3 days into November.
And about a month or so since my last blog post.
Yeeeaaaaa baby! Look at me! Totally keeping up with that whole "I'll write every week" thing I had going on in my first blog entry ----> First Entry!!
October turned out to be an interesting month. In fact... it ended up being a lot busier then I had anticipated.
I WAS planning on making some new Halloween decorations. But seeing as I didn't actually have any made up, I reposted my old designs from last year. Now, these designs didn't seem to do well at all last year, but I figured I'd give it another shot. And after looking at them again, I realized that they really needed some updating.
So... rather then making NEW designs... I ended up spending most of the month updating the old designs and crafting them for orders!
That's right! I actually HAD ONLINE ORDERS!!!!
I was shocked! This last month had more Etsy orders then any other month in the last year! I was even more surprised that they were for my Halloween decorations from last year. That was a rather pleasant surprise. Though I did end up kinda getting myself into a bit of trouble...
Pro Tip for you up and coming artists: Customers do NOT like surprises.
It's pretty common sense that people expect to receive what they see advertised. And if you're going to go and change it, then you need to let them know ahead of time.
Weeeeell... I KNEW this... I just didn't exactly follow it... I'd had such great success so far with previously updated items! I didn't see much reason why they wouldn't like these.
I am pleased with the revamps I did. I like that they give a bit more depth to my previous designs, though I do feel there's room for more improvement.
Paint was one of my big things this year. I like color. I think it adds some life and interest to a sculpture if used properly. Of course, these sculptures are still going to rust. I didn't paint the whole things. So if you like rusty sculptures, never fear! Just leave these guys out in the weather for a while. But, the paint will stay for a while and will add a nice splay of color to what would otherwise be a plain, rusty brown decoration.
I'm still not sure what I want to do with this kitty specifically. Currently it's sitting atop a 3ft post. I may make them so they hang next time, rather then act as a lawn ornament. But I do think that coloring the had and adding a broom was a good idea.
This one didn't really change, other then a paint job. Though I did discover that I had no patterns for the skeletons themselves, other then the skulls. So I had to make those.
Really wish I'd been able to get up some new designs. I wanted to make a skull chain to hang on the wall. A little skeleton that sits on the edge of a table. Maybe a Day of the Dead themed skeleton with decorations and paint. Some monsters. Things like that. But I suppose that'll have to wait till next year.
When I wasn't filling out orders, I was busy working on a rather massive sculpture commission. It was another one I had received at the start of summer, but wasn't able to get to until a few weeks ago. I plan to do another 'Art in Progress' series with it, so keep an eye out for that! But it was a seriously big undertaking. A massive shield and crest; 4ft wide x 5-1/2ft tall. Weighs about 70-80lbs. It took a lot longer then I was anticipating, and cost a lot more then I was expecting. Haven't heard back on whether the customer liked it or not. I really hope they do.
All in all, a VERY busy month. When I wasn't at my shop, I was at my part time job. I also had a Halloween costume to make! I've become a big fan of make-your-own costumes, and this year I went with a 'Adventuring Wizard' theme.
Hmmm... still haven't gotten any pictures of it yet. Must do so post haste!
Spent Halloween Eve with my friends, who were hosting a little Halloween Party. That was a LOT of fun! Good food, good friends, and back to back movies; 'The Labyrinth' and 'The Dark Crystal'.
This was my first time watching 'The Labyrinth' and I must say... the puppets in 'Dark Crystal' did a better job of acting then the people in 'Labyrinth'. And all my friends could talk about was 'David Boweys codpiece'. hahaha!
I still need to get pics of this too... but my boyfriend... dressed up as his detective character from our Eberron RPG. It was pretty sexy. And I can't believe I didn't get any pics of this *sighs*.
Terribly photo-taker here! About the only thing I'm consistently good about photographing is my art work!
So here we are!
3 days into November.
Currently working on some turkey sculptures. Thanksgiving has never been a big decorating holiday, but I wanted to make something at least. Turkeys are always a good way to go, so I'm putting together patterns for those in a few different sizes.
I have 2 big commissions waiting in the wings that I have to get started on fairly soon. But with Thanksgiving later this month, and my sisters wedding in about 2 weeks, I have more immediate things I need to get completed. But expect to start seeing images of giant dragons and buzzards here in the next few months!
I'm still not sure how the holidays will pan out for me. I've had a few people with gift ideas they want me to make, but nobody has actually gotten back to me on it just yet. There are a few winter markets here I could try and get into.... but I've heard mixed things on them, and I'm very leery about spending money on things right now, especially if I don't get any sales. I have no idea if I'll even have any business for Christmas, and if not, its going to make January, February, etc... very difficult.
Always the scariest part of running a business. Especially as an artist. Bills don't go away just because you don't make any sales. Soooo.... I'm hoping the holidays give me a good turn of luck this time.
