Tag Archives: artbymags

post mardi gras update

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now that mardi gras has passed, it’s back to business as usual, which for me has been all about my art. (you can see more pics of my mardi gras adventures on my personal instagram, or if you follow me on facebook.) the chaos and whirlwind that is carnival sort of caused me to pause on my actual painting, save for some sketchbook playtime, in favor of costume prep. but i was able to continue to follow along with the live calls on the free art2life workshop in the lead up to the beginning of CVP. (if you don’t know what i’m talking about please go back and read the last post.)

so, i made a decision about CVP. as much as i really want to take it, i could not put myself that much in debt given my current financial status. it just wouldn’t be prudent and would stretch me really thin on a month to month basis in terms of covering my actual expenses, even on a 12 month payment plan. but i discovered a few days ago that they do have a scholarship program for those in financial need, so i applied. i don’t know if they will consider me to be in enough need to give me a scholarship or not, but i really do hope so. i get that there are probably plenty of others with greater financial need than me who are more deserving (folks on disability, or seniors on a fixed income, etc.) but i’ve pretty much been low income my whole life and right now i’m lower than i have been in a long time. i have no way of knowing how many folks they give scholarships to each session, or how many apply, so i don’t know my odds. but i had to go for it.

so it’s in the hands of the universe now. i turned in my application on sunday. (yes, in the midst of total carnival chaos!) the deadline was today at noon. CVP starts with a welcome call tomorrow but they don’t let you know if you got the scholarship until monday, so even if i do get in i will be playing a bit of catch-up. but that’s ok. i will be so elated if they do allow me in. (i didn’t ask for a full scholarship; i offered to pay 25% which is about all i think i can reasonable pay off over the next year. though if my finances change, i’m happy to kick in more.)

so wish me luck or if you are so inclined, visualize me getting in so i can continue this deep dive i’ve started into my creative expression and all the things that have blocked me over the years from truly succeeding as the artist i’ve always known i am. as i’ve mentioned before, last year started this new phase for me, with the (wo)manifesting of the extra rooms in my house which afforded me a studio space in my home. (this is something i never thought would ever happen and i willed it into existence last year!)

and then i took the art2life breadcrumbs challenge in the late summer, which was a free workshop that introduced me to how nick wilton and art2life approach teaching art. i immediately resonated with what he was saying, how he taught, and was convinced to take the paid Spark class in the fall. i feel like Spark really gave me some a-ha moments and started breaking down all the nonsense i’ve been telling myself my whole life about art and my abilities. i feel like i discovered some threads… that i really want to keep going with, pull harder on, dive deeper on. which is why i did the most recent free workshop and want to continue with CVP. i feel like i have momentum. and that now is the time. i fear if i don’t i’m going to have a hard time on my own keeping it going. like, i’ve been introduced to the principles that art2life teaches but now i need to really integrate them into how i paint. the structure of the classes, the recordings, the lessons, really help me.

anyways. i am accepting all woo and good wishes for best outcomes. and thank you. especially to all of you who have supported me over the years in my art journey, by listening to me talk endlessly about this stuff, or who’ve read my blogs about it, who’ve bought my art and craft, supported my patreon when i had it, or who’ve just generally encouraged me when i haven’t felt confident about what i was doing. i feel like i’m finally on the verge of figuring it out, of gaining that confidence i’ve lacked, so i can finally have a self-sustaining art practice that is meaningful to me and hopefully others.

for now, it’s back to the dogs and cats and to clean up this MESS of a house and studio post mardi gras costume making and general carnival life for the past few weeks. i’ll post again when i’m notified about the scholarship.

winter 2020 update + artbymags face masks!

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I guess I haven’t updated here in a long time. I always forget I have an art website because I don’t use it for direct commerce – it’s mostly just a blog. And my art/design biz has been on hold these last few months so I haven’t had anything to write about. But the quick update is: I had brain surgery (really) October 13th and I’ve been in recuperation mode ever since. I have not been working and have been focusing solely on my health – a privilege I’ve had thanks to my sweet friends setting up a GoFundMe for me prior to surgery and literally hundreds of folks in my community and networks chipping in to support me during this time. I am so humbled and grateful, and trying to take all the time I need to get back to normal.

I am making a very strong recovery, despite being left with a few nerve-related deficits. (My benign tumor that was 100% removed was on my brain stem and entwined with my 10th cranial nerve, or vagus nerve, which controls things like breathing and swallowing and speaking.) So I’m battling double vision and paralyzed vocal cords, but making slow steady progress via physical and speech therapy. It’s just a waiting game for the nerves to repair themselves, but I hope to be back to business as usual after the holidays.

My post-brain-surgery self hasn’t had a lot of physical/mental/creative energy to make art or do any actual printing, but sitting in front of a computer isn’t that taxing for me. So the wonders of technology have enabled me to set up a bunch of my designs on print on demand site Teespring, and now you can get some of your favorite artbymags designs on cloth face masks!

https://teespring.com/stores/artbymags/collection/face-masks?page=1

*I have ordered a sample to check for quality but it has not arrived yet, so I can’t tell you anything about the quality of the mask yet. Sorry! I will update when it arrives. But I’ve generally been pretty happy with everything I’ve gotten from Teespring so I’m hopeful they will be great!

I’ve also been adding all kinds of new weird products like pillows and fannypacks, as the designs allow, to my regular store. Not every design looks good on other kinds of merch, but if you visit my artbymags store on Teespring you’ll find lots of new stuff with old designs, in a ton of different colors. I’m still updating so check back often!

https://teespring.com/stores/artbymags

I’m hoping to get back to the making of art soon, but I’m having to slowly re-integrate various activities so as not to do too much too soon. But overall, I’m doing pretty amazing after such a major surgery so I’m trying to have patience with the process and just go with the flow.

