When I tell you that everything hit all at once, I mean it. This last winter was cold, and when it wasn’t -40 it was snowing. So my window painting was limited to a holiday project at The Oaken Keg (College/Farmer’s Loop location) and one very sad Santa hat that I added to some pumpkins at Bombshell Beauty. Nyssa and I took turns being sick through December, and then January-March was just me trying to survive and make my bills with the help of some delivery on UE.

Breann at the Oaken Keg got a hold of me in January to prep me for a March window changeover, which I greatly appreciated. And Lisa at Alaskan Mystic Wonders gave me a two-sided sign that she wanted painted for her and the neighboring business, with no real timeline attached.

When March rolled around, I applied to the TVFM (Tanana Valley Farmer’s Market).

Now… Here’s where I’ve always deviated between my day job and personal pursuits. In retail, I thrived with the structure. I had timelines, sell by dates I needed to be mindful of, holidays I had to plan for. Everything was attached to a specific day and it created a sense of urgency. With art, there are no sell by dates. I’M creating my schedule, my workflow, and my timeline. And my day is dominated by a toddler and how comfortable I am financially. If I need to make money quickly, I step away from being creative to bring people their quarter pounders. Maybe that sounds silly, but it’s the reality of it.

Breann is very sweet, and tells me to just let my creativity guide me. She pays me up front, which is helpful and also attaches commitment to my projects for her. If I’ve already been paid, I’m absolutely obligated to follow through and I have the money for any supplies I need. And honestly… I’m going to be structuring things a bit more like this with all my clients so I can survive. Otherwise, I’m having to pause projects to make quick cash just for gas to get there and the paint to finish. This is also, hopefully, where being involved in the market will be of a huge benefit. I’d like it to replace the delivery so I can focus on my art and not be split between what’s getting me by and what I want to do. I need them to be the same thing.

So… This brings me back to my spring. I started working on the Oaken Keg windows in March. I expanded how much I’m painting, and it is a very VERY large project. I absolutely love it. I got a good majority of the work done, but wasn’t quite there yet. That’s when I found out about being accepted to the TVFM. I had started spending some days working on this site, editing and ordering prints, working on painting bags, etc and the window painting. And then Lisa contacted me to ask where I was at on the sign. Which was…. not as far as I would have liked. Because I didn’t have a date I needed to have that done, I hadn’t committed significant chunks of time to it. I hadn’t prioritized it which is absolutely on me.

Meanwhile, my mind is also screaming at me: “Don’t forget Bombshell Beauty and Kristin and the Gaffney building doors!!! She still has pumpkins and one very sad Santa hat!”

Which brings us to present. I’ve finished the sign for Lisa, and spent the last couple days buttoning up a few things at The Oaken Keg. Today, I’ll be going by Bombshell to scrape off the old design and touch base with her on the flowers she’d like up for the summer. My goal is to have 6-10 more bags done and maybe 3 8×10 canvas for the market opening which is now 5/16 due to snow load and the developing pond.

Keep in mind too… This is all done on toddler time. A project that would have taken me a couple days on my own time is now taking me over a week because the best time for me to work on things is while she’s sleeping. I’m painting windows (OR doing delivery) while she takes car naps and working on bags/canvas (and that sign) after I get her to bed or in the morning before she wakes up. My mornings are feeding her (she’s a distracted snacker), playing, and trying to clean the house. My later afternoon is squeezing in more chores and spending time with Bruce and Nyss downstairs playing. I do have a rhythm to my day, but it’s the discordant beating of coffee mugs on the kitchen floor.

But I’m pretty proud of my progress right now and how I’m balancing things.

What I have so far:

Canvas - One 10×30, one 11×14, one 16×20, one 8×10.

Prints - 30 5×7, 30 8×10, and 6 11×14. I have 10 sets of matting with backboard, 5 each of black and white. And I have 3 frames of each size (5×7, 8×10, 11×14 and 16×20). Those are split between black and white.

Bags - 5 lunch bag size, 2 medium. I still have 7 blank small, 8 blank medium, and 3 blank large that I can paint.

Greeting Cards - 10 each of two different designs, which were chosen because the original opening market day was supposed to be right before Mother’s Day.

Jewelry - 4 separate displays that are full, plus extra stock. I probably have over 50 sets of earrings plus and handful of necklaces.

Painted bags!!! The gray jay wasn’t done in this photo, but is now.

I’m almost done building my canvas wall with my sister. I have a wire display rack that I may use for the bags. I have 3 tables. My POS is set up through Squarespace with tap to pay on my phone. I have some QR codes and titles for the prints. I have certificates of authenticity. I have baskets for a “focus” display on the front table. Table cloths for the tables. Fabric inserts for the baskets. I have print bags for prints without matting or frames. I have a plain canopy. I have a banner and extra business cards, as well as brochures for my window painting.

I still need to get packaging, print off descriptions, finish up the bags and canvases that I want to have, and get canopy sidewalls and weights for the legs. I’m almost there! So close I can taste it! I’m also a broke ass right now because I’ve been focusing on prep and not that quick cash from doing deliveries. I’m really hoping the balance that I’m aiming for starts swinging into place, and I think it will with the momentum I have right now.

Amanda-

Projects & Prep

First Blog Post!