Art By Earth Mother Mosaics: In The Studio

I've been learning how to use the "new to me" camera and taking updated photos of existing listings. I have to say it's been exhausting but fun. I still have a lot to do but it's part of the way I like to do things anyway, so it's all worth it to me. My favorites are below:

I am also taking some photos of my painted pieces, the small art acrylics, which haven't yet been available to anyone in 2 years (I put them away deeming them no good when I made them. It's an artist thing, apparently). These will be listed in my shop on storenvy hopefully within the next few days. I'm slowly adding all my listings from Etsy into this shop. It just got real, as they say, at Etsy. The truth is that I can't afford to keep it running if I don't make any sales. It breaks my heart but I have to do what I have to do. Keep in mind my art is my job and selling it is what I do to buy supplies and pay the bills. It is time to close the mosaics shop at Etsy only (the only site I use that requires payment for listings) and keep the photo shop open there at least until November, if that's possible, but it too may have to close.

I will always find a way to share my mosaics and photography through social media for as long as I'm able. For now, using sites that don't offer monthly fees is what I have to do. Starting over is never a bad thing but adjusting the thought process is hard. It also takes a long time to build a following and make sales when you start on a new site. That will be hardest because I will be out of some supplies to create very soon (glue is a biggie as are substrates to use - I am blessed with grout, dishes, stained glass, mirror, dodads and baubles to fill my room up, but attaching them together onto something is where it gets tricky). As always, I'm positive something good will happen soon. It is not uncommon to have dry spells. But 5 months is a little too long to keep things running smoothly without much of a budget and each week it gets a little harder. I've been with Etsy for a long time (opened my shop in 2009). That alone tells me that it might be time for a change.

In any case, the photo below is from an acrylic I call "Blue Heart". I'm contemplating a price for these too. As soon as I get that figured out and the rest of the photos edited of the other mixed media pieces I have, I'll share them here with the links for each on storenvy.

Heading towards my new shop on storenvy very soon!

I do love these 5 x 5 inch acrylic paintings. Some of them (most of them) are mixed media pieces. The only thing I'd change is having the signatures on the front. When I do more, that will go on the back or be a little less prominent on the front. That is partly why I put them away. I signed them quickly and with permanent marker. And way too big!!

Speaking of supplies, I'm running low on acrylics too; I still have hardly any room to move around in here, but I am running low on the favorites, so that makes it hard. The muse is getting fussy and wants to paint something. I'm going to have to dig up some things and use the paint I have while I'm at it. She can get so bossy when she doesn't get her way! ;)

I also closed the door, for the time being, to the "Super Secret Mosaics Lab" this week. The last gift was given and I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

Oh the cool things you can do with a discarded beer bottle!

Finally got the donation piece for DWB/MSF grouted. What a chore that was! Lots of fussy bits to clean still, but it looks great. I'm also a bit sad since these boxes have been discontinued. I wanted to make more similar to this using suns and moons on them. I am on the lookout for other boxes with the right depth and look but it isn't something I need to figure out how to buy at the moment. But it's something that's been added to the ever growing list!

I'm making a pendant to send along with the box but none of this is due for a few months, so I have time to gather up the funds to send it and get the pendant made (which honestly only takes a few minutes some days!).

I was asked to make a custom order from broken blue willow dish shards that belonged to her grandparents and was hung on a wall before shattering. She sent the shards and I got to work right away. I'm covering the sides too so I can use as much of the original dish as possible. This is kind of cool to be doing this. I first learned how to mosaic after I broke my own grandmother's blue willow plate. I burst into tears and then vowed I'd figure out a way to make something from the mess into a piece of art. That's how I started my mosaic journey and now I'm doing it again, but this time for someone else. Happy me!