Thanks for checking out my site and supporting my creative work.

Happy holidays, everyone! Be safe!

summer update.

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yes i know, it’s been a lot of months since i’ve updated here. i will skip over the boring parts but, hey, it’s summer! it’s pride weekend! i’ve made a bunch of stickers since i posted last! (i did a bunch of other stuff too but you probably already know about all that if you follow me on facebook, twitter or instagram or ever look at my etsy shop or teespring store.)

but here’s what’s coming in the mail soon. i tried to get them made in time for pride weekend here in new orleans, which is this weekend, but apparently i was one day off, as i got the shipping notification today that it’s coming monday. oh well. our pride is early in the month, though, and lots of other cities have pride at the end of the month so i’m hoping there are still folks who will want these in the next few weeks.

the rectangular one on top is 4″ x 3″ and the square one is 3″ x 3″. they will go up in my etsy shop as soon as i have them and be $2 each with free postage. or feel free to message me and we can figure it out with paypal or venmo directly.

i’ll let you catch yourself up on everything else by visiting the above social media links. and i’ll try to get better about posting updates here. happy pride everyone!

the holiday whirlwind…

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one of my small abstract paintings that i feel sums up the chaos of this time of year

yep, here we go. thanksgiving is now behind us, black friday is still happening all the way through small business saturday and cyber monday, and the endless holiday art and craft markets and parties are upon us. it’s the holiday whirlwind. before you know it, it will be new year’s.

i haven’t much participated in recent years in the holiday marketing of my wares. but as i look around this year, i’m realizing i have a LOT of stuff accumulating in my house and shed, and it would be nice to get rid of some stuff. and hey, maybe some of you might like some of it?

so. for the first time in a really long time – seriously, years – i’m doing a couple of holiday markets. as some of you know, i’m taking a vacation this next week out to chico, california. (yes, 10 minutes away from paradise, the town that burnt to ground by the camp fire recently.) and it just so happens that one of my friends i’m visiting is a maker of things, an upcycler of all kinds of cool stuff. and she signed both herself and me up for a holiday market next saturday out there. artist christine mac shane has a studio and apparently does a holiday market with other artists every year, so thanks to southwest airlines’ generous baggage allowance, i will be carting a suitcase of my stuff out there to sell. mostly tshirts and stickers, but i’m scheming to see what else i might be able to fit. here’s the link to the facebook invite for the event, in case you know someone in chico or who lives in northern cali and wants to take a little roadtrip to see me.

then a week and a half after i come back, i’ll be doing my only new orleans holiday market at treo on dec. 15th. here are all the details and a list of the vendors. i’m excited and will probably be lugging a bin of my bargain t’s and other printed things (assuming there is space). maybe some prints. maybe some paintings. (again, it’s about space.) but it’s always fun doing markets in bars where folks can drink and eat and hang out while they shop.

and then we’ll see how i’m feeling, how much stuff i have left, and what my pet biz schedule is like. if all the stars align perhaps i’ll do another back yard sale last minute before xmas. or maybe not. we’ll see.

in the mean time, i do still have stuff up in my etsy shop and am adding designs all the time to my teespring store. (but get those orders in early on teespring, by december 11th if you want it for christmas.)

and as always, message me directly if you have any questions or if you want to swing by the house to pick something up.

happy holidays, everyone. don’t forget to slow down and enjoy it!

EDUCATE AGITATE ORGANIZE tshirts are ready!

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educate agitate organize black ink on red tshirts

these EDUCATE AGITATE ORGANIZE tshirts are finally ready!

limited run. canvas red color. bella/canvas brand. short sleeve unisex crew. 100% ringspun cotton jersey. sizes S – 2XL available right now.

$20 per shirt + $4 1st class domestic shipping for 1 shirt. ($5 for 2-3 shirts. 4+ shirts $7.)

if you are local to new orleans and want to pick up, no shipping charge, obviously.

if you need international shipping email me at: artbymags@gmail.com so we can figure out the cost.

send payment via paypal to: mags@artbymags.com (friends/family payment if you know how to do that)

send payment via venmo to: mags504

please make sure to email me your shipping address and sizes when you order!

i’m also taking pre-orders on:

-unisex canvas red sizes 3XL – 4XL. (3XL = $20, 4XL = $23)

-GREY unisex shirts. sizes S – 4XL (4XL = $23, others $20)

-and WOMEN’S bella/canvas relaxed fit tshirts in both RED and GREY, sizes S – 2XL (these are the only sizes available). $20 each.

thanks everyone for the support!

#abolishICE protest graphic

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i literally whipped this up last night after a very long day of work and finished it this morning before i went to work. i wanted to have SOMETHING that i had created for this big immigration-themed protest tomorrow, though i’m now realizing i won’t have time to cut it as a stencil and make any posters. but i will try to print at least one out on my fancy new large format color printer and see what they look like, just so i can have one to carry.

this one above is the rectangular version, the original version. but then when i went to put it up on facebook as my profile pic, i realized it needed to be square so i stretched it out and made a low-res square version as well (below). i think it actually looks better as a square but for printing purposes i think the rectangle will probably work better.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

if i can figure out how to upload a high res file to my website, i will offer it as a free download. stay tuned. feel free to snatch and/or share one of these versions for online use. i’d appreciate credit or a link back to this site or my fb or insta profiles, but it’s not absolutely necessary.