Keeping Up With Change

It's funny,  I was sitting here this morning  putting some of my admin schtuff into my computer/spreadsheets and I was looking at the date of the month as if I was looking at it for the first time in weeks.  

February 19th, 2015

No no no...it can't be almost the end of February already! I was supposed to accomplish so much during the quiet of winter when I was not traveling so much.

Instead, most of the winter has been super busy which is a good thing but it's also been a time when I have been seriously in need of rest and just haven't been getting it the way I should.   I've been working in overdrive trying to make up for some business I no longer would be able to count on , and another opportunity I was no longer going to be a part of..and for the most part I pretty much made up for most of the lost income in a matter of 2 months which is a good thing..very good thing.

 It means I can breathe easier. It also means that while I was busy filling in the gaps, I also steered off course from what I intended to do with this down time and now I'm trying to figure out how to seriously catch up so I don't miss out on some other things I wanted to do this winter.

Can ever one catch up when life changes on you?  Or do you just pick up the pieces and follow the new course and set aside those old plans because maybe they weren't meant to be for you, right here, right now?

It's a vicious cycle trying to play catch up all the time. 

It doesn't make you feel good about yourself.

I don't like feeling scattered or not being able to follow through on some things I promised to myself.

After I have my own little pity party, I am able to wake up and realize, nothing stays the same. Life doesn't always go as you planned but most often it heads you down a path you should be on, one way or another.    I'm starting to come to terms with change.

Change comes in many shapes and forms.  

It can be in the form of surroundings,   job, friends, love,  even skill sets can change. You can do a better job at what you do or you can turn a 180 mix things up altogether.  hmmm.

Embracing change without letting it overwhelm you is the key I believe.   I just don't have an answer on how to do that day in and day out.   Most of the time, the way I deal with change is to escape in my studio to work out the details on the canvas while I paint my life in my head.  if that makes sense.

How do you come to terms with change?

How do you cope with changing courses in your career or personal life?

How do you get the rest you need when life is buzzing around you pulling you in different directions?

Nothing prolific today...just artsy and personal musings on the table while I drink yet another cup of coffee:) and think  write out loud.

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Stop by the shop and see what's new this week!

Say It or Paint It With Love

How many ways can you (or do you) show love through your art?

 With tomorrow being Valentine's Day, I thought I'd pull a few pictures from my 'archives'  that showed a little 'love' . Gosh, looking back at these paintings, you'd think I have been in a world wind romance with some dashing man who has swept me off my feet!!!  Well the truth is, lately, my Valentine's have been reserved for 2 dashing men...my wonderful sons of course, Josh and Zach.  :)
That doesn't mean you can't manifest dreams and desires through your art, or just work through feelings and thoughts as you are creating.   That's one of the things I enjoy most....getting my thoughts out on the canvas, especially those that I can't say out loud or in person.

 And sometimes a simple word is all you need to hear  or see to make you feel that you can, you will, you ARE, or will become.  Art has magical powers tlike that.

 And if you don't hear it enough,   sometimes hanging a little reminder in your studio, office space, or other location will bring you back to the place you need to be.

Sometimes my paintings are about conversations I've had or want to have with someone.  I love this piece above.  It's not so much a conversation I've had but one I'd had like to have had with someone. 

It's fun to create these micro-worlds of possibilities.

What can I say but I L-O-V-E this piece above. The texture, the many under layers peeking through but yet they are all leading to the the same outcome.  Love. A super fun piece to do.

 As I was searching for pieces to share for this post, I came across these oldie but goodies.  I had a class featuring these along with an article in a magazine. I call thses my story block collages.  Mostly painted but there are some 3 d elements as you can see from the hearts.  In my classes students added all sorts of fun embellishments in addition to the hearts. I love sparking ideas and seeing where my students take them. It's an amazing process!

 It's funny as I reflect back over the last several years, part of the reason I stumbled into the art world was because of my heart being broken, rather shattered into a million pieces....it's such a long story but the beginning of it was all about me falling for someone and how my life changed because of that love story.  I guess on the outside, it may seem like a tragic story but through all the bad came this amazing good life that I have now.

 I guess I still process all the events of the last many years through art.

 Not just thoughts about love, but about life in general. My art isn't about some larger political or socioeconomic questions that plague the world, rather my pieces are about everyday life, relationships, family, friends, community....connections.  We all want to feel connected in some way.  Needed in some way.

Creating has a way of getting those feelings out and telling our story in our own way.  Sometimes it's in your face and quite clear what you are trying to say.

