Friday night...

Some photos from Friday night's Big Event:

It was such a cool space to play, and such a great night overall. Artistically, and otherwise, my heart felt so full. To see all of the artwork displayed there as music and story unfolded....sigh....very cool experience. One I won't forget. Pics of artwork (hopefully) coming soon! 

Art + Music.

art display at Local Collection, Boston

A very long time ago (nearly four years ago now) I created a piece of artwork that was meant to be a visual counterpart to one of the songs I'd written. At the time it was a way for me deal with some messy emotions that were churning about, but it also sparked an idea. Here's what I said about it back then:

"This *could* be the start of something....I am actually in the process of working on another collage piece that correlates to another one of my songs -- "In That Moment" ... Maybe one day I will have an entire collection of pieces that reflect each of my songs and I'll be able to take this show on the road! Who knows..."

Well, it only took four years, but that idea has finally come to fruition! I have been working hard the last few weeks on finishing up artwork to go along with a set of songs that I plan to perform this Friday night (4/29) in downtown Boston. The store where I display my art has been working with me on the idea for awhile now and I am SO excited to finally see this happen! And since many of my songs tell the story of the bumpy journey that ultimately led me to New York and the life-changing experiences that then followed, I decided to weave in some behind-the-scenes storytelling during the event, as well. I still have a lot of work to do (of course I do, being the procrastinator that I am!) but I am hopeful that it will all come together in the end. Some photos of the new work will (hopefully) be posted on here soon. 

If you happen to be in the area, please stop by! Event details here. Now if I could only kick this head cold that's been stalking me since last month....preferably well before this Friday (please?).....

Happy Easter.

A Portrait of Christ from Jeremy Cowart on Vimeo.

A beautiful video via Donald Miller's blog. (And as an artist, I am absolutely fascinated by his art making process -- can't stop watching it!). Happy Easter weekend, everyone.

Happy weekend-ing.

I've been really bad about posting on Fridays lately....we usually end up going out, getting home late, then I forget all about it! 

Here are a few pics from the store yesterday (of my display). It was a good experience, overall, though I saw first-hand how the cold weather is affecting foot traffic. So, yes, a bit discouraging at times, but the silver lining was getting to work in a new environment and interacting with the few customers that did make it in. 

Local Collection, Boston

Enjoy the weekend!

Happy Thursday.

church in South End, Boston

Not much to say on this blustery Thursday night. Worked from home, too cold to venture far. Had a good rehearsal. Now putting the finishing touches on my heart boxes for tomorrow's event. (just a lil' reminder: if you're in the Boston area tomorrow, you should stop by Local Collection in Faneuil Hall between 12-3 for a behind-the-scenes look at my art-making process and a 15% reduction on all City Girl Designs inventory). :) 

a Monday list.

city & traffic

a list tonight b/c my brain is tired:

~it's very, very cold here in Boston. and everywhere else, i hear. 

~this past weekend was a nice mix of chill and busy. there was a dinner out, a movie in, and a harvard holiday ball. perfect.   

~there was also a lot of paper writing (dan) and etsy-ing (me).

~today was one of those days of fogginess and clouds (not the weather...my head) & i couldn't seem to quite *wake-up*.

~nonetheless it was a busy day of running around the city & burbs, mostly in attempt to restock my art supplies (ornaments, canvases, etc.) and ship packages.

~i'm excited to report that there's been a small flurry of activity and sales(!) lately in my etsy shop. which makes me *so* happy (and keeps me *so* busy). 

~and lastly, continuing with the etsy theme: a very small plug, if i may....if you're scrambling for gift ideas, why not buy handmade this year? :)

like these handy map ornaments for your traveling buddy:

{link}

or a broadway-themed ornament for that theater buff in your life? 

{link}

(and much more here)

support the arts! buy handmade :)
xo

feeling thankful.

Faneuil Hall marketplace

I snapped this pic tonight. They're getting a head start on the Christmas magic over here in Boston. I'm not quite in the holiday mood just yet (Thanksgiving will do the trick), but still, I'm always a sucker for twinkle lights. 

