Showing posts with label Plan B. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Plan B. Show all posts

January 7, 2015

The 'Draw Everyday' Mini-Challenge


I'm blessed to be a member of a little online art group. It's a 'safe' place where we can share the many ups & downs of being creative and marketing artwork.

During the month of January, some of us are doing a mini-challenge to encourage us to draw or be creative every day. Sounds simple, right?... Well, that's what I thought too!

So, I decided to doodle a tiny card each day... sorta my version of the illustrated calendars I've admired online. I wanted the whole process to be straightforward, portable & simple... so I cut some 4x6" cards in half & decided each card would have the numbered date & be done in my favorite Prismacolor markers & colored pencils. I envisioned each doodle taking less than 10 minutes (ha!).

The little 'Man In The Moon' above was the first to doodle its' way off my pencil. Believe me, he took LOTS more time to create than I'd thought he would! (...This is supposed to be quick & easy, right?).

Day Two found me out of town & staring at the blank card from my ziplock 'travel bag' without a clue about what to draw. Thinking "winter", after a long while I finally came up with this chilly penguin. Two down, 29 itty-bitty cards to go...


By the time Day Three was over & not one pencil scribble to show for it, I knew it was time to switch over to 'Plan B'... 'Draw as often as you can & don't worry about it. Just Keep Drawing!!' ...So that's my game plan & I'm sticking with it!

The opinionated perfectionist who lives in my head has already been ranting about the 'cuteness' & originality of my little cards. Not only that, but she's completely outraged by the scan quality of these little pieces of art. No worries though... I have banished her from my studio for the duration of this challenge. I can still hear her knocking... but I'm not letting her back in!

July 8, 2013

Greetings From A Corn Field



While visiting our family farm this past June, I began to wonder whether it might be wisest for me to focus more of my attention on growing my Zazzle shop during this season in our family life. Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE Etsy! (I really do!)... and I plan to continue to list my art there as much as I'm able to. But my husband & I are finding we need to be at the farm more often these days. It's not as easy keeping in touch with buyers when I'm out in the middle of a corn field, away from the internet!... and mailing art while I'm on the road has proven to be a pretty big challenge too!

Now, admittedly, I am not the best at making changes. But, with all the back-and-forth we've been doing between our home in North Carolina & the family farm in Virginia, I finally decided that moving to "Plan B" just might be the best option for me right now.

And so, I've started to design t-shirts for infants, toddlers & elementary-aged kids. It's really been lots of fun!... something I've always wanted to do, in fact. Maybe I just needed a gentle nudge from the Lord to move out in a brand new arty direction. The t-shirts join my growing selection of prints, cards & stamps that I offer in my Zazzle shop, PholkartStudio.



I'd sure LOVE to have your help in brainstorming new design ideas for baby & kids' tees! My sons are all grown up now, so it feels like a lifetime ago since I needed to be "in tune" with what little guys like to wear! Leave me a comment!... I'd love to hear from you!! :)