...and other times,the message isn't as easily discerned..but it's still there.

What do you say in your art? Have you noticed any trends or messages that appear time and time again?  What does it say about you or your process?  

I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day and enjoy the weekend by being surrounded by those that you love.  And if by chance you are alone for the day,  do something amazing and special for YOU.  You deserve it!

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Before I leave you today, I wanted to remind you that I have some HOT specials going on over at Creative Workshops 

 All of my classes over there are on sale including my POD-Tastic class 

through this weekend

And another SWEET sale going on over at Colourarte  where all of my classes are on special for a limited time, too.  In addition to the sale, each student that registers for a class over at Colourarte will receive a 30.00 coupon to the store for products such as Twinkling H20's, Silks Acrylics, Radiant Gels, and more!

Sharing the creative love since I can't give you a chocolate heart filled with unknown substances in the center of each piece. haha :))

Enjoy your weekend, fill it with things you love to do and surround yourself with those you love. That's what I'll be doing!



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Don't miss out on any future posts! Join me here:

The Burning Question: How do I Market My Work Article 1 aka Don't Put The Cart Before The Horse

Up today--More from my series "The Burning Question"

"The Cul De Chick"  36 x 36

I hope everyone had a great weekend! I had a little respite from my normal surroundings by taking my work on the road for 2 days as my ReMe business partners and I worked on our 2015-2016 program.   TONS of exciting things coming up...which you will be hearing about over the next few months.  

  That leads me today's topic, which is another installment of my series, "The Burning Question".

Many of the things Jean, Penny and I talked about over and above our planning had a lot to do with marketing, so I thought it fitting to share this burning question:   One of my newsletter readers, Ellen, asked recently,  "How do you Market your artwork?"

Marketing is such a robust topic, I think I'd like to address this over several installments so be sure to check back periodically for more updates.  For today, I am going to just start with a larger overview and a few steps or questions for you to think about as you formulate (or tweak) your own marketing plan.

In the beginning:

When I first decided that I wanted to sell my artwork,  I pretty much had no idea what I was doing honestly. Most of what I did (and still am doing) is going by my gut instinct on what avenues to pursue or not to pursue.    One thing I want to suggest though before you worry to much about marketing, is to first and foremost, make sure you have a body of work to even market.  

It's kinda like not putting the cart before the horse kind of thing.   I've seen people fret for months and months about the perfect business card, perfect branding elements, go overboard on signage and those much needed business marketing materials before they really even have an identity or body of work to worry about selling.  In the mean time, they have lost a lot of needed time to produce work and hone their skills while chasing the marketing materials. But the plus side of it is that they have a bad ass business card. (heehee).

SO....rather than worry about the branding portion of your business if you are in the beginning stages of your creative business...worry about making art non stop.  Do it as much as you can.  Develop a body of work, a collection, and develop your skills. 

DO buy business cards but keep them simple for now, maybe use images of your work (like moo cards) or other simple formats that simply state your name and your contact information.

ALSO: I'm a big proponent of using social media to market your work, to tell your story, and to start understanding who exactly is your core customer that is drawn to your work.   (Note--who is drawn to your work isn't necessarily who you might think your core customer is in the beginning, and it may not even be who 'converts' to a paying customer, but it does give you insight as to where your marketing efforts should possibly be focused.

What? You don't use social media for your art?? 

Okay my friends....that's one of the first steps I might suggest at least starting with if you are wondering how to market your work:

1.  Establish a blog (I use blogger but there are others you could consider, some are free and some are not).  Think long and hard about your name for your blog.  I chose Sweet Repeats long before I started my art business as I was originally interested in re-purposing yard sale and thrift store finds. Those that don't know my blog or haven't had it linked somewhere to them along the line may have a hard time finding it.  Because I have had it for so many years (I started blogging around 2006), and have had my name linked to it and my artwork linked to it, you could search for me and find it but if I were to do it all over again, I'd just use my name since most people search for my art by name.

If you already have a blog but it's been long neglected.  Dust it off and get back in the rodeo! I know this post is rather long for a post in general, but remember, not everything you blog about needs to be a chapter in length.  Think twice about posting something on Facebook if it requires a paragraph of explanation...instead start posting things like that on your blog.  (This topic also deserves more in depth discussion!).