AND I should also mention that this lovely strip of city magic shown above will now be home to the latest line of work from City Girl Designs! (that's me :) Yep, that's my big news! It's a wonderful store full of all handmade goods from local artists and I am now one of those artists! 

It's in a great part of town, part of the marketplace in Faneuil Hall, where (as you can see) the magic (and great shopping) abounds. I think getting out from behind my computer, where most of my artistic transactions take place, and into a real life situation with my art will be a really, really good thing for me. It gets tough being so isolated in my creative process, only interacting with customers via the web. Plus, it's just so dang exciting to finally have my artwork out there, in a real store! A big step forward for me.  Feeling thankful....very thankful. :) 

Busy.

a day in the life ~ walk home through harvard square

It's 11:00 and we've only just finished dinner. Terrible, I know, but it's just been one of those days. So busy, from morning to night, behind on everything. But I had a realization today (not necessarily a new one): I like being busy. I like having things to do. I am working about 5 different jobs at the moment & it's making me a bit crazy but I love it. Love the varying interests, love the challenges, love the freedom to format my day the way that I want/need. 

With that said, there is still work to do tonight & a deadline (art related -- I'll share more specifics later!), so I must run. Goodnight, all. 

A (free!) Day at the Museum.

Boston Museum of Fine Arts
I was already planning to take myself on an Artist's Date today since I've been sorely lacking in the inspiration/creativity department lately (and since it was a Federal Holiday so I had the day off :), but THEN come to find out that the Boston Museum of Fine Arts was charging ZERO for admission today rather than their usual $20 admission fee! So it was a no brainer. Off to the city I went, journal in hand, ready to be quieted, refreshed and inspired.

A few things I remembered/realized today while walking through grand rooms lined with Van Goghs and Renoirs: 1) I love art museums. And don't go nearly often enough (last time I was at the Met? seriously don't even remember. shameful.); 2) I love going to museums alone. I can skip over things without judgment, spend 5 solid minutes staring at an 18th century drawing if I want to, backtrack, sit down on a bench to journal/ponder, and leave whenever I want; and 3) Artist's Dates are FUN. And necessary to keep me motivated in my work and creativity.

It was a delightful afternoon and I am already planning my next Date (perhaps to here or here).

& up tomorrow: a recap of our perfectly lovely Fall weekend complete with photos of apples, pumpkins and charming sea coastal towns. stay tuned :)

Space.

new studio space!
Look! Dan put together the extra desk we had in storage and set it up in my "studio." Now I have room to spread out and a place to put works in progress (besides the floor -- my former storage area -- which Dan didn't like so much (thus the motivation to pull this sucker out of storage) :). It's a little large for the space, but I so need an extra work surface, we're willing to live with it for the next 8 months. I spent most of the day arranging and organizing my new space and now am feeling ready and inspired to get to work. (picture of old space here)

We have a dreamy night of NOTHING planned for tonight. Ahh, nothing, how I have missed you. Take-out and a movie are pretty much the only things on the agenda. So looking forward to a down weekend at home; it's been awhile.

Have a good one! :)

Reflecting.

the bowels of Widener Library ~ taken during our library adventure
Not much to say tonight. Just reflecting on my day. On this whole "working artist" thing, which is a lot harder to get off the ground than I thought it would be. Too tired to go into it all. Maybe tomorrow.

Not to worry, though...despite the frustrations, still feeling inspired. Still desiring to make new work. Definitely not giving up...!

Happy Friday.

downtown Boston
Have a great weekend!
and, ps, this print now available in my shop--->

Shop announcement...

Remember this photo from last March?

Now you can buy it here, mounted on a wood block! To place on a shelf next your books, or maybe on the wall! (the possibilities are endless, really).


And also coming soon to my Etsy shop...

Hard Days.

insurmountable. (a tall building in Boston)
I don't know why, but I seem to be having an amazingly long streak of hard/annoying/difficult days lately. It's mostly just a *feeling* that I have trouble articulating (although Dan is good at helping me find the words), and mostly just feels like anxiousness/agitation.

