what I mean. This is a painting I made for a teacher's classroom -

You can order your own 8"x10" custom watercolor sign through my Etsy shop.

Keep in mind that it can take 2-3 weeks to complete and ship a custom painting like this. November is THE month to make your art commissions to make sure they're done in time for the holidays!

I think my listing on Etsy does a great job of going through some ideas for what a commission of this sort might include, so I'll just copy-paste that here -

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This is a listing for a CUSTOM 8"x10" watercolor painting on white watercolor paper.

The example above shows a painting I made for my friend who is a high school chemistry teacher and Detroit Red Wings fan. Similarly, your custom painting could include up to TWO ILLUSTRATIONS (such as the chemistry equipment display and sports team logo in this example), and a short TEXT LABEL (like the recipient's name). 

These make great signs to decorate your office, your classroom, your foyer/hallway, your locker, your dorm room, your children's bedrooms, etc! They make fantastic personal gifts!

No mats or frames are included with this painting, to accommodate a variety of display options. You could laminate it to attach to directly to a wall or a bulletin board, slip it inside of a standard office 8.5x11" "page protector" sleeve and hang it on a doorknob or hook with twine, ribbon, or string, or you could mat and frame it like a traditional painting.

Some ideas for the sign labels - 
"Ms. Mundy's Classroom"
"Megan's Room - Keep Out!"
"Welcome to our home!"
"The Arbits Residence"
"Peggy's Office"
"The Man Cave"
"Elizabeth's Craft Room"

Some ideas for the images -
- A favorite sports team logo
- A favorite hobby (gardening, playing an instrument, playing sports, baking, fishing, arts and crafts, knitting, cooking, bicycling, photography, etc.)
- A favorite school subject/major (chemistry, studio art, literature, geology, etc.)
- A favorite flower
- A favorite toy (stuffed animal, building blocks, toy xylophone, etc.)
- A favorite seasonal image (snowman, Christmas wreath, Halloween jack o'lantern, birthday cake, etc.)
- A sampling from a favorite collection of items (teacups, stamps, coins, figurines, candles, clocks, sneakers, jewelry, shot glasses, silverware, etc.)
- Items from an important event or memory you share (ticket stubs, an engagement ring, etc.)

Send me a message with your ideas and I will get back to you! You can message me through Etsy or email me your image ideas at: afrownfe [at] gmail.com with "Etsy Painting" as your subject line. 

Please allow 2-3 weeks for completion of painting. I will send you updates with the composition (how the images might look on the page) for your approval before I start the actual painting.

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