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| “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” - Maya Angelou |
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| (Welcome to Studio Sixteen where I work and share a space with the fabulous Rachel Hodge.) |
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| A New Season
Maybe you’ve heard…
I have a new studio! You can now find my work (and sometimes me) at Studio 16, upstairs at LibertyTown Arts Workshop.
This month I turn 45, and having my dream job in such a dreamy space feels like a really lovely gift from the universe (even if the pay and benefits suck, haha.) It’s also a gift from my community because people keep supporting me and buying my work, which makes this possible and makes me feel like the luckiest gal. |
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| I am so grateful, but still, I had my reservations.
I’ve been on a waitlist for years for any studio space there to open up, but was not expecting something this big. (I’ve had the tiniest wall space there for the past 8 months). It’s very hard to get anything there so when an opportunity arises, you take it.
But why this space? Why me? Why now? Why is this happening when everything feels uncertain, and the economy absolutely sucks, and so many people can’t even afford food, let alone art? Why am I getting this lovely opportunity during this incredibly horrible time? |
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| (I created a little retail area right outside my window because some people are a little shy to walk into my studio while I’m there working.)
Will this new space allow me to unlock new levels of creativity, or will the added pressure to pay rent block my creative flow?
I don’t know any of that. I just know to try, to wait, to see, and to appreciate what I have right now in this moment.
I hope you’ll stop by and visit my new studio if you’re in the area. |
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| Here are some upcoming events at LibertyTown Arts Workshop.
Small Business Saturday - Nov 29 This is a great place to start your holiday shopping with work from over 60 local artists. Hours are 10-8, and I plan to be there from 10-12. I have free stickers for anyone who can find me (while supplies and I last.)
First Friday - Dec 5 December’s front gallery show features small works from LibertyTown artists, including me! I don’t know if I’ll be in the gallery or the studio, but again, please come say “hi” if you can find me.
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| | Gratitude & Giving
Ya’ll know I’m new to this whole clay thing, so I was pretty excited to add some ceramic ornaments to the mix this year. I love the moths so much, and want to keep them all, but I won’t. These and my other ornaments (which I will be adding to throughout the next few weeks) are now available at Libertytown (check the trees in their main gallery too). |
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| 50% of my profits from all my ornaments will be going to the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank this year. I remember several times as a child when we were not able to eat much or well, and other times when we relied on a food bank. I also remember when my husband and I both lost our jobs at the same time, our home, our car, all sense of security, and wondered how we would pay for food and medicine for our toddler, let alone gifts at Christmas. I am so grateful to not currently be in that situation, but I never forget how that felt, how long it took to dig our way up and out of that, how gracious and generous very few people were to us, and how easily I could end up back there again.
“We have yet to understand that if I am starving, you are in danger.” - James Baldwin |
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| Catty Christmas
Mostly I just make what I love and hope someone else happens to like the same stuff. So do you like these new cards or what? (I don’t need to hear it from you non cat lovers!) My family all says the box cat is the best. Do you concur? |
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| | | Sugar & Spice
One of the local shop owners where I sell asked if I would be offering any seasonal art prints because my Halloween ones seemed to be popular. Um sure, lemme just whip that up. Here ya go. |
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| | | The Gift of Now
When you’re a small business owner/creative, you often have to be several holidays ahead. Each year I feel pressured to start creating holiday merch earlier and earlier. I kinda hate that because I adore Fall. It always feels like we’re just being rushed from one thing to the next, with nowhere to stop in between, to rest, to look around, to take it all in. This is how my children like to hike - like it’s a race to the top or the bottom. It’s not relaxing. I want to stop and look at leaves and berries and mushrooms along the way. I want to sit and listen to the wind and water. I want to practice presence. |
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| I love Christmas (and I’m completely grateful when you want to shop early and small!) but for the first time ever, I’m not doing any holiday markets. I have already been working some very long hours prepping my new studio and making new items and I know when my body has just had enough. Typically I spend most of Thanksgiving break frantically handpainting ornaments, and I just don’t want to do that this year.
On hikes I may be good at resting, but in work and life…um, not so much. A recent short getaway to the mountains for my husband’s birthday was just what I needed to remember to breathe. I want to take in each and every free and beautiful thing this abundant earth still offers up to me, here and now, before the next season. |
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| I’m thankful for each of you. I hope you are able to spend your Thanksgiving break doing things you actually love with people you actually like.
Stranger or friend, I’m always happy to hear from you.
WIP always, dolly |
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