That Final Exam Feeling

I am going to have a booth at the Bisbee Earth Day Festival on Saturday. So, for weeks I have been preparing for that. And now I have about 30 hours left, and I feel just like I always did right before a final exam.

There comes a point, when you know you have done all you can do, studied all you can, taken all the notes you can take, asked the professor all the questions you can think of. And then, all you have left is time. And perhaps a little insomnia. And a few things things you want to review right before you go in to take the test.

That is what I am feeling like right now. I have been making dolls, and cards, and magnets. I have ordered and recieved merchandise from my cafe press store. Now, there really isn't time to make any more art. Most of the things I make require several coats with drying time in between. There are a couple of half done dolls that I might be able to finish. There is a new batch of crazy paper that I could make into cards. Maybe I could complete a collage or two.

But...what I really need to do, is go through my booth supplies which I haven't looked at since my last show in November. I need to print business cards. I need to figure out a way to display my dolls. I have to make sure I have enough small bills to make change. I need to find that metal thing that came with my magnetic poetry set, so I have somewhere to display my magnets.

By Saturday evening, I will have taken the exam and gotten my grade.

First Steps on a Journey

I have had blogs in the past, and private journals. But this is the first time I have ever tried to blog about ART, and the first time I have ever tried to talk about a process, while being in the middle of it. And I am in the middle of it. Or the baby beginning stages of it. But, it has been going on for awhile, and now, here I am with a website, a blog, some sales venues, and it is ALL ABOUT ART.

A couple of years ago, I decided to leave my job and go back to school. I wanted to study Design. Design with a capital D. Web Design, Graphic Design, Book Design, Interior Design....well...you get the drift... And I was all set to do that, but there were a few barriers in the way. CAD (Computer Aided Drafting) was a big one. I think I lasted three class periods. The Interior Design instructor was another. I think I lasted two class periods. Well...you get the idea...

Eventually I was down to Graphic Design and there was no where else to go...so as rough as it got sometimes, especially the first semester, I kept going...and taking a few classes in anthropology/archaeolgy to keep me happy. Four semesters and two summer schools later I finished the program. I am a certified graphic designer. Liscenced to Design, baby!

Previously I had taken some Art History classes, and some photography classes. But OMG this was ART and this was computer ART. What ever made me think I could be an artist? Well, quite frankly I never did. I thought I would be a book designer (a way to stay in the book business after 22 years) . I thought I would decorate a few homes on the side. I thought I might make web sites for fun and profit. But OMG they wanted me to learn about color and shape and line and texture and they wanted me to sketch and draw and render. Welcome to the wonderful world of ART!

So this is a chronicle of my journey, from this point forward, with the occasional flashback to the past. My goal is to become a self-sufficient artist in 36 months. And I am in month three.

I am excited. I am sure the journey will have some bumps in the road. But I am ready. I am willing. And, hopefully I am able!