Consumed with enthusiasm and a little uncertainty about my Etsy store. I sold my first book, “The Search for Peace,” today to one of my blog readers – thank you so much!
The uncertainty comes partly from not being very secure about my art, not having the training or face-to-face contacts with many other book artists, seeing awesome books displayed on other blogs and networks and trying oh so hard not to compare my work but ultimately failing. I’m not a competitive person with others, but I know that I do tend to be hard on myself, so I’m trying to keep the neurosis at bay. It’s an internal thing – all the compliments in the world won’t cure it because it’s a problem with my vision.
The other part of the uncertainty is that whenever I have begun to sell my work in the past, it has changed it for me in a negative direction. The jewelry was not so bad, though; that was more of a problem with bad luck with galleries and craft shows. I really only stopped doing it because of eyesight and having way too much inventory – also my growing interest in paper and books. So maybe I won’t start seeing dollar signs when I make something – that’s the direction that I hate. “Can I sell this? How much should I charge?” It kills my creativity.
I still need to put up more photos – I’m using a borrowed camera and my last session was done in a rush, so the results were not so great for many of the shots. Here’s a few that came out okay:
Dream Journal:
Red/Rainbow Longstitch Journal:
Blue Longstitch Journal:
Drip Book (this is the one ZhaK bought):
I called it “Drip Book” because the handmade paper was dripped on by a sudden rainstorm accidentally when it was drying outside. I decided I liked the drip hole and used it for this cover.
Went to Ed McKay’s and came home with a haul. Some books I want to read, some books that I’ll gut and paint and collage.
Work is ratcheting up. What a shock to the system after such a slow summer. I can never decide if I like it or not. Who am I kidding – I love having a slow summer. I’m a Slow person.
slowly she turned 