empire building

Stephanie 2 - from the Polaroid archives

I did something brave and expensive yesterday. I've signed up finally for health and disability insurance. Any of you who have been visiting Black Street for a time will know illness is quite a stranger here. On the twice yearly occasions that I have need to take an aspirin I most often have to hunt to find the long expired bottle. I have been blessed with extremely good health. Even colds & flus manage to evade me. Now, don't go saying knock on wood because I do believe in the power of positive thinking and I am, and always have been a very healthy person. Blessed again. That all said I feel absolutely thrilled about this insurance, dare I say even - excited ! about this new expenditure. It has dental, eye glass and alternative therapies coverage just to mention a few. Hey ! Mama might spring for a much needed massage. Sigh. Can I afford it ? This big insurance ? I hope so. Because another slice of the peace of mind pie is totally wrapped up in my having this safety net. One less thing for the 3am rumination rotation - and as you well know - it's a tres busy rotation already.

Needless to say I've been thinking a lot about my Creative Empire and the building of it, my present & future security depends on it, thankfully it's also my passion - my love and this process never ever feels like work. How lucky am I ? Plenty of scheming, planning, and pondering has been happening atop the teak topped desk. Trying to come up with possible new items for my etsy shop. I've been studying the lands of etsy, trying to discern what kinds of things sell like hot cakes, what price ranges work best, how best to promote me and my wares, how to make it to the front page of etsy (a dream of every etsy seller) - I'm madly keeping notes and making little thumbnail drawings in my I Draw Pictures All Day sketchbook (a gift from MLou). I have a handful of possible wholesale leads for my giclee print photo cards that I plan to assertively follow up on - this week. I'll send out a sample card with a catalogue sheet and hope for huge orders. I'm going to try block printing and some original gouache collage paintings, all small and matted and ready to pop in a 5x7 frame - keeping with the art print card with envelope theme.
Is it miniature art or is it a greeting card. Hey ! It's both !

It's time to shake things up dans la 29 Black Street shop.

I hear birds outside our studio window and I'm off to la land of bubbles and scent

8:00 am - just back from a perfect and beautiful walk with Missy D. around this sleepy little village. The sun is just up and things are all a sparkle once again although thankfully the heat of yesterday's sunshine helped the branches of the trees to unbend somewhat - what a relief for them that must be. And walking up our walkway and into the house we spied a pair of Bohemian Waxwings ! Hooray ! a new bird at 29 Black Street. Like a Cedar Waxwing only much bigger, fatter and more grey than green and they both have a brilliant flash of red under their tail feathers. According to my Peterson's guide book they wander irregularly into these parts in winter but in 16 years in this old brick house this is our first sighting. I'm off to spear some apple wedges onto icy branches for them ... fruit and insects their fav foods and currently no insects round here in the land of ice & snow.