Realistically, I've made a lot of work in the last two weeks, perhaps when you compare it to my larger pockets of time, it just seems like less.  I made 32 mini pieces for the annual "Mini show" that opens this Friday at Art Bar...I'm proud of these pieces and excited to make more.

I have seven larger pieces in progress at the moment...staring me down (or up) from my studio floor.

Emotionally and Mentally, I'm still adjusting.  I'm what some might call (correctly) a workaholic.  It's weird enough to just have one job at a time but I've never had 4 days a week to myself...Never.  I'm appreciating things more.  Afternoon walks.  Making myself breakfast (lunch, and dinner as well).  What little money I do have, I appreciate & save and make plans for...I see more of my husband and get to hear a lot more of his music, even had time to make his latest concert poster which in the past I've often been too busy to help out with...or he hasn't thought to ask because I haven't been around...

I keep running into two extremes...I wake up and feel confident, ready for the challenges ahead.  This feeling usually is a result of having recently sold some art or booked a show.

OR I wake up feeling a bit frightened, overwhelmed, on the brink of a panic attack. This is usually caused by days or even mere hours going by having sold no art and made no contacts and being left to wonder if I'm making the right decision after all.

I've decided to take those good moments & run with them, pack them away in my brain and my heart as encouragement when I face those harder times which I have decided to take on as challenges...after all, if it was all so easy I wouldn't want to do it to begin with.

So here's to a new month of making it without a timecard to punch...I'll let you know how it goes.

I've definitely been counting out my change and had a few moments of clenched teeth wondering how the heck I'm going to make this work. But more often than that I find myself feeling REALLY REALLY lucky to have this chance to create. 

So I wake up every morning and start my day, in my pajamas, in my studio where I brainstorm ideas-new ways to get my work out into the public and, after having some cereal and putting on some "real" clothes, I usually spend my afternoon working on one of those ideas.  Today I polished up my etsy site (see it for yourself, here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/SDaviesArt) and made a lot of jewelry for some upcoming craft shows. 

I also took a nice walk this afternoon with my husband...something I haven't gotten to do in a while.

I still catch myself feeling a little nervous about the logistics of all of this...but I believe it will work out, and I think right now that's half the battle.

This evening I'll be finishing up some mini art work for the annual "Mini" show at The Art Bar here in Milwaukee, if you're in town-check it out, it opens November 4th.

much love & all the best,

Steph Davies

for those of you who don't know-I turned 29 this week, on Wednesday, and though I hadn't planned on it-I quit my job on this day as well. 

My mantra since then has become "quit your day job, make art" which is what I intend to do for the next year.  I will not, as many expect, go immediately searching for another job to fill up virtually all of my time.  Instead, starting tomorrow, I will wake up and head right into my in-home art studio and start creating as if my life depended on it (cause for once, it kind of does). 

I mean, this is what I went to school for right? So why not make a go of it.  So far, it's exactly what I always expected it to be: art supplies are suddenly more expensive-seeming then ever...I'm not entirely sure how I will feel the next time I go to the grocery store or the next time I have to write my rent check. I'm hoping I feel prepared & at ease, but time will tell. (I must admit, these things are causing me to freak out a little today as I have never not been working towards a regular paycheck.)

I'm not only feeling fear & nervousness, I am also (and sometimes even more-so) feeling excited, empowered & confident.  I feel like I owe it to myself to do fully what I've always been afraid of, to make art for a living.

In the mean time, as I figure all of this out, I'll be keeping track of my days here so stay tuned!

Lots of love & all the best,
Steph