it’s back… #keeplovingkeepfighting

insta-keeploving

well here we are, almost a week after the fascist won the white house. the news keeps getting scarier and scarier every day.

starting at 3am the night of the election, i’ve had a run on my “keep loving keep fighting” shirts on etsy. i’m down to only a handful left in a few sizes, so i decided to make a teespring campaign to be able to continue to offer the design for those who are finding solace in its message. (it’s the busy season for my pet biz so i’m working nonstop and don’t have the time to handprint more shirts, so i’m outsourcing it.)

https://teespring.com/keeplovingkeepfighting

for every shirt sold, $1 will be donated to the ACLU.

there are womens as well as mens cuts of shirts, and a few different color choices. there’s crew and vneck options, and even a hoodie.

i know it’s a little early to be thinking about holiday shopping – and also, who can even think about christmas at a time like this? – but if you are going to be participating in the upcoming gift giving season, please consider shopping locally and supporting independent artists and businesses, as well as those owned by minorities and women. (and realize some of us choose to utilize print-on-demand/drop shipping services like teespring because we don’t have the resources to run a full-fledged tshirt shop.)

beware the pussy!

ok, first things first.

i’m not very good at updating this site. if you want more timely news about what i’m making, probably best to tune in to my fb biz page or my instagram. or if you really wanna know about my creative process, you can support me over at patreon and get all kinds of behind the scenes info and even get cool stuff like stickers and original art mailed to you from time to time.

but now that i’m here… lemme tell you about my newest design!

beware the pussy!

this came to me after seeing a neighbor’s “don’t tread on me” NRA flag flying – i felt like i needed to counter with a warning of my own. and with all the talk about pussies grabbing back and voting and doing all kinds of things to ivanka’s dad since that videotape surfaced of him exalting sexual assault, this seemed an appropriate mantra. (also, i have two fat indoor cats who wouldn’t hurt a fly and i thought it would be funny to have a feline beware sign on my gate. so it serves a dual purpose!)

i hand painted the original on a repurposed plastic political yard sign, but then later sketched it out in pencil, inked it over, and digitized it so it could be turned into assorted merch.

and voila! you can now buy womens as well as mens/unisex t-shirts, hoodies, coffee mugs, and stickers with this design on it, here via teespring.

i can’t wait to get my own! especially the coffee mug!!

more stickers!

so the latest stickers i’ve made for my patreon $5+ supporters are in! they get some for free for their support of my art life, but you can get some too for just a few $$ by using the button below. (or if you are local to new orleans, contact me to arrange for an in-person sale.)

LESS INTERNET, MORE ART! is a slogan i’ve been using for years. i just randomly said it to myself one day when i was noticing how i get sucked into social media on my computer, so i made a stencil and used it to make signs on wood that i used to sell when i did the art markets around town. (one hangs in my bedroom still to this day.) i revisited the design recently when i was doing a brief facebook fast and decided it had to be my next sticker.

these are professionally printed by stickermule.com and are excellent for outdoor or indoor use. they measure 5″ x 2″ so they are a good display size, and the colors absolutely pop on these! mine is already on my car bumper!

use this handy paypal “buy now” button below to order yours now!

and don’t forget, the last night a brass band saved my life stickers are still available too!

Quantity



or if that doesn’t work for you, you can paypal me $ at: paypal.me/artbymags.

or you can squarecash me $ at: cash.me/$mags – (but if you use squarecash, make sure to send me your shipping address!)

here i go!

universesaysyes

so if you’ve been keeping up with me (read previous posts on this blog or this one) then you know i’ve been reawakened to my creative aspirations in 2016 and have been craving more time to focus on the making of things. after several months of trepidation, i launched a patreon campaign to get support to scale back my work schedule to give me a few more hours in the day to do this. the campaign has been a success so far but i haven’t reached the amount of $ i would need to cover cutting back a few walks a day to free up some time. but the urgency of it all hasn’t dissipated either, so i’ve been talking to my clients and, well, the universe somewhat intervened this past week by sending one of my set of clients on vacation, and…

i’m doing it. starting monday, my work schedule will end around 1:30 or 2pm most days, giving me the rest of the afternoon and into the evening (now that daylight saving time kicks in tonight) to create! i’m so excited but also super nervous about willingly letting go of $600-$700/month of pay. but i’m hoping i will get more productive in the creative arena and perhaps come up with some things that folks will want to buy. or that maybe more folks will want to sign on to my patreon campaign to get free rewards and support me at the same time.

