My 'makeshift' bird feeder

I have a couple of windows in my house
that look out onto my back yard.
From that vantage point I can see all kinds of birds
and their comings and goings.

Over the years I have lived here, I have put out
several 'real' bird feeders...
and they tended to get watersogged...
or the seed just blew out
all over my lawn.

I decided I wanted to try a new 'feeder'...
and cut a 'door' in a one pound coffee container.
I left the top of the 'door' intact...
as an 'awning' of sorts.
Hopefully it will help keep the rain out of the 'feeder'.

We'll now have to watch and see whether or not the birds will
have anything to do with it...
or if the squirrels will get all the seed first.

Cafe Press

You know how you get kind of
"tunnel vision"?

Or maybe 'single-minded' is a better description.

At any rate...first it was eBay...
and I was "all into" eBay.
I painted (pretty much round the clock)
and listed everyday...
sold..
packed..
shipped...
and started all over again
EACH and EVERY day!

It wore me down!

So...recently I decided to clean out some of the sites
I had 'favorited'...
and ran across my "Cafe Press" site.

I noted that I've had this shop since
December of 2006
and have never sold even one item.
And...no wonder...
I hardly have anything in the shop...
I rarely ever even mention it!

So...I decided to rename the shop...
CMZ Art.
And...set up a Rustic Goth shop as well.

Yes...I have both shops on Zazzle...
which is very similar...
but..
different.

I figured that if I commit to 2 shops...maybe I'll
actually work them harder.

I finished my commission pieces.

"Sophie's Seal"
is a companion piece
to
"Sophie and the Baby Seal"

I took it on as a
"special request"
and I'm very pleased at how it turned out.

"Sweeney and Jack"
was a 'huge challenge' for me.
To do a painting on
a 24" x 48" canvas was a 'first'
for me.
It actually turned out very well...
the picture doesn't really show
how well it turned out...
but..the collector is very pleased and I guess
that is most important!

That Time of Year...

It's 'that' time of year...
quite beautiful on one hand and
sneezy..sniffly on the other.

And...to top it off...I can't seem to get
my biggest commission piece
"just right".
It's a 24" x 48" canvas....and I NEVER work on
canvas that big.
I'm not quite 5 feet tall...and working on a canvas
almost as tall as myself is really
quite a "challenge".

But...I'm bound and determined to keep
after it until it is done.
Then...I have a second commission piece
that is much smaller...but currently
taking a 'back seat' to the larger piece.

Hopefully I'll have them both done by the end of the week-end...
I really..really need to get back onto
items for the next Art Show.
The time is beginning to come up very fast.

Trying to get 'back on track'

It's been a week since the FAIR
and I'm still playing 'catch up'...
My email inbox is still crammed full and I'm
slowly getting everything answered and/or deleted..
(I tend to get far too much 'junk' email. )

I've got two commissioned paintings in the works...
a ton of new ideas for paintings...
and another show coming up in early October.

Our sales were good enough at the Fair
that I'm going to have to do quite a bit of work...
especially on Art Pendants...
to get ready for the next show.

So...not too much R&R for me...
and to 'top it off'...
I've had a persistent gas leak
that have caused us to have to 'evacuate' my home
three times in the past three days...

I "think" (fingers crossed) it might finally be fixed!

Some much needed R&R

The Fair is now History...
and
as exhausting as it was...
it was truly a great experience.

We had so much 'input' from thousands
of people who came through in the course of eleven days...
and almost all of the 'input' was very positive.

Oh sure...you had a small handful that just
do not understand art...
and said as much...
but...I was very pleased at the reaction of the majority...
and the sales were nice too!

So now...I am taking a couple of days for some
much needed R&R...
at least I'm going to try.

We've got another show
October 10th and 11th...
and our inventory is majorly depleted.

We left the show with 7 or 8 pendants...
I sold almost all of my Fairy Tale Art Dolls...
and we sold a lot of postcards and prints...
as well as a few paintings
and some art boxes.

With the upcoming shows...I will include more of the
Seasonal Art Dolls....
we'll need a lot more of the pendants...
and maybe not as many paintings...
(only because those are hard to transport and our display area is quite limited.)

All in all
we had a very good show...
and still have four more to go!

A few art pendants at the Fair.

Like everything else
we have a 'few' pieces of
our 'wearable art'
at the Fair.

Art boxes...

When I contacted
the local Craft Show promoter

about signing up for the upcoming fall craft shows...
there was only a few weeks before
State Fair.

Most rationally thinking persons would probably
have 'passed' on such a long show...with less
than a month to prepare for...

but...I haven't been 'rational' in a long time.

So...I had plans to do this and get that done...
long store short...
it didn't happen.

I did get "some" of everything I had planned...
and this art box is a perfect example.

I intended to paint 10 or 12...
I got 2 done.

But...maybe for the next show...hopefully!
(It's only a two day show...and I have more than a month to prepare!)