Translucent Orchids

Aloha is definitely the right way to start this post off today!

I’ve been sharing more and more of my interesting found specimens (even before they get to go into my work!) and folks really seem to like them so here we go: some perfectly dried purple orchids I found clinging to my bf's potted plants.

I honestly don’t have a lot of information to share about these orchids other than I just can’t believe how beautiful they are and how incredibly perfectly they dried!

I’ve actually never tried drying an orchid before. Mainly because this central area is very 3 dimensional which I think would be lost if it was dried in my flower press. I also feel like if I was to pluck a flower and leave it to dry on a table it would just decompose, so I feel like finding these dried specimens in such perfect condition really is quite lucky!

I would really love to use these in the resin work, but I know that some things that are slightly translucent can turn out pretty much transparent when mixed in with the resin. It can change objects in very unexpected ways. Like for example one time I used a peacock feather in a resin painting and before the resin it had a beautiful green iridescence and after it was set in the resin it was a dull dark green with no shine at all. Who would’ve thought?!

Have you ever tried drying an orchid flower? If so, did you dry it like this naturally or did you press it?

9.29.2021

Dealing with Trolls and Online Negativity as an Artist

Yikes! Dealing with trolls, haters, and just plain negative people online can be totally stressful and disheartening! Hopefully you haven't experienced much of it so far, but it never hurts to be prepared for the future.

The more we put ourselves out there the more susceptible we are to online bullying or harassment. Today I've got 7 emotional and actionable ways you can deal with any negativity that gets thrown at your artwork or content. And remember above all else, don't let anyone online get you down - they don't even know how awesome you are in real life!

Tips for Dealing with Online Negativity

1. See if the negativity is just a poorly delivered helpful critique. Believe it or not sometimes negativity does come from a place of frustration that gets aimed in the wrong direction. If there is a real and specific complaint, perhaps try to see what point the critic is making removed from the anger. You may even be able to address the comment in such a way that makes the critic feel heard, understood and treated with respect and then they will do the same back.

2. Have a few positive responses on hand to consult or reuse as necessary. Even if you may be able to win this person over, never allow yourself to negativity - it’s just not worth it because…

3. Realize you can't please everyone and that is OK!! You can never please everyone so don’t even try - it won’t work and you’ll just get frustrated. Realize that no one famous or otherwise has ever been able to please everyone. I’m sure you could even find critics of Mother Theresa so do not stress yourself out over it. Remember, you cannot control how others perceive you, only how you can carry yourself so just be and do things that you can be proud of and you’ll naturally stop caring about those who treat you as if you should be some other way.

4. If someone really wants to troll and hassle you, there are three emotional ways to handle negativity....

   4.1. Laugh it off. Literally give off a laugh and a shrug because this person took the actual time to get their whole panties in a bunch over some free content you posted online - what a loser!!

   4.2. Cry it off. Ugh every once in awhile someone either by chance or by seriously sick and specific proclivities knows just what to say to right under your skin to really make you feel bad/inept/stupid/unskilled so if that happens, allow yourself to feel your feelings for a few.

   4.3. Pity them! And feel relieved that you are not them and neither is your significant other. They may give you and unpleasant 15 minutes but realize that that person is way unhappy in their own lives, and they have to be around themselves 24/7! Yikes!

5. Know there is nothing wrong with simply block-report-delete. This person has disrespected you so you owe them exactly nothing in return. Do not allow this person to bully you into a response, especially if that response would require you to sink as low as their level - ew!

6. The very best way to deal with negativity online is to have a mantra ready so you have a swift and confident inner-dialog answer for any time some awful comment sneaks up out of nowhere and completely derails whatever awesome thing you were about to do. Do not allow those trolls any power over your mindset, goals, or accomplishments.

7. Above all else remember that H.A.T.E.R.S. are just losers who Have Anger Towards Everyone Reaching Success. They are not productive contributors, pumped on accomplishing their own goals - no. They are miserable little wastes-of-space without enough creativity to produce anything notable on their own. They’re succubi. They’re leeches. They are not worth any time and we don’t even know who they are. They know who we are, but they are so insignificant that we don’t even know who they are. Just understand that haters only come after those who are doing something noteworthy and interesting. Along with fame comes haters - it’s a very backwards compliment but trust me, it is one.

Gouache Materials

Any purchases through my special links helps to support this channel at no extra cost to you. Thank you!

Titanium White

Azo Yellow

Gamborge Yellow

Napthol Red

Cerulean Blue

Permanent Green Light

Payne’s Grey

Princeton Size 1 Round Brush

Da Vinci Size 0/2 Round Brush

Da Vinci Size 2 Filbert Brush

And yes, these gouache mushrooms are available for purchase in my Shop right here.