2.  Establish a Facebook account for yourself personally and for your business.   I know...I know...not everyone wants to be on Facebook or share everything about their life.  It is time consuming. It's also a great way to 'somewhat freely' connect with your audience and build a following. You are leaving 1000's, in fact potentially millions of connections on the table if you choose not to pursue this avenue of marketing and sales.  The other point is, YOU choose what to share.  Your customer base does want to know about YOU the artist.  YOUR STORY. They want to see a bit behind the scenes.  They want to be INSPIRED by you.  Your followers  may not care to see what you are having for breakfast everyday (but hey, if its drool worthy or promoting a local restaurant that you love..what have you..share that love if you are inclined to do so).

REMEMBER---for any social media outlet you choose...the way you present yourself has a lasting effect and impact on your clients and customer base. If you are Wendy Whiner because no one has signed up for your class or bought a piece of art in a week and your mortgage is coming due...honestly, no one wants to hear that. Not that you can't share the ups and downs of your creative life, just watch for your 'tone' and how professional or unprofessional you may come across.

3.  Pinterest for me has been another great way to promote my art, and to really start showing people what it is that I like or am drawn to.   If you see a board called  "My Style"  in Pinterest you'll see that I really like cowboy boots, casual but bohemian style clothes, industrial  type of home decor.   If you check out my color collections, you'll see some of the colors that make my heart sing!   Sharing your artwork on a board you create is a must.  Every time I do  a blog post or list something on Etsy, I also share on Pinterest one or two things that coordinate with those posts.  

When I look at the stats  for my blog and Etsy account,  tons of referrals and readers come from Pinterest.  Many of those referrals have converted into sales, in fact, some of my biggest sales over the last 12 months have come from Pinterest.  Just sayin.  

I have a lot of room improvement in all of these areas, but at the same time, I try not to get too wrapped up in how many followers I have even though I want to see those numbers go up. Rather, I hope I am reaching the RIGHT customers who are truly, truly, interested in what I'm creating, teaching, or writing about (or all the above).   That's my goal right now---to reach the right customers while increasing my reach across the board over time.

4. Other social media outlets to consider joining or using to start developing your brand identity and connecting with your 'peeps' :  Instagram (especially popular with a younger market but increasingly popular because of it's 'mobility' and ease of use),  Google Plus (I'm still figuring that out), and LinkedIn (not for me but you may find it useful), Twitter--I am liking that format more and more since you can now share pictures pretty easily.

5. What do you do first or do you have to do it all? You may not want to work with all of these platforms and frankly you may not  have the time to use all of these outlets, so choose a couple for now or look into a program that can share or schedule posts across multiple platforms.  The key to any of these outlets is to not just post and run. You must be engaging. You need to share content that is interesting to your readers or followers. Commenting and following others in the industry is important, too. Don't be 'one sided' in the 'conversation and sharing'. You also need to be regular with your postings because for you to be effective in this type of marketing,  it can't be a once a month update and expect your reach to be wide enough to see much difference in anything you are trying to accomplish.

6.  Newsletters: If you don't have a newsletter platform, I'd also suggest developing one.  I use Mailchimp for my service and it's totally free up to 2000 subscribers.  I'm not at that number yet so for me, doesn't cost anything to use the service other than the time it takes to create a newsletter. It's fairly user friendly to create a newsletter, too.  (This was another question that I intend to address more in depth down in this Burning Question series..stay tuned for that!)     One of the reasons I highly recommend having an email list (especially if you do shows or already have a blog established) is because those that those that sign  for your newsletter have REALLY established that they are one of your peeps and want to hear from you on a regular basis.  Think of yourself, if you sign up for an email newsletter somewhere, it's definitely a business you care about or enjoy shopping with (or if it's more of an educational publication, you are saying you want to hear what they say about topic xyz) on a regular basis.   This list of readers is also YOURS.  If Facebook or Twitter go away tomorrow....you still have your newsletter list to communicate to your core customer with. 

If you solely count on any one platform for your entire social marketing campaign..you are putting all your eggs in one basket and that's a little scary to think about....remember "My Space"??????

If you are wondering what to  focus on growing or are wondering what to do first...I say REALLY focus your energy on growing your newsletter as one of the top 2-3 areas of marketing. 

While we are on the topic...have you signed up for mine? :)

If not,  here's a quick link for you to do so:

Sign Up Here

See how easy was that?  

Making it easy for your customers or potential customers to find you and follow you is half the battle! :)

Let's circle back around for a moment----don't get so caught up into any marketing campaign or growing your followers in addition to establishing your brand before....before what:

You have a body of work  (or at least a few pieces and know that you are constantly creating so that more are on the way) to showcase.

