Apparently it's November already.

It feels like this year has gone by so much faster than any year before it. I feel like I'm constantly playing catch up. I had my 2nd art show!

I participated in the monthly Santa Ana Art Walk on November 2nd. I did the September one too, and it was a great experience. This month was much different. Last time, so many friends came and bought things, it was busy the whole time. This time, I was less busy and got to talk to a lot of the other artists around me. While I didn't sell much, a few people really loved my work and hopefully will visit my Etsy shop. I figure it's still a good thing for me to get out there and have my work seen.

The artist next to me has been doing art professionally for a long time, and she was talking to me about how if you get discouraged, you just have to remember that everyday your work is being seen. By the people who have bought from you, by the people who see it in their homes, and by the people who are seeing it online, whether you hear about it or not. You just have to keep doing it. That was so helpful and encouraging to me.

Family pumpkin painting:

My parents, sisters, and I started a new tradition a few years ago of painting/carving pumpkins together. One year we did a Harry  Potter theme. This year we did a Big Bang Theory theme but we painted them as minions from Despicable Me. (We're big fans of both). My character is Penny on the far right. Kelly's is Howard, Lisa's is Raj, Mom's is Sheldon, Dad's is Leonard, and then my dad & I made the carved atom logo pumpkin.

I also painted this lovely literary quote by Andrea Gibson onto a huge white pumpkin:

Now I'm onto my next tasks! I have a custom painting in the works, I'm doing a holiday boutique at my dad & sister's office later this month, and I've got a whole bunch of administrative tasks to catch up on! I lost a couple days being sick, so I'm trying to get going again!

xo, Michelle

Upcoming art show!

I'm going to be participating in the Santa Ana Art Walk again soon! Orange County Creatives runs a gallery, and the art walk happens on the first Saturday of each month in the Artists Village in Santa Ana, and their gallery is in this beautiful historic building called the Santora building. It’s a cute little area I never even knew existed. The Santa Ana Art Walk is awesome; it has tons of different types of artists showing in one place, in a lively environment. I participated in September and it was SO fun! I love seeing the work other people do. There are also restaurants and things all around, so you can make a night of it!

Here are the details:

I’ll have a table set up with some of my work displayed and all of my prints available to see/buy in person! (There are two suites for OC Creatives, so just follow the signs- it’s easy to find)

Saturday, November 2, 2013

7 – 10 pm

Santora Building 207 N Broadway, Suite J Santa Ana, CA 92701

Free admission!

$4 parking in the structure across the street (North of the Santora Building) (cross streets are W. 3rd and N. Broadway). The structure fills up/gets crowded fast, so if you come later, you may have to find other parking.

I hope some of you will come if you live nearby! It was such a cool experience last time.

xo, Michelle

My first art show: recap!

I had my first official art show on Saturday! It went so so well. I’m amazed by it. To be honest, I’m still exhausted!

The Santa Ana Art Walk is an event that takes place the first Saturday of every month in Downtown Santa Ana, and all kinds of artists come to show their work. Orange County Creatives owns two galleries and they fill them with about 25 artists from 6-10 pm. It’s great exposure for your work.

I spent about 3 weeks doing nothing but preparing my inventory and display for my table at the Santa Ana Art Walk. I ran around searching for and buying props for my table that would be cohesive with my aesthetic and vibe that I put into my art. I wanted my display to be a reflection of my shop. (This was incredibly fun. I never realized just how much I love to decorate and put together themes. I knew I liked it, but this was a whole new level of falling in love)! I spent so many late nights trimming prints, stamping and labeling them, matting them, packaging them, painting canvases, preparing a hard copy of my portfolio, and figuring out all the finance and logistics behind how it would all work.

Here’s what my table looked like (ignore the fan, it was like 90 degrees):

But it all paid off! So many of my friends and family friends showed up to support me; I was overwhelmed by the kindness of them all! Most of them bought some of my prints, and they were all so excited for this creative pursuit! It felt amazing to be able to show, in person, everything that I’ve been creating and building for the past 1.5 years. It felt like all of my imagining had manifested in front of my eyes. It was pretty surreal. I felt totally in my element though. I kind of wasn’t even nervous because it felt so natural to me.

I still have a long way to go with the growth of my business, but this first art show was a huge step forward. It renewed a lot of my confidence that I can do this. I doubt myself a lot because I’m so new to this, and this was really reassuring because I pulled it all together, by myself. I created all this. I still can’t believe that. I’m just so happy with all of it. Now I’m off to dream up my next steps and new art pieces. I feel like the possibilities are endless.

A huge thank you to Maggie of Orange County Creatives for finding me on Etsy and inviting me to participate in the Santa Ana Art Walk in the first place. Thank you to my family for helping me set up and carry all my stuff to & from the show and inviting literally everyone they knew to come support me. Thank you to all the people who came: Chris, Liz & Alex, Hayley & her parents, Nicole & Tyler, Jared, Alexis & Victor, Lara & Zack & Lara’s parents, Victoria & Brian, Jim & his wife, Deb & her brother, LaVie, Runora, Susan & Lucy, and Sally/Brent/Andrew & Lauren.

Here are some photos from the night:

Thanks for a great night :)

xo, Michelle