9.19.2021

First Mushroom Forage

I’ve always been slightly enamored and mystified by the myriad of funky fungi I’ve encountered throughout years of adventuring outdoors, but have never been interested in learning more about wild mushrooms due to my lifelong distaste of Portobello or baby bello mushrooms found at any random grocery store.

I’ve always hated that I hated mushrooms, but what can one do?!

So as you can imagine, going out to enjoy a lovely solo hike in Chattanooga to get some fresh air and coming home with a large sampling of one of Mother Nature’s most nutritious, sustainable, and, as I later learned, delicious offerings completely unexpectedly has really opened up a whole new world for me.

You’re probably wondering what possessed me to pluck a random, though beautiful, unknown cluster of fungus from the woods and take it home to eat with practically no experience in the matter, especially knowing how dangerous decisions like that could be….

Well, two things: for one I had just seen that amazingly edited and incredibly interesting documentary Fantastic Fungi with the world famous mycologist Paul Stamets who really explained just what miraculous entities mushrooms are and how truly delicious they can be, which reminded me of the only time I have ever foraged and eaten a wild mushroom previously, and made me yearn to try again.

My first time eating a wild forage was with my good friend Jimi who is an old pro and knew exactly what he was doing. We collected this lionsmane mushroom together, then sautéed it with butter and salt n pepper and it was EPIC! It literally tasted like a meaty, succulent cross between a squash and a shrimp.

Happening upon that perfect specimen and then eating it less than 3 hours later felt all the more epic because my whole life I always had to let people know that I didn’t like mushrooms if they were providing a shared meal.

I mean…. I’ll still have to let folks who prep my food know my tastes… but at least now I can sound like an elitist hipster and say, ‘I only like wild mushrooms.’ tee hee

But I digress.. the reason I even gathered this particular mushroom was because it was so beautiful I took a pic and sent it to my friend who watched the movie with me and he immediately came back telling me it was a delicious mushroom called Chicken of the Woods and I should collect it. I had a hand towel with me so I broke it off the decaying branch it was growing out of and kept on my hike. My friend and I continued to check with a few folks to be sure it was safe and good and I watched a few videos on YouTube too.

I brought it home, cleaned it off, and sautéed half of it in a little Bragg sauce then included it in a veggie Thai lemongrass meal (see me cook and taste it in this quickie video here>>). And wouldn’t you know it, the Chicken of the Woods was epic too, and so aptly named!! The next day I did a barbeque olive oil recipe I found online and yummmmmmm! The consistency is so spot on and it just the mushroom just really takes on whatever seasoning you’re trying to give it. I’m hooked!

All in all though, I am seriously grateful to have a new healthy food group to enjoy. So much so that I even took the plunge and included some oyster mushrooms in my Misfits Market box this week. I found a recipe for those with just olive oil, garlic, green onions, salt n pepper, and lemon juice that was quite delightful. I’d have to say I liked the foraged fungus better than the oysters, but they were pretty good and I’ll definitely eat them again. At some point I’d like to see about growing my own, I hear it’s not that difficult.

You see those lil brown dots at the base? They’re tiny mushrooms! My mushrooms are growing their own mushrooms - ha!

Do you like wild mushrooms? Have you ever foraged your own? How about grown your own? Let me know or share tips in the comments!

9.16.2021

Open an Instagram Art Shop for FREE!

How much would you love to be able to have your customers purchase right from your art page on Instagram?! And how about a free, easy to set up website that goes along with it?? Score!!

If you aren't already selling your art online then this video is a total necessity. You only need three things to get started: an Instagram business page for your artwork, an email address, and a laptop (because I think this process would be a bit tricky to do on a phone screen).

Check my brand new Instagram page and website below for a little inspo on how to set up shoppable posts and make an easy website for your artwork too. You can even get a little deeper with your website by adding 'About', 'Home' and 'Contact' pages!

https://www.instagram.com/sockmonsterposse/

https://www.sockmonsterposse.com

Here are the websites I reference in the video:

Happy selling!

https://squareup.com/signup/us?lang_code=en-US

https://www.godaddy.com/domains

9.5.2021

Sock Monster Posse Finally Getting Their Own Space

Hopefully you’re not totally bewildered seeing these little guys on my blog.. you may have even noticed them here before…

The Sock Monster Posse is a gaggle of goofballs I’ve been sewing and adopting out for years (because you don’t buy a Sock Monster, you adopt one) both online and at craft shows and festies. Each lil one-of-a-kind critter is made of one new knee high sock, polyfil guts, and hand embroidered love. They used to have a dedicated website but I shut it down when I went to grad school.

