5 one of a kind, slab and hand-built clay torsos drying in the studio of Tammy Vitale

I finally got myself into the studio yesterday.  After the opening reception at Lexington Park Library last Thursday, the show with Calvert Artists’ Guild at Annmarie Garden Saturday and Sunday (load in Friday), a trip to the Eastern Shore of Maryland (Cambridge) to pick up Beach B from Joie de Vivre, signing up for ArtOMatic 08 for both myself and coordinating signup with Heather B for Body Politics, working in my work outs – with Husband now joining me!, and spending a day in the yard at the cottage because it was getting raggedy cutting down and mulching dead trees and digging up around trees and garden for mulching, I got myself into the studio and let loose some of the energy that has been building up.  And this is only the beginning.  Today I plan masks.  Tomorrow I plan playing with glass. Saturday Heather is coming over and we’re, hopefully, playing with the body casting she made of herself (grand experiment).

I have decided that lack of focus for me in all of March (really, every single day of March) was about not having a place for my work.  I didn’t really need any new work for the shows I had scheduled (and boy is that a schedule – I have something every month without even realizing it!) and you can only stack so many bins of torsos.  But here comes ArtOMatic, and even though that is more about exposure than selling (though last year I did VERY well), it got the juices moving because I want all new work.  And back came focus.

Ravenwood Curio Shoppe ordered another mask but not a replacement  torso for the one that broke in their shipment.  I just happened to have a mask almost finished,  Sarah’s Reverie, here (her necklace is made of coral and she has a piece of citrine druzy on the left in her feathers and a golden swarovski crystal at the edge of her right eye).  Look at the difference that angle and lighting makes in presentation!  I still have to set up a place for photography.  I bought those cubes but don’t have a good setup for them.  Good photos are necessary, and another thing to keep up with.  At any rate, Sarah’s Reverie needs to go in the mail today.  There’s one shop that I made a mermaid for specifically that also ordered one of the torsos I had with me that I can’t get to respond to my emails or phone calls.  That is a bit discouraging.  Meanwhile, Payment for August Philadelphia Buyer’s Market is already 1/2 on my charge card this month with the remainder coming in May.  While I have promised myself not to worry about where things are going or money for at least 15 minutes, these little pieces of reality keep intruding.

and I’ve had to put myself on restricting with reference to beads and eBay.  Some of this jewelry needs to sell before I buy one more thing (yes, I’ve actually said that once before but this time I really mean it).(Really). (Really really really!)

I also believe that I will put into motion plans to beautify the area around my little pond in the back yard, putting in a block wall that I can tile, doing some backfilling, and using rocks and plantings to make it look like some of the magazine photos:  all serene and wildly kept.  The rhododendrons we planted 14 years ago have finally established themselves and for the very first time are full of blooms (we got one bloom last year), and I’m thinking about permanently installing The Sea Refuses no River behind the waterfall area.  It will be a full year/summer’s project and maybe help me keep my focus!

Here is a great article, I think I found though Leah of Creative Every Day, on finding your creative tribe on line by Cynthia Morris.  And another good read, by Yaro Starak on "How to Remain Productive When You Feel Like Giving Up" (ahem).  Enjoy!

thought for the day:  The paradox is that in order to get clients you have to let go of looking for them.  When we look for clients, people know we have an ulterior motive.  The can sense neediness.  A conversation that might have been mutually enjoyable becomes a game of dodge-em…thanks to the soullessness of mass marketing, we have come to believe that business happens in spite of relationships, not because of them…It’s ironic that accidental entrepreneurs, who by and large place a high value on authenticity, often stop being themselves when they start reaching out to clients.  Perhaps it’s because we think of business as something alien to our values.  We reject what we feel is false or dehumanizing, then we unconsciously adapt our behavior to what we have rejected.  We become what we hate.

it is important to look to the market to see what prospective customers and clients want.  But look for how the needs and desire of the market match your strengths, talents, and passions.  Say no to the opportunities that are a poor match so that your vision and your resources can be focused on the projects and relationships that are most likely to succeed.  Molly Gordon, The Way of the Accidental Entrepreneur:  The practical path to building a business that fits "just right"