Some obvious things are: 1) I miss New York (duh), 2) and my friends and 3) it's hard adjusting to a new place. But I also think it might be 4) work. My work/life balance has been a little off-kilter lately (one of the downsides to working from home). It has started to bleed into the other areas of my life, and I find myself feeling like I always *should* be doing something while I am home now (since home is also my office/studio) and guilty when I am not. And there is always so much to do that even though I feel like I am doing things CONSTANTLY (even into the wee hours of morning), it somehow always feels like not enough. Which I know is messed up and not healthy and all that good stuff, but *knowing* it doesn't really lessen the agitation!! Sigh...Guess I'm still learning. Learning this Boston Life thing and learning this Full-time Artist thing.

And so tonight I made a list of things to do that might help me shake this feeling. Simple, happy things completely unrelated to art and work and photo editing and research and forums, etc. Things like 1) make dinner, and 2) work on Dan's present (one year anniversary is DAYS AWAY, people!!!). And I banned myself from the living room (where my "studio" is and where I spend WAY too much time) and instead sat in my cheery kitchen for a good long while. And that seemed to help.

It also helps to remember that tomorrow is a new day, a clean slate. (speaking of tomorrow, whoops, it is tomorrow. time for bed). Goodnight....

Travels, Business & Earl.

Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge
It's a dark and stormy night here in Cambridge tonight (residual affects of Hurricane Earl). I don't mind much as long as it blows outta here by tomorrow morning. We are catching an early flight to Chicago to visit my brother & sister-in-law (and to meet my new nephew for the first time!) and so I will be very sad if our plans get squashed b/c of bad weather. (those of you who know us, know that our travel track record pretty much STINKS. so it didn't surprise me much to hear that a hurricane was headed our way the same weekend as our trip. yup, sounds about right. just see this post for an example).

Aside from all the rain, today was definitely better than yesterday. Although I spent most of it *not* making art and instead glued to my computer reading dizzying amounts of material on SEO (search engine optimization), which is all quite complex. I've really been trying to work on my shop lately and figure out ways to get more traffic through there, and apparently this is one of the big ways to do that.

I am starting to realize that there is much, MUCH more that goes into a creative business than just making art. I mean, I *knew* that going into this, but I wasn't really prepared. And manALIVE it's a lot of work!! I feel like I could literally spend DAYS reading forums and articles and e-books on building up my creative business, getting 'seen', marketing, etc. Which sometimes leaves not enough time for actually *creating* things....sigh. So I am trying to find the balance between the two.

There is more I could say but my brain is slowly shutting down and I still need to go pack for Chicago. Hope you enjoy a lovely (rain-free!) weekend.

More randomness (on a Tuesday)...

under the bridge on the Charles
~so. last night. it was pretty fun! i didn't win (boo) but i did make some good connections and got encouraging feedback. plus it looks like (according to the host who books for other venues) it could potentially lead to a gig in the not so distant future. yay! it was a late, late night, but we stuck it out til' the end (even my mom!).
~speaking of my mom: she is on a plane heading back to D.C. right now after a fun-filled few days together (thanks, mom!).
~& back to singing. watching Glee makes me want to be on Broadway. bad. just singing my heart out. (i mean, did you see the "Home" episode??). sigh. so good.
~speaking of Broadway, i've been featured in a Broadway-themed Etsy Treasury. pretty rad. if it ends up on the Etsy homepage that means lotsa traffic for my store (which i need).
~& speaking of Etsy, i've been listing new stuff lately. like this whimsical bird collage ornament, a totally (non-city) new direction for me. (one day, when i was with bored with cutting up snippets of NYC pics, i caught a glimpse of my fun vintage-y bird stickies, and *voila*):


~& these new little star guys:


~that's all for now. time for bed. have a good night!

Back Bay & New Art.

Back Bay brownstones (and more ivy)
After a trek into the city (twice in one week!) for some work-related appointments in Back Bay (an incredibly charming neighborhood full of beautiful, old brownstones), I am feeling a bit under the weather this evening. Darn summer cold. They're the worst. And so I am trying to take things easy and rest tonight. Which is not easy to do when 1) the only thing on television is America's Got Talent and 2) I can't shake this nagging feeling that there must be *something* I should be doing.