Luckily for the universe though, I’ve just cranked up a whole new online presence for these lil fellas both on Instagram as well as a small website. I’ve been working really really hard on this whole process, which I’m actually documenting for this week’s YouTube video to show you how to make shoppable Instagram posts and a simple website for FREE for your own artwork. Score!!

But I digress..

Pop over here if you’re on your mobile to see the IG page and my fancy new shoppable posts.

Or pop over here if you’re on a computer to see the Sock Monster Posse website!

I’ve already adopted out two Monsters from this batch, but there’s a good handful left in case you need a new bestie who up for cuddling and goofing around! Yay!

Been pumping up the Monsters on Instagram and they are already getting adopted. Pop over to the shop before your own bestie gets adopted by someone else! @sockmonsterposse

They really do make for the most exciting adventure buddies!

9.3.2021

Shortie Process Vids

Lots of people have jumped on the TikTok bandwagon, which they seem to love, but I just can’t quite bear to sign up for yet another social media app when I don’t even post on the ones I have as often as I like. So rather than guilt trip my way around another time-suck, I’ve been having fun making shortie vids for Instagram and YouTube.

Here’s a few fun little ditties of my art making process, and you can subscribe to me on YouTube here (and make sure to ding the bell!) to see my future Shorts too!

I try to find cute music to accompany my drawing or painting so make sure you’re not watching them on mute!

These two (above and below) are processes if my current painting, which you can imagine has been quite time consuming! But in the end is very satisfying to have accomplished. I’ll be sharing the finished painting first on my Birds of a Feather monthly letter, which you can sign up for here if you haven’t already.

Last but not least, here’s a small alla prima pitcher plant mini painting from a photo I took at a botanical garden on O’ahu. These little plants are so mysterious and full of personality!

8.26.2021

Getting Google Certified to Help My Clients

Ahh doesn’t it feel so good to finally start checking some of those “Hopefully One Day…” items off your To Do list? Well I am marinating in that feeling over the last week or so and hoping it keeps me motivated for the rest of this task…

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

I’m psyched to share that I’m finally on my way to becoming certified in Google SEO practices to not only help my website and workshops gain a bit more traction, but to help teach my clients how to make their websites more search-result friendly as well.

I’m not a total newb when it comes to Analytics and SEO, but it has been a few years since I’ve taken the time to learn anything new. I wanted to make sure I was getting the most relevant, updated, and effective information on being found online, so I decided to go right to the source and do my training directly through Google.

I just got my first official badge for a beginners Analytics course last week and now I’m about 30% through an SEO course. It definitely takes a little bit of time to not only understand the info, but then going back through and updating a website with some of these new tips and practices is not a fast process. Even having one’s website optimized for SEO is not an overnight guarantee that traffic will increase, but it’s all part of the larger picture of creating a space that consistently grows in popularity along with your artwork.

I definitely am learning a lot already and will be excited to share this knowledge with my Mentoring clients soon!

8.18.2021

Get Your Art + Products in Shops!

How exciting would it be to see your art or art products on the shelves or walls of local boutiques and restaurants?!? To be able to walk around town showing your friends which businesses to pop into to see your work in person??

Not only is it so satisfying, but it can become a great way to generate another source of income within your many small art biz channels.

This question comes from one of my long-time YouTube subscribers Shona Renae Savage, who has definitely been an active and positive part in this Bird’s community. Thank you, Shona!❤️ She writes…

“What are the step-by-steps of how to approach a local business with your art/merchandise such as stickers, T-shirts, mugs etc? Do you call ahead, email, snail mail a sample of your merchandise, or simply show-up with a business card and merchandise? Should there be contracts; how does that all work? Is it a different approach for a restaurant or dental office vs. a gift shop? Not quite there yet but I have goals. Art takes time.”

It sure does, Shona! And patience is one of the best things we can have as artists!

Tips for Landing Your First Spot in a Local Business

• Make sure you are a good fit for the business you’re looking into. Make sure your work will elevate the atmosphere of the shop or office and be able to articulate how it will do so when you’re speaking to a manager or owner.

• Go into the business in person during a time they are not busy. If it’s a shop or restaurant, bring examples of your work or products that you can easily hold in your hand (but is bigger than a phone screen) and show it to the first employee you talk to as a way to get them on your side and interested in your work BEFORE going to find the manager for you. Be super friendly, big smiles, and if you notice they’re busy, don’t bother them and come back when they’re not.