either way, it’s time to hustle. so i will be doing all manner of peddling in the coming months. and hopefully i can make this work.

so yay to taking big risks, stepping out of your comfort zone, waking up and staying awake (or as the kids say, be woke/stay woke), being in the present, and following your dreams. here’s to working towards the life i want, doing what i think i’m meant to do. and here’s to the universe being with me every step of the way, saying yes, loudly, repeatedly, until i finally hear it.

yes!!

new stickers for sale!

lastnightabrassbandsticker

one of the rewards i am offering my $5 and up patreon subscribers is stickers. so the first new sticker i have made is that of my “last night a brass band saved my life” design. it’s slightly different than the t-shirt design i ran on teespring last year but basically the same – the background is black with the lime green trumpet, and the trumpet is a bit more ornate than the one i used on the t-shirt design. but i am pleased with it and think it translates well to a sticker. (and yes, you can still order the t-shirts via my teespring storefront and i will run the campaign and promote it actively a little closer to french quarter fest and jazzfest.)

so my patreon subscribers will get a handful of these free this month. the rest of you however will have to chip in a little for one, so i can start raising the money for the next sticker i will make next month – my “less internet, more art!” design that i stenciled on a few signs years ago and then never did anything else with. what with my 2016 push to get back to my art and creativity, seems like that slogan is a logical one to put out there in the world and put in front of myself to remind me to focus and not get distracted.

this batch of stickers cost me $113 for 200 of them (via stickermule), roughly 57 cents each. so i am asking $1 a sticker if you get them from me in person, cash. if i have to mail them to you or you have to pay me via electronic means, they will be $2/each or 3 for $5 or 6 for $10, to cover the stamp, envelope, electronic payment fees, and/or tax.

these stickers are 3″ x 4″ so big enough to put on a car bumper but also small enough for scooters, bikes, computers, and other applications.

you can order them from me via this paypal button:


quantity of stickers



or if that doesn’t work for you, you can paypal me $ at: paypal.me/artbymags

or you can squarecash me $ at: cash.me/$mags

JUST MAKE SURE I HAVE YOUR CURRENT ADDRESS TO MAIL THEM TO YOU. sometimes folks don’t update their address via paypal and then i end up sending stuff to the wrong place. and squarecash doesn’t have your address on file so you have to send it to me. best to jot me a quick email at: mags@artbymags.com and tell me what you’ve ordered. thanks!

hello 2016.