That is one of the tricky things about "being my own boss" that I've discovered so far -- sometimes it's hard to *stop* working. Whether it be sitting at my desk and actually making something, or sitting behind my computer editing photos, listing things on Etsy, blogging, etc., etc., I always feel like there is something I could/should be doing.

And so I am going to keep this short & sweet tonight. But not without first plugging the new stuff on Etsy I just listed! (teehee).

*Finally, the bracelets are back! (and more will be listed this week)*

*And my latest project (drumroll): ornaments!*

I know the furthest thing from our minds in this sweltering summer heat is Christmas and/or holiday paraphernalia, but look how pretty! Plus I think anytime of year is the right time of year for some New York magic, don't you? More of these to come...........!

A few things...

a little pocket of Boston
1) happy Monday! (Mondays are much happier these days for me now that I am working for myself :)
2) we finally left our Cambridge bubble this weekend and went exploring around Boston. it felt so good to be in a 'city' city again. as much as I love Cambridge (and am truly glad we decided to live here, closer to Harvard and Dan's new community) I do miss that gritty city vibe sometimes. so it was nice to be back in the middle of it all, amidst the skyscrapers, snapping city pictures for the blog again (I know my pics have been lacking lately :)
3) we found two amazing places in South End on Saturday night: Masa for dinner & Beehive for drinks and jazz.
4) watching The Bachelorette finale now and whoa. the drama never disappoints! how do I always end up hooked on this show? every. time. I have to say though, it looks like a happy ending this time.
5) new listing up on Etsy! check it out :)

My latest...

my latest work (in progress)
A photograph of my artwork tonight instead of my city. That's because I've discovered I really don't get out much :)

It's something new that I've been working on intermittently as a break from cutting up very small pieces of paper and gluing those very small pieces of paper onto very small surfaces (i.e.: my bracelets -- which, for those of you who have been asking, will be back in my shop SOON!). This new piece combines aspects of my photo decoupage/collage style with the other parts of art that I really miss: drawing and painting.

And yes, it is more New York-themed artwork. Guess I am having a hard time moving away from this theme. (but in my defense it is a very inspiring subject matter :)

and...bracelets in progress:

Art & Work.

a church in Cambridge
Thanks for voting, friends! I'll post answers later & divulge all the juicy tidbits from the trip (like: we saw a bear! and elk! which was all Dan really wanted the whole trip :)

Yesterday was a big day in these parts. Dan started school, and so therefore I declared it my first day of work (and by work, I mean ART and all that it entails. yesterday it entailed getting back on track with my Etsy shop and making new work). I read a little bit of Steven Pressfield's War of Art the day before in preparation (a book I would *highly* recommend to any artist out there trying to make their craft their "real" job...or as Pressfield says: going pro).

Interestingly, in the days leading up to my first day of work I had all kinds of feelings of dread and negativity, fears that I would fail somehow, or be too lonely working from home, or bored, or not productive enough, etc. This book deals with all of those things (and our biggest enemy in the creative process: Resistance) and gives helpful tips on how to kick Resistance to the curb. One huge thing is treating your craft like an actual JOB, as you would any other job. Getting up early, getting ready, showing up and sticking it out all day. Sleeping late and working in jammies doesn't do anyone any favors (okay, maybe once in awhile it's kinda fun). But I found this one piece of advice to be incredibly helpful. I got up early, showered, dressed, had breakfast & coffee, then got to work. Worked through the morning, took an hour lunch break like I used to at my old Day Job, then got back to work again until about 5:30. And it really seemed to work! By treating my art like a job, I took it (and myself) more seriously and was therefore more productive.

Another interesting point Pressfield makes in his book: "The more Resistance you experience, the more important your unmanifested art/project/enterprise is to you - and the more gratification you will feel when you finally do it." Which explains the adverse reaction & apathy I was experiencing earlier this week -- I have been dreaming of doing this for years!

Anyway, day one was a success. We'll see how it goes from here. I'll keep ya posted!