• Realize that you will need to approach different businesses in different ways depending on if it’s a retail shop, a restaurant, or a medical or business office. Use tact, dress appropriately, and be super courteous to whoever you approach. Be professional (ie. likeable) and they’ll want to work with you! Watch the video for specific examples of how to handle different types of businesses, but no matter what, you should have a biz card and some kind of example, flier, or write-up you can leave.

• No matter where your work or products wind up, make sure to have a specific contact person or liaison to deal with and have set parameters for what’s expected. How much will the shop take as a cut? When will you get paid? (If it’s an office or restaurant, they probably won’t even sell for you. They’ll probably expect you to leave a biz card on the wall so the customer can buy from you directly.) How often should your art or merch be restocked or changed out? If it’s a retail shop, are they purchasing wholesale or are you consigning? How long is your work going to be featured in that business? These are a few examples of things you’ll want to have worked out beforehand, but there may be others. It’s not a bad idea to have even an informal contract written up so that both parties are on the same page.

• Be wary of shops that want you to pay them in order to sell there. I have had success volunteering 1-2 days a month at an artist co-op where I sold my Sock Monsters, but as a rule of thumb if you are paying the business to have your work, then they have far less motivation to actually sell your stuff because they have already gotten their slice of the pie.

• And the best advice I can give is to become part of the community of the local boutiques and restaurants where you want to sell. People like to help artists that are also invested in their own small businesses; it becomes a beautiful and uplifting cycle. Watch the vid to learn EXACTLY how to gain all the benefits of being a working artist in a local community (including gaining tons of new and inspiring friendships!)

  8.15.2021

My Students' Amazing Scenic Artwork

“Wow wow wow!” is what my students kept hearing me say all semester long. I’m literally so impressed with how skilled these kiddos are!!

Over the summer I’ve been teaching two classes at Nossi called Illustration Materials & Techniques 310, which is a bit of a broad term, but basically it’s an advanced class that teaches how to create enriched background settings. Think the ocean background of ‘Finding Nemo’ or the Wild West cowboy desert scenery in ‘Rango’ or ‘Fievel Goes West’.

It’s a great concept for a class considering how often our art focuses heavily on the foreground objects or characters and the background is simply put in as an afterthought. In this class, students must put forth all their effort in creating a consistent and believable setting atmosphere with no characters at all.

Some of their projects are done digitally and some are created with traditional materials like gouache, acrylic, or even marker and pen. Their final projects all had to be done both ways which made for some great compare-and-contrast class conversations. (The two below are done digitally in the top and with watercolor and marker on the bottom)

I just can’t get over how creative these kids are! Like when the assignment was to create a ‘Celestial’ setting, they’re coming up with spaceships and interstellar Victrola sessions. Just wow!

Some of these scenes really had such a mood! Like this one of the last tree in the universe or a tropical island formed from a shipwreck… I mean those details are incredible!

Two of my favorite aspects of this class though were the brainstorming sessions and the critiques where everyone got to discuss what they liked or struggled with in each assignment, and which materials they liked best. I just love having such small class sizes so we really can have spontaneous and enlightening class conversations. I hope I get to teach this class again in the future!

8.12.2021

What's Preventing Your Art Career?

Are you a career artist yet? Why not? Do you even know what questions to ask to get on the right track?

Today I'm inviting you to brainstorm a little bit with me. What's the one thing standing between you and the next level of showing and sharing your art successfully? What kind of roadblocks, or lack of information, is in the way of you reaching one more rung on the 'professional artist' ladder? There's no 'one way' to be an artist, and sometimes it can feel like a total crapshoot who succeeds and who doesn't... but I assure you, it's all about skill, knowledge and dedication.

So go ahead and toss a few of your most pressing questions in the comments either here or on the video comments on YouTube today for the opportunity to have an upcoming video dedicated to exactly where you need help the most.

Here are all the materials I used today. If you purchase anything thorough my special links it helps to support my channel at no extra cost to you. Thank you!!

Material List:

Titanium White

Lemon Yellow

Cadmium Yellow

Cadmium Green Light

Chromium Oxide Green

Sap Green

Magenta

Ultramarine Blue

Raw Sienna

Raw Umber

Gamsol

Odorless Mineral Spirits

Princeton Size 1 Round Brush

Da Vinci Size 2 Filbert Brush

Bristlon Size 4 Flat Brush

Kneaded Eraser

Map Eraser

Mono Zero Eraser

9x12 White Sketchbook

Carbon Paper

*I couldn't find the exact painting panel I used online (I bought mine at a local art store) but here are gesso panels that I think are close.

8.1.2021