Quiver and Card Swap

My husband took up archery last year and even when it is cold outside or he's not feeling well, he is still inspired to go outside for a few minutes and practice.  Did you know that arrows of any decent quality can cost a minimum of $8 each??  He definitely needed something to hold/protect his fancy arrows, and it was recently his birthday, so I dreamed this thing up as a gift (known by the pros as a quiver)!

We have these cardboard tubes lying around which have a slit running up one side. I don't remember why we have them, but they're all over our garage!  So I stole one, duct-taped it together, customized it for a strap to run through it, and put some fluff in the bottom of it, so his arrow tips wouldn't get blunted by being dropped into the quiver.

Then I wanted to line it, inside and out.  Getting the dimensions just right was a little challenging (I made one that was probably ¼-inch too tight, which made it impossible to pull onto the tube).  The lining was even more challenging in that I needed it to align with the dip I'd cut out of the tube (for easier arrow removal).  I even asked a lady at the fabric store how I should do it, but ultimately I had to problem-solve for myself, and it turned out nearly spot-on!

The photo above is just to show you how handy duct-tape can be.  And below, you can see my bad-ass husband preparing to shoot!

On another note, I would like to officially invite you to participate in this year's 6 Degrees of HLM card swap!  Here is how it works:

1. After I hear from everyone who wants to participate and I give you the signal, you'll have 8 weeks to make ten (10) greeting cards, most often somewhat identical in design (although this is not required).  These cards can be any shape or size, blank on the inside, themed (Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas, Thinking of you, etc), wherever your whimsy takes you. Every medium is welcome: fabric, stamping, painting, beads, collage, photography, papercraft.... Most important is that whatever you make fits into an envelope that can be mailed either domestically or abroad.

2. On the given postmark deadline, you'll send all the cards you make to me with enough envelopes for each card and a couple of dollars (international folks exempt from having to send me money).

3. Once I receive everyone's cards, I'll divvy them up so that every person receives ten cards from other swap participants. Using the couple bucks, I'll send them back to you.

4. You'll receive a set of handmade greeting cards to use over the next year in the mail for just the cost it took to make yours and ship them to and from me.

Here are the dates you need to know:

·   RSVP to participate in the card swap by next Saturday, February 24, either by leaving a comment below or writing me at the email address to the right.

·   Start thinking about/making your design as soon as you can.  You'll be surprised how quickly that deadline will be here.

·   I'll host a Work Party at my studio in Fort Collins, CO on Saturday afternoon, April 6th--anyone who participates in the swap is welcome to join us.

·   Monday, April 15 is the postmark date for getting those cards, enough corresponding envelopes, and cash in the mail to me. (If you're local, you obviously don't have to bother with the sending business--we'll just rendezvous!)  

·   I'll send out a reminder about 4 weeks through.

·   Around May 1 is when I will hopefully send your cards back to you.  This is a fuzzy deadline, as the nature of having an international card swap greatly affects postal travel.

Please DO forward this invitation to any of your crafty friends and have them RSVP directly to me if they'd like to participate.  Anyone is welcome (even if card-making is not their main means of artistic expression!).  My only request is that everyone who signs up follows through to make/swap their cards.

Below is a picture of everyone's cards from last year, laid out on my living room floor!  For inspiring close-up images from last year, click here. 

2013 Valentines

My sister's J Crew catalogs have been coming to my house, and usually I don't give them a second glance. But then their January 2013 issue arrived and I was so inspired!  You can see more of this amazing photo shoot by googling J Crew Hot Air Balloons, and I highly recommend it.

Thus, my latest design for Valentines!

I was commissioned to make 25 for a local shop (Wadoo, in case any of you locals would like to buy...) and here are the other designs I made.

This last card is a twist on the ones above, made for my mom's birthday. 

Which one is your fave???

Pears

I have some stuff to post! I'm going to spread it out over a few posts though, to keep you coming back for more...

First, thanks to all of you who read my last post and continue to boost me up with your support and encouragement.  I am so grateful to those of you who really believe in my work and vision.  You truly keep me going!  I am continuing to work on learning more about the business of art. This weekend I'll be spending some time at the airport and so plan to do some more research then. I plan to let you know what I learn!

Here is one of my mom's recent watercolor paintings. She painted it this summer and of all her works, this is one of her faves. It is so simple and yet has depth, despite a minimal number of colors.  I like that the shadows are blue.

I was inspired!  I have been wanting to try some type of still life but not with paint.  I studied her pears and then wrote out where certain colors should be, and used tiny pieces of colored paper to achieve this mosaic effect:

Then I cut it out, distressed the edges, glued it on some lovely watercolor paper and painted a little grey paint underneath.  That was one of the hardest parts! (I think I painted 4 different versions of the shadow before I decided on this one.)  I turned this little frame (found at the second hand store) into a shadowbox, so the glass isn't touching the piece.

 
Then I shipped it to my mom for her birthday!  It is traveling around with her on her big road trip through the southern USA.

