Well, I am still needing to get the print designs up and the new work loaded onto the gallery. Being sick really kicked my butt leaving me exhausted and I haven't done much of anything because of it, but I will be getting back to creating this week. I plan on working on a painting that I was attempting to start. It'll be a Dracula and Mina piece that I have thinking about for a long while. I still need to figure some stuff for the tattoo flash because it's inspired by a song and some of the original ideas aren't working out right. Like, they worked in concept but once I was trying drawing them out, they weren't working at all. It'll come together eventually it's just a slow process, especially with it being the busy season at my day job.
I also have one announcement for everyone. I will NOT be attending the Ogallala Farmers Market this year. I started the year planning on being at most of them but between my work schedule being just inconsistent enough with my days off, my allergies to the outside (pollen..all the pollen and dust), and just not having time to create a lot, I have decided it's best to not participate this year. If everything goes well, I should be attending Rendezvous this September but we will see how things go over the next couple of months. I do plan on being at a couple holiday craft and vendor shows. That I'm still working on figuring out which ones I plan on doing and those will be added to future newsletters and the home page of my website. My home page will always have any confirmed shows listed. I usually set a banner for a month leading up to the event to make sure it's easy for everyone to find it.
And with that I have one final update, I have joined Cara. Cara is a new social media/portfolio inspired app for artists and people who enjoy art. It's an alternative to Instagram and they do not allow AI on their platform. I am still new to it and exploring different features on it but I have made a couple of posts on there already. I will be adding it to my links page and with have it linked in this newsletter as well. It's still fairly small and can be a bit glitchy at times but it's worth a shot to. My Insta hasn't really grown in a long time, and the big social media sites keep reducing my visibility.
I know I'm not the only artist or person frustrated by this the current state of social media, Ai being forced on us more aggressively by said platforms, and reduced visibility. It's absolutely exhausting and time I find myself debating on giving up because it just feels worthless to try at times. I regularly ask myself why does it matter, who cares about my art if it can't get traction. That is until I actually stop to think though, it does and many of you own my art in some shape or form! These algorithms are constantly changing, constantly evolving and rarely work in peoples favor.
I hate that I feel this way but I also remember that creating art is who I am, who I've always been. That's not changing, I will always be an artist. I may get busy and not being able to create but I also see my art making people happy. With each show I attend, I see people enjoying my art, many of you have bought it and love what you've purchase. That matters!
I will continue to create when I have the time available and will attend shows when possible and I will continue to push myself forward. I know my schedule at work will eventually settle down and become more consistent which will allow me to actually sit down and schedule time to work on my art. I will eventually get a routine down, taking away so much of my stress. I'm not going to let a bunch of robots make me feel bad about myself and my art.