I work in waves or phases. I will go “balls to the walls” and spend every waking minute thinking about and creating art. An example of this is last year's Christmas bats in ugly sweaters. More recently it was the rush to create as much Pride-themed art in June. I think six weeks is the longest this phase has ever lasted.
The next phase is “OMG I am out of ideas.” Now, I am not really out of ideas, I just don’t have any more ideas for the theme -or- energy to create more in the theme. This phase is where I expend whatever energy I have into converting the art into fun products. YAAAY stickers! I also use this time to start working on updating my website and e-store. This phase usually lasts two to three weeks.
The final phase in the wave is “I am a slob and scum. Why can’t I balance things better?” Why? Well if I am spending two months pushing hard to create art and related products when do I have time to clean much. In the throws of passionate creativity, I don’t prioritize cleaning. I will do chores when things become inconvenient (no socks, no spoons, boxes blocking hallways, etc) but it is not fun and takes away from art time. In this final phase, I spend two to three weeks cleaning, organizing, and trying to build a schedule for the next wave of creativity.
The schedule only lasts a week or two, BUT it is important because it helps me push phase one of the wave longer. One of the things that keeps me from pushing the creative phase longer, is that my spaces get messy and distracting.
If you look back at my posting history, on pretty much any platform, you can see evidence of this process.
For the past two weeks, I have been cleaning and organizing preparing for the next wave. I think I am going to need one more week though, I am still not done cleaning and organizing my office/studio. I have made time to start putting a top coat of resin on the Plague Dr. Who rounds that I started last year. They will be ready to go for Crypticon Seattle at the end of August. I had to set up space in my yard shed to do this part. I have been putting it off because of the effort it took to set things up.
I was able to pick up the notebooks last Wednesday and put them up on the website’s e-store. You can even buy a whole set of designs that I have different products for. For example, there is a set for the Soda Skellies, Angler Fish, and the Pride skulls.
I have been slowly working on the Ultimate Canadian ink wash painting, which you can watch me do on Twitch on Thursdays. I am in the planning stages of a commission and planning the next Chinese Zodiac digital creation. I have scheduled an evening market for August 12th, so there will be no stream on that Thursday.
Now that August is almost here, things are starting to get ‘real.’ Real busy! I have 2 events in August, the one on the 12th and Crypticon Seattle at the end of August, the 27-29th to be specific. That is all I have for you today.
See you in the middle of August!
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