Deadline Done

Did it.

Got the work finished, photographed, and submitted to the show. Now I just wait to hear whether I was accepted or not. As I mentioned before, it’s always a crap shoot. And I do not take it personally. Whew, I’ve been rejected too many times to take it personally any more.

Sometimes the stars just aren’t lined up properly.

Or the juror had a bad day.

Or didn’t like my work.

Or……..

But it’s all okay. I like my work, and the path that I am on. And at the end of the day that is what matters most.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s fantastic to get positive reinforcement about my work in the form of sales or acceptance letters, but I don’t fret and stew over it. I just keep plodding along, trusting my instincts and knowing that in the end it all works out as it is supposed to.

And on that happy note, I shall bid farewell to each of you on this last day of 2010 and look forward to more conversations in 2011.

Have a happy and safe New Years Eve!


P.S.- All of the work evolved from when you saw them last.  Here is a look at some of the changes.

Patiently Waiting, Kim Radatz©



Patiently Waiting, detail, Kim Radatz©

Wishful Thinking, detail, Kim Radatz©

 

Measuring Up, detail, Kim Radatz©




Shooting at Targets

I like deadlines as they give me something to aim at. They keep me on track and working towards a finished product. Always nice to have a target.

And I have one this week. It helped get me out of bed and feeling better again. Wonderful how life helps me out that way.

This week I have been diligently working on these “skins”. Not finished yet, but they will be for the deadline.
 

Lost Innocence, Kim Radatz©

Patiently Waiting, Kim Radatz©

One Foot in Front of the Other, Kim Radatz©

Wishful Thinking, Kim Radatz©



Back to work for me. I hope you have a productive day too.

And Happy New Year to you. May 2011 be a year of blessings for you and yours.

Show and Tell Sundays-Sick Puppy

My sick as a dog days have morphed into sick puppy days. Not full blown "big" sick like a grown up dog, but on a smaller scale, like a puppy. Sick Puppy, that’s me.

I know healthy days are right around the corner.

While I was sick as one, I had the opportunity to meet some of your dogs, which was so very nice. I much prefer meeting dogs than feeling like one!

May I introduces to you some very special dogs.  They are:



"Cherry ", as in chocolate-covered and sweet.
http://www.studiocb.blogspot.com/

 

Lola, the rescued Greyhound.
http://www.purplecloudstudio.com/



Achilles and his new little sister Pandora.
http://starkimages.homestead.com/pugimages.html




Abby under her blanket
http://artistsjournal.wordpress.com/

  

Delilah, the tried and true traveling D dog.
http://www.moonmaidbotanicals.com/

 
And my contribution to the dog bunch, Duke and Dixie of Dog Days. Still way early in the piece, which I wouldn’t typically show, but I haven’t accomplished much this week, so there it is. I’ll share again once it is finished.


Skinned-Dog Days, Kim Radatz©

 

 Hopefully you have been enjoying lots of wonderful holiday food and conversations with family and friends! It’s that wonderful time of year for doing just that.

Have a great week, this last of the year!

An Artful Life

I think I could cycle back to the questionnaire from Cloth Paper Scissors magazine over and over and still never complete it. I see a question, ponder it, and arrive at an answer only to have it evolve into another answer and then prompt another thought and continue to evolve as the days go by.

The one question I have been thinking about repeatedly this holiday season is:

• Where do you find ideas for your work?

If I could push it one step further, I would ask:

• How does your art find its way into your life?

And this year, I can say my holiday decorations where definitely inspired by the decorations used in the altar the Artist Advisory Committee made for the Day of the Dead show at Tampa Museum of Art this past October. (Whew, that is a mouth full.)

I don’t have pix of the altar, but it is the white pom pom flowers on my tree that were inspired by the multicolored ones we used in October.

Must be a week of dogs; I see a poodle tail on the top of my tree!

May your holidays be happy and your troubles few.

I’ll talk to you in a few days.

Happy, happy, merry, merry!

Show and Tell Sunday-Sick as a Dog!

Well, Show and Tell Sunday was a sick day for me. And a no show day for my blog. Sorry about that.

But yuck, was I SICK!

Sick as a dog.

And I’ve been out of commission for days. Still just plodding along, but I feel certain I’ll be 100% before long.

While stuck in bed the whole dog thing (sick as one) made me wonder, hmmm, do you have a dog? I think so from some of your comments. But just to be certain, I have an idea.

If you send me a photo of your dog (name too, please) I’ll post it for the upcoming Show and Tell Sunday.

Just send it to me at KimRadatz@aol.com with “Show and Tell Sundays” in the subject line, please, so it isn’t mistaken for spam.

And I’ll share with you too.

Really looking forward to meeting your dogs!

Have a wonderful, food poisoning free evening!

Distracted Again

The other day I posted that I was thinking about starting an Etsy shop, but I have decided against it, thanks to your help. It is a wonderful tool for those that want to sell their work on their own. And it is so very gratifying when a sale happens. Plus you have direct contact with the buyer. Etsy is the perfect tool for accomplishing that. But…

But, in order to sell well, one must work at it and that takes time away from actually making art. I would rather make it than sell it, especially since I am not a natural born salesperson. That gift went to my sisters, so why do it? As the song says,
     You've got to accentuate the positive
     Eliminate the negative
     And latch on to the affirmative
     Don't mess with Mister In-Between

Sage advice that I shall take. No messin’ with the in-between stuff. Because in-between stuff is just another name for distraction. I shall leave the selling to the professionals, who are oh, so talented at doing it. And I love them for it.

So…. instead of thinking about selling my work, and having a body of work that is more suitable for sales, I’ve been working on these “skins”. They are far from finished, but I like where they are going.

Skinned-You Say, Kim Radatz©

Skinned-Wishful Thinking, KimRadatz©

Skinned-Wishful Thinking, detail, KimRadatz©

And yes, I know myself well enough to know that I will get distracted again and probably in the very near future. Hopefully I’ll be able to see the distractions for what they are and get back on track quicker.

As usual, time will tell on that front. I’ll keep you posted.

Stay warm tonight.

Do You Know the Secret?

To Etsy, that is.

Periodically I will think to myself, “I should try to sell some smaller works with my own Etsy shop.” And then if I take it one step further and actually log onto Etsy to check it out and try to navigate my way around the site I break into a cold sweat and immediately want to run.

Far away.

And fast.

Is this unique to me? Or have you experienced that too?

And I also wonder, do you buy or sell on Etsy?

If yes, maybe you have some secrets to share on how to do it well?

Please, do tell.  I could use your help.