Post-Thanksgiving Thangs

Oh my gosh. Where do I even start? So as of last time, I had fallen off the wagon with my 40 Works in 40 Days project... due to stress, worries, self-doubt, blah blah blah. Life is a learning experience and I feel like sometimes we get this picture in our head about how certain things will go. Then when they don't go that way, we get upset. Angry. Disappointed. We dwell. We kick and scream. When I started that project, I envisioned 40 perfect days, creating a new original every day and all the while smiling and knowing that art is what I am meant to do in life. Well, then life happened. But instead of kicking and screaming and feeling like a failure, after many days of not following my plan, I simply started again. Expect the unexpected. When things don't go the way you thought, make it work the way they end up going. Getting mad and frustrated solves nothing. I sometimes babysit for two little girls; they are four and two. Last Saturday when I was watching them, they asked me, "Why don't you get mad?" So I asked them, "Does getting mad fix anything?" And at four years old and two years old, they both actually thought about it and both said, "No." So come on adults, let's remember that.

Anyway,  I rant a lot lately. So last Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, I started my project again. Here is Wednesday's (Day 19) piece:

After creating that, I drove home. To my parents' house. To the knowledge that I had to drop the bomb on them that I quit my job back on September 6th in order to pursue a career in art. It was honestly all I could think about. I didn't know when I would tell them, or how. So Wednesday night went by, then Thanksgiving morning, then the cooking of the amazing Thanksgiving dinner that my mom prepares (my mom is the best cook in the world... sorry other moms. she is unbeatable). Then we had dinner. 

Then after dinner, my dad and brothers started clearing dishes as my mom and I talked and the words just flew out of my mouth... "I quit my job." My mom blinked, looked shocked, and said, "What?" And I repeated, "I quit my job." And she said, "Oh... Like this week?" And I said, "No... like on September 6." She asked a couple questions, I gave a couple answers, and she kind of smiled and shook her head and said, "You know what I tell people about you? I tell them you are like the wind. That wherever life takes you, you will make something of it. I don't worry about you." And of course I cried. Like a lot. I don't know why I had all this fear and these doubts and horrible visions of being kicked out of the house on Thanksgiving day. Even though we are different in a lot of ways, my mom is my mom. She knows me in ways that no one else does, in ways that I probably don't even know myself. And she will always support me, no matter what. I love my mom. 

Yeah so I could ramble about that for about 20,000 words, but instead, let's jump to Day 20, which was the Saturday I came back home. Honestly, speaking, I was out of glue and had to improvise on what I was doing. Here is what I came up with:

If anyone is looking for some beautiful music to listen to, check out A Fine Frenzy. My two favorite songs (I am new to them so haven't heard everything) are You Picked Me and Ashes and Wine. Their music is so beautiful and haunting, and they just build and build and build. Great art-making music in my opinion. They are the inspiration for the text in Day 20's work.

Day 21 was Sunday, and after honestly kind of half-assedly drawing a henna-embellished earth, I got an idea for a new piece which I just finished tonight. Here is Day 21:

Okay, yes. I was still out of glue on Sunday. I have never paid such close attention to money and what I spend and what I need as of lately. It honestly makes me wonder what in the hell I used to waste my paychecks on when I was working the 9-5. Again, thing #3423423432 I have learned from quitting my job and doing this. So yeah, no glue. And I really like how little things like that force you to change your process. Because let's face it, I usually glue anything within reach to my work to make it as busy as possible. This was not possible on Sunday. After drawing the earth, little lightbulbs went off and sparked an idea for a new piece. I just finished that piece tonight and I'm not gonna lie... I love it. I don't hang my own art in my home because for some reason it seems weird to me. But I want to hang this print somewhere:

Simply put, most people walk outside to their cars, to the store, to the mailbox, wherever. And they don't notice anything. They just know they are going to the mailbox then going inside. They don't notice that on their way, the leaves on a tree have started to change, or there are baby birds in a nest, or there are particularly beautiful clouds in the sky. There are a countless number of little things that anyone could notice if they would just pay attention and look. The world is so beautiful and whatever I can do to help people to look closer is a win in my book :) 

Of course all this stuff is available in my Etsy shop.