A side note: I have posted these Valentines before, but I told Dennis at The Eyes Have It that I'd post them again so that he could put them on his website!  (He is selling them at his shop.  Thanks, Dennis!)  If you're interested in seeing this year's newest designs, come back next week for four additional designs I've been working on.

"Pure Courage"

I am uncertain.  I am afraid.

Believe it or not, it is a relief to say this out loud (which I recently did).

On Monday I participated as a volunteer in a personal/professional development workshop in which we were learning about how to ask Powerful Questions and listen, listen, listen.  The group facilitator put two chairs in the middle of a circle of about 40 people, all colleagues at the university, most of them strangers to me. I sat in one chair, and he sat across from me.  I knew that I was going to share things about myself that only my family and close friends know, and maybe even come around to something that my family and close friends (and even I?) don't know. In the name of being an example of how this man might coach someone, I was going to have to trust these people, that they would hear my story and not judge me.  I was going to get vulnerable. My hope to learn something about myself and perhaps get some help in taking an action.

The facilitator asked, "Heather, what do you want more of in your life?"  

I had to think about it, and then I replied, "I'd like to have more certainty, that what I'm trying to do will work."  

Over the next ten minutes, I got around to saying that to be uncertain was to be afraid.  I am afraid, yes.  Afraid that I'll not have the courage to someday let go of the comfort and stability and fun and sense of identity that my current job offers, to take the risk that my small business idea can work in this town, afraid that my partner is so afraid of me letting go of that privilege/job/comfort/security that I might not do it, afraid that I am not doing my taxes right, afraid that someone will steal my idea before I can get to do it.  I am uncertain that I even know enough to carry on in this direction. 

To be afraid in front of all those people was not the easiest thing to do, but the truth is that they were not there to know me. They were there to understand how to coach and develop themselves as listeners and guiders to whomever they might be speaking to.  And thanks to being the example, I felt empowered and clear-headed (and yes, still scared). 

The outcome, or action moment, of the interview was that I was going to seek an advisor of sorts, someone who could coach me in my business.  By Wednesday at 5pm, I was to email this fellow and report to him what action I had taken.  We even had a contingency plan for what he should do if he didn't hear from me.  And so, today, I did this.  

I've spent all day on the computer and finally using some resources I've got right at my fingertips:

I organized my 2012 receipts and figured out how much money I made last year. (Taking a loss, just by the way). I emailed the Small Business Development Center to set up an appointment for one-on-one business counseling. I found a book at the library that I think will help me out and I reserved it: 

I've read about funding opportunities and Schedule C forms (for taxes) and created an Excel spreadsheet with all my numbers.

While I was eating lunch, I watched Brene Brown's TED talk.  If you do not know Brene Brown, I cannot implore you enough to get to know her. I learned about her in December and have become her most recent biggest fan.  When she said, "Vulnerability is pure courage.  It is emotional risk, exposure, [and] uncertainty" I almost started crying. She went on: "To create is to make something that has never existed before. There is nothing more vulnerable than that."

Anyway, I'm going to get a handle on this business stuff. I'm going to get my questions answered. I'm going to do my taxes right (I hope!).  I am not going to let the uncertainty (aka fear) keep me from moving forward.  Which is why today, instead of making something in the art room, I just fondled my latest ribbon purchase, warmed up some tea, and headed back to the computer and my books.

"Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity & change." - Brene Brown.

P.S. An amazing use of your time would be to listen to this life-changing podcast. Believe me. I've listened to it twice.

Post #38 for 2012! Sneak Peek...

At the beginning of December, I told you my goal was to blog at least 5 times this month.  Well then I saw that my blog posts from 2011 added up to 37, so in my head, I changed that goal to 8 times, and today marks my 38th post of 2012.  A record number of annual posts since starting this blog!

I wanted to share with you a sneak peek of what I'm hoping to work on a lot in 2013.  This is the beginning of a children's book idea I've had for a long while.  Finally just this week, I had the mental space and time to put the concept to the test.  The story will star these two characters, Martin (age 8) and his little sister Hannah (age 5 going on 6). The first image is my sketches of them, and the second image is of the same characters collaged (with finer details yet to be added):

 

I was inspired by two things to move forward on this project: my friend in art, Franklin, said when I mentioned my idea to him, that kids would really like the collage component, since much of kids' first works of art are collage!  Also, another Fort Collins artist, Gale Whitman,  recently illustrated (and published!) a story by a local author, and I've seen her original paintings.  They are all hung up in her studio, each one a complete work of art in itself. She says it was a ton ton ton of work, but she just took it one illustration at a time.  And so, that is what I'm telling myself.  Just one page at a time, Heather!

 

(Looking at this comparison makes me think Martin's feet in the collage version need to be made a little bigger.)

 

Thanks for your support and enthusiasm in this year 2012!  I'm looking forward to another great year of art and community in 2013.

 

Love to you,

Heather