Monday Monday...A day in the Studio

Monday is not so bad any more, now that I work from home. I enjoy going to work. I must, because lately I have been working pretty much 7 days a week. I may not work 8 to 5, but I do work every day for at least 8 hours, and I enjoy it. Some days are longer, some days are shorter. Some of that work is on the computer, some of it in the studio. Of course, being a stay at home Artist, the money is not as good as teaching, but I do save on gas, clothes, and stress.  And most days my work 'uniform' is pretty much a t-shirt and jeans or my comfy knit pants.  Most days are pretty relaxed, which is the way I like to work. I do have a tendency to be easily distracted, which can be a problem when you have a lot going on. I am trying to work on that!
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Mondays are for planning my work for the week and looking over the results of last weeks work.

1. Did I get my goals for last week accomplished? What am I wasting time doing? What is working and what is not working. I'm constantly trying to re-evaluate what I should be doing with my art.

2. What do I need to do this week? What needs to be worked on first?  I set priorities for jobs that need to be done before moving on to the next order.  I also have several projects going on at the same time. I can work on one project while another is drying, etc.

3. List some new marketing ideas to implement. I'm always trying to find new ways to get my work out in the public.  I can't sell my work to the same people, over and over. So I have to look into the future and keep up with the latest.

4. Research new marketing ideas. New technology means new opportunities to try.  I've been on Instagram for a couple of years now, but really haven't used it for marketing much. I've been trying to use it more regularly by posting picture of my work in progress, in the studio.  Now I need to figure out how to get those pictures seen by more people. Getting followers, for me, seems a little bit too pushy, but I do need to learn to sell myself better.

If you are on Instagram, you can follow me here:
Beth Macre on Instagram 

If you are on Pinterest, you can follow me here: 
Beth Macre on Pinterest

If you want to follow on Facebook, my Art page is here:
Beth Macre on Facebook

And of course, I am on Etsy. You can see that here:
Beth Macre on Etsy 

How is that for promoting myself? Well, it really is hard for me to put myself out there like this. In real life, I am not an extrovert.  I wouldn't call myself 'SHY'...anymore, (I'll leave that explanation for another day), but I am not outgoing. But I do enjoy interacting with people, especially other artists, craftsmen, and bloggers.

5. Write, or plan, a blog post. I have been trying to be more active on my blog by posting more often. I tend to go in spurts. When I am in the middle of a bigger project, I hate to take too much time away from it. But I know it is important to post regularly. So I am working on that too. (My list of improvements!) I am also trying to make my posts more informative, rather than be just about myself and my art. Maybe it will be easier, since I really do not like to talk about myself anyway! My goal is to blog 2 to 3 times a week. It may take me awhile to get into that habit, but it is a goal.

6. Work on creating for at least 3-4 hours, hopefully more.  After I spend half my day, going through my list (above), then I try to work on one of my projects, sometimes more, for at least 3 or 4 hours. Sometimes more.

So, I will end it with that and a picture of a small colored pencil drawing that I created this weekend. The little bird drawing above, is a a small colored pencil piece that will be traded with another artist.  I really hate to let go of this one because I love the colors so much! I may just have to do another one for myself...when I have time.

Until next time...

Beth♥

Writing and Art

I consider myself more of a visual artist rather than a writer, but I do enjoy writing and photography.

I've always tried to keep a diary or journal, although sporadic at times. When I was very young, I had a diary, once. It was the 'thing' to do back then. I have no idea what I wrote in there, as it is long gone. I am quite sure that it was so important and secret that I had to hide the key, so no one would try to sneak in and read my important memoirs!  Makes me laugh now. But I do wish I had that old diary.

When my kids were young, I wrote in notebooks about their milestones, accomplishments, and even my frustrations with being a mother. I also have calendars where I kept notes about important dates and events.  I have managed to keep those because I'm sure that one day someone I, will want to read them again! They help me to remember things that I have forgotten about. That is my reasoning, anyway.

Later I began to keep a journal about my art. Then I discovered blogs..on the internet.  I was amazed that there were so many people out there that were willing to share their thoughts, feelings, and even their secrets...to the world! I'm not comfortable writing about my secrets, but the idea of writing about my art on the internet was something I had to try!  I could post photos and write about my art! At first I was not even going to make it public. Only I could read it. But I decided I would publish it because I was sure that no one would read it, so I was safe. That was back in 2007!   Some people did actually find my blog and read it! Some people actually posted comments along the way too. I've enjoyed meeting other artists and other bloggers along the way.  I just missed my 7 year anniversary of the beginning of my blog. I hope to continue for many more.

Some of my old journals

My first blog post:  
May 2007 : 
Starting a new Path

A lot has changed in my life since then. I really do enjoy going back and reading my old posts and seeing how far I have come. If someone else happens to come across my blog and enjoys reading a post or two, then that makes me happy. I am not a great writer. I am just an artist who wants to write. I want to share my thoughts and art with anyone who is interested. If you are still reading this...thank you for your time. I appreciate it!


Beth♥