Red Shoe Artist

Hiya Scrollers,

How is life for you? I hope you’re all well and happy and living your dream.

This last week has been a little crazy at my end, I actually left the house five days in a row last week. As a self-proclaimed homebody, I was only aware of this after the fact and was surprised I didn’t grumble about it more. In any case, it was all fun things that I did and also productive. There were dinners with cousins one night, friends the next, haircuts and coffee dates and a dreaded shopping spree that ended with book purchases (even though I said no more books until I’ve read my TBR, but THERE WAS A SALE), and on the fifth day, I went to an etching class that I had booked a while ago and did an etching of a Bee. #ilovebees

My sanctuary, which is my creative space, is slowly coming along. I’ve been spending weekends slowly getting it together, except this weekend just past; I had the house to myself and took advantage of the big screen TV and watched movies and ordered Indian food and basically slobbed (not a word) my way through. It was heavenly!

After my art class on Saturday, I was so eager to get etching. Classes are all well and good but you have to rush through the project to get it done in time, so the etching isn’t as polished as I would like, but I understand that it’s more about learning the technique so you can refine it later. While I would’ve loved to keep etching this design, I was on a time crunch so it’s not as awesome as I would like, but I’m still pretty pleased with it. I forgot just how amazing printmaking can be. Even though you have ‘drawn’ the design and you ink it up, nothing prepares you for the reveal. It’s actually so exciting to see what will come out of the press. I did four prints and even though the images are identical, the tone differs depending on your inking and how much you wipe away. Fascinating! So, I’m dying to get my hands on some more projects. I just need to find some time to get to the art shop to buy some ink. Do you ever feel crazy about things and you’re just jumping out of your skin to do it so you can quiet your racing mind? No?! It’s just me then?!

I’m not sure if the rest of the world is as into ‘refining’ and ‘polishing’ as I am. It’s like when I see spelling errors all over the internet. I’m a little confused as to why companies are calling for experience when it comes to hiring content creators. Surely, someone with life experiences, a work history and writing skills would be a better option. Just as an example, I follow an account on Instagram that uses heavy advertising to sell numerous products and they asked me if I was ‘loosing’ flexibility in my back… C’mon! I see this one so many times, you’d think I’d just let it slide, but I just can’t. I am that person! It annoys me. If you don’t know the difference between ‘loose’ and ‘lose’, then what are you doing looking after an important page like this one?! It’s still not as annoying as when someone says they’re “so happy to be apart of this great cause”… ugh! I hate that one the most… okay, rant over, but not really. I’ve just noticed that there. are a lot of people doing jobs that they’re not qualified to do and getting away with the mediocre service. Now, before you start flinging the rotten fruit at me, I am not blaming the worker. They got a job and kudos to them for being part of the industrial cog, I’m blaming the owners/managers for not putting in place the proper training to teach these poor people how to do the job. They throw them in the deep end and say ‘sink or swim’ and while that worked for my Gen Xer’s, the kids today are putting up with a lot of impatient, rude, entitled people now. The world has shifted and some people aren’t as nice as they used to be. It makes working with the public really volatile. I personally, had to get out or retail because it’s ugly out there.

So, since writing the above, a whole week has passed. I’m sorry, I’m not going to edit or update this post, it is what it is. No time to do a ‘Things worth mentioning” either, but I do have another post coming soon so stay tuned for that.

Happy Day to you, Scrollers. I hope the sun is shining down on you wherever you are in the world.

Peace, Love and [mis]Understanding