1000 Markets

I was going to wait to blog about

1000 Markets until

the shop I  just opened there was actually

'ready'.

But...since I am very NEW there and am still

finding my way around..

when time permits..

I don't know when they will change their

'Staff Picks'..

I decided to run a wide 'sampling' of all of the art that I do...

on 1000 Markets...

and I started with a few of my Rustic Goth pieces...

well..long story short...

my shop there was approved yesterday 

and today

"The Aviator"

is featured as one of the

'Staff Picks'...

I'm very flattered.

MELANCHOLY GIRLS

Do you 'Zibbet'?

Ha....I thought that was a clever title...

Recently there were some 'problems' at Etsy that led to a

massive influx to Zibbet...

it actually 'crashed' (or at least...slowed to a crawl)

the Zibbet servers.

Most of Friday the Zibbet site was down

while they installed brand new servers.

This was actually pretty good news for Zibbet...as they

sold over 200 premium memberships in 2 days...maybe even less time than that.

I don't think there were many people that actually 'left' Etsy

completely...but a huge number who decided they didn't

want to place all their 'eggs' in one Etsy Basket.

I remember when I did that at eBay...wow...I'm still

recovering from that mistake.

Anyway...Zibbet has a nifty site...I LOVE the looks of their

Premium accounts...

They have the Basic FREE accounts...which really are completely free.

You can list..up to 25 items...and everything you sell..you keep.

They're probably out of the $7 Monthly Premium Memberships by now...

but Premium Memberships are still available.

With the Premium Accounts you can...

have unlimited listings..

import listings from Etsy..

have a shop wide sale (with just one or two steps)

and so much more...

I spoke to the CEO of Zibbet...

(yes you REALLY can speak to him directly

and he REALLY does ANSWER you directly)

Jonathan Peacock..

and he tells me that when the $7 memberships are gone

the Premium memberships will go up to $8

(still a very good price)

for the next 500 accounts...

and then $1 increase for the next 500 accounts

and so forth.

I don't yet have a premium account..because I haven't 

conclusively decided what I want to do with CMZart...

(I've been so busy with Rustic Goth)

but..once I have it 'figured' out...I'm going to

hopefully

grab one of those $8 accounts.

Squidoo Lens

While looking for stuff to include in my

new website I had almost forgot that I have

a CMZ Art Squidoo Lens.

I put it together a couple of years ago..

and I go in and update it from time to time...

when I can squeeze the extra time to

do it justice.

It's kind of a 

CMZart in a 'capsule'.

Creeper Characters

Hands

Recently my dear sister-in-law

sent me an email that was forwarded to her..

she's very good to not send me those 'chain' emails

that seem so 'ominous' if you

'break the chain'...so I always read what she sends me.

Usually they cute emails with really cute pictures..

this email touched me so that I felt the need to share it on my blog.

Grandma, some ninety plus years, sat feebly on the patio bench. She didn't move, just sat with her head down staring at her hands. 
When I sat down beside her she didn't acknowledge my presence and the longer I sat I wondered if she was OK. 
Finally, not really wanting to disturb her but wanting to check on her at the same time, I asked her if she was OK. She raised her head and looked at me and smiled. 'Yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking,' she said in a clear voice strong. 
'I didn't mean to disturb you, grandma, but you were just sitting here staring at your hands and I wanted to make sure you were OK,' I explained to her. 
'Have you ever looked at your hands,' she asked. 'I mean really looked at your hands?' 
I slowly opened my hands and stared down at them. I turned them over, palms up and then palms down. No, I guess I had never really looked at my hands as I tried to figure out the point she was making. 
Grandma smiled and related this story: 
'Stop and think for a moment about the hands you have, how they have served you well throughout your years. These hands, though wrinkled shriveled and weak have been the tools I have used all my life to reach out and grab and embrace life. 
'They braced and caught my fall when as a toddler I crashed upon the floor.
They put food in my mouth and clothes on my back. As a child, my mother taught me to fold them in prayer. They tied my shoes and pulled on my boots. They held my husband and wiped my tears when he went off to war..
'They have been dirty, scraped and raw, swollen and bent. They were uneasy and clumsy when I tried to hold my newborn son. Decorated with my wedding band they showed the world that I was married and loved someone special 
They wrote my letters to him and trembled and shook when I buried my parents and spouse. 
'They have held my children and grandchildren, consoled neighbors, and shook in fists of anger when I didn't understand. 
They have covered my face, combed my hair, and washed and cleansed the rest of my body. They have been sticky and wet, bent and broken, dried and raw. And to this day when not much of anything else of me works real well these hands hold me up, lay me down, and again continue to fold in prayer. 
'These hands are the mark of where I've been and the ruggedness of life. 
But more importantly it will be these hands that God will reach out and take when he leads me home. And with my hands He will lift me to His side and there I will use these hands to touch the face of God.' 

I don't know the author of this piece

and the only thing I could locate on the email was

TEA-Party-PATRIOTS-of-the-Treasure-Coast

so that is who I will credit.

I'm Learning About Licensing

Every year...after the busy holiday season..

we all experience such a slow down in business

that it gives one 'pause to wonder' if

things will 'ever' pick up...

and these times can be 

very 'trying' on the soul...

so this year I decided that..

rather than to fret and worry

(I gave 'worry' up for Lent)

that I would instead turn to new

ways to 'expand' my business

in the markets available.

Being first on eBay...and then on

Etsy and several of the other smaller sites..

which mean doing the art..the marketing..the shipping..the bookkeeping..etc..

all by myself..

I've also got 'space' on sites like

Imagekind..

Art.Com/ Artists Rising

which offers my prints

on Amazon

(see the links at the bottom of this post and my sidebar)

Zazzle

which mean that I create the image..

and they do all the work.

I get paid..periodically..in royalty type payments..

still..I have to do the work of putting my work

on the sites...and all that

goes with that.

So..I decided...since I'm not getting any younger...

that it would be a good time to 

learn about licensing my art.

I'm still in the 'beginning' stages

of learning..

but I am a fast learner.

I forgot to mention when I first published this post..
that my "go to" source in my
licensing education
is the Art Licensing Blog
by Tara Reed.

I'm finding a lot of useful information on
her blog...check it out!

CMZ Art Characters

Portfolio Sampler