i wrote this – spoke this, into my phone – while walking dogs this morning, across the timespan of 3 walks:
sometimes, when my mind is clear and wandering, i catch these glimpses. glimpses of another life. maybe it’s a parallel universe? maybe it’s the future?  it’s not a dream because i’m awake when it happens, though parts of it have been in dreams i’ve had over my lifetime. it’s like some window or door opens to another reality and i can see it so clearly. it’s this other life that i’m living where i’m firing on all cylinders, where my creativity is flowing, where i am vibrating on a higher level, where i’m making things and pursuing if not every, at least more, of the myriad ideas that bounce around in my head.
i am painting things. printing things. assembling things. i am making new stencils. i am doing murals. i am leaving my creations all around town for people to discover and take home if they want to. i am having pop up sales in random locations. i am having “shows” in nontraditional places, not in galleries. in bars, in coffee shops, at restaurants, at friends’ houses. i am hosting once a month parties/shows/salons at my own house, in the backyard.
i am writing all the time. writing blog posts, writing in journals, writing on paintings and furniture and walls. putting words together in ways that make sense and don’t make sense but regardless are out there and making other people think and feel and react.
i am playing music, other people’s music, djing… in my living room, for friends at my house and other places, bars, art openings, poetry readings. i am discovering new music that sets my spirit soaring and sharing mixes of this music with others. i am making podcasts about music and art and life and sharing those with the world.
i am taking pictures. with my phone, or with a nice camera. i am sharing photos on my instagram and my blog and in all the places i am sharing art. i am incorporating photos into my other art. i am publishing books of my photos to put on coffee tables and in libraries and to give to friends.
i am building an art empire. i am collaborating with other artists and writers and thinkers and djs and people who make music and art in all of its various forms. i am bringing them into my world and i am hanging out in and contributing to theirs.
i am outdoors breathing fresh air and soaking up sunshine, enjoying the beautiful place that i live in. i am exercising my body and feeling good. i am eating better but still enjoying the bounty of the city that i live in with all it’s amazing culinary delights. i don’t deny myself but i also am taking care of myself.
i am traveling to other places, some i’ve been to before but many i have not. i am endlessly inspired by my travels and do it as often as i can, to see art, to see people, to hear music, to be inspired. to learn. to grow.
i am vibrant and alive and enjoying the hell out of life and tapping into the energy of the universe and reflecting it back and spreading love and positivity and feeling good about it. feeling fulfilled and like i’m contributing to the betterment of the world. the world is a beautiful place full of love and light and i am so happy and grateful every day to be in it.
and through all of this, i am supported and loved and rewarded financially and taken care of. and sharing it all. because there is enough. there’s more than enough to go around for all of us. and i don’t worry about money because money is energy and i’ve learned how to tap into the energy of the universe.
yeah. for reals.
sometimes i catch glimpses of this life, this vision, and really feel it, taste it, hear it, see it.. like I am actually living it, like I could be living it. like i should be living it. like i can be living it. i’ve had some version of this vision my whole life. and many elements of this vision, this life, i have made happen.. on their own, one at a time. i’ve been a writer. i’ve been a dj. i’ve been an artist. i’ve been a crafter. i’ve produced events. but i’ve not managed to merge them all, or sustain them for long periods of time where i can really build upon what i’ve accomplished. these accomplishments have existed on their own and in their own space and time and then i’ve dropped them to pursue other things. i’ve been a serial unitasker.
maybe i have just been assembling all the pieces, all the skills, and waiting for the time to be right to pull them all together. maybe that time is now. these last few months, the vision, the glimpses, of this integrated creative life have been strong and recurring and have been pulling me in a direction of action and change. i’m tired of living a small little life where i don’t feel like i’m living up to my potential. i’m tired of feeling like everyone around me is a badass and somehow is clued into something i’m not, somehow has some kinda magic that i don’t in terms of making shit happen, realizing their dreams, helping other people, affecting change, making the world a better place and feeling fulfilled while doing it.
and the time is running out in my life to build all of this that i know i am capable of… while i am still young enough and physically and mentally sharp enough to do so. i’m not yet “old” but i’m no longer “young.”
is this my midlife crisis? maybe. i do feel at a crossroads. i’ve been feeling it for a while and have been wallowing in despair about what to do and how to do it. but i think the universe has been communicating with me in very clear ways over the past year, and the clouds have been lifting, the glimpses of this other life have been coming more into focus, little by little.
i don’t want to reach the end of my life, i don’t want to be on my deathbed, thinking about this other life, this parallel universe, this vision of the life i wanted to live, could have lived, should have lived, dreamed about in some way since i was a little girl and that was so close and within my grasp because i actually had all the skills i needed to make it happen… i don’t want to have that regret that i didn’t go for it, that i just didn’t take the chance, the risk, make the move, defy the inertia, and make it happen.
so the time is now. to take action. to start doing instead of just talking. to take risks. maybe even to fail. but at least to try. i have to at least try. and perhaps in trying, if not this particular vision of another life, but some other version that is not what i am living now, will make itself clear.
so here we go.
stay tuned.