You don't want to be a 'one hit wonder' do you???  People forget real quick if you are here to day but gone  tomorrow (or for that  matter, gone over the next year to 10 years) while you create your next creative endeavor (painting, jewelry collection, song,  poem, article,writing,  baby clothes,  or like in my last essay..the best chocolate chip cookie). Again, keep creating and keep communicating!

7.  The last thing I'm going to touch on for the web based marketing section of this list is You Tube.  If you have the gumption to start video taping even a part of your process, you would be surprised at how important You Tube can be to establishing your identity as an artist.   

Yes, it's not the easiest thing in the world to video tape yourself or your project.

It's not impossible either.

You could also do slide shows of your work.

Little clips promoting your work, your classes, your next show...whatever...can have a HUGE impact on your overall sales and marketing. They are also fun to do once you get the hang of it.


****NOTE--Having a website is VERY important but I'm not going to touch on that right now because it's an area that I haven't fully integrated into what I do...I have one, but it's just in the beginning stages of development and may change soon.  In other words, it's a work in progress and needs to be tidied up.  If you want to see what I have so far....take a look here.  It's dusty though :))

See what I mean...this is a robust topic, isn't it?

There's so much more to cover than just what are your options (online) to start your marketing, and I recognize that it's not a one size fit all type of answer. I'm basically trying to address those that resonate with what I do because, chances are, some if not all of these points will be helpful to you.

Let's close today's Burning Question Answer with this recap:

1.  Before you start worrying about marketing in general...create your heart out so you have something to market with and a direction you want to go in.

2.  Do have communication tools ( such as basic business cards or moo cards)  available to hand out to those that want to know about your work or have your contact information for future reference.

3.  Research a variety of social media platforms and decide on a few that you are most comfortable with and start at the very least building your following by sharing what you are working on now (people love seeing the behind the scenes work), and what inspires you and your art.

Leave the very deep and dark personal stuff out of the mix along with the drama.  Don't start it and don't  partake in it.

4.  Figure our a way to start or grow your Newsletter list.  Those are your core customers and where you will find the  most success at converting  readers to sales, or reader to followers..all of which are important to you as an artist and a business. If Facebook closed tomorrow, you'd still have your newsletter list to reach out to and connect with.

5.  Take the time to find your own groove and what works for you, but be regular about your interactions no matter what you do.  Don't post and run, or post and disappear...or everything you are working on developing will fade away.  

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My last ask of you is to write your story: 

Why do you do what you do?

What's important to you? 

Who are you hoping to impact by your creativity and why?

What inspires you?

Who do you think is your ideal customer/student/reader?

Answering these questions may help you identify key points of your marketing plan and your reason most of all of why you are in this creative business in the first place.

Don't put the cart before the horse.

I'm not going to sit here and tell you that it's easy. It's not hard either...it just takes time to develop.

It took me 2 hours today to write this post today, another 6 hours before this post even happened to write my newsletter whereby I had a reader ask this question. I spent another  hour setting up a spread sheet to keep track of my readers questions, and several hours just thinking about my answer before I wrote this post today.

.  

It's marketing time that may go unseen from the surface but hopefully in addition to reaching those of you who are interested in starting your own art biz (or enhance what you already do), I hope to reach even more people that have yet to find me yet...so to me, it's time well spent. I love sharing ideas and helping others so it's a win win situation for us all :)

I hope you have gained some insight from today's burning question!   I have plenty more to share so be sure to follow my blog.  An easy way to follow if you aren't already is to join this service:

Bloglovin

Do you have a Burning Question you'd like to ask? I'm seeking questions of all sorts from YOU! (Art Biz,  Living the Creative Life,  Art technique questions, Inspiration, How To...just to name a few of the categories)

Leave a comment here or feel free to email me privately at:  jodiohl@hotmail.com

Until we meet again!

Jodi

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Don't forget,  just a few more days left to take advantage of my online class sale over at Creative Workshops!! (This includes my newest class, "Podtastic!"

Get your art on with me! :)

Sale On Online Classes and a Question for YOU

Just a little heads up-I'm having a SWEET sale over at Creative Workshops from now until 2/14/15!

Save up to 15%

I started teaching at Creative Workshops  around 2007--can you believe that?    Since that time, I've had the pleasure of working with 1000's of students from around the world.  Pinch me!   It's been a great experience.    Many of these workshops are some of my first classes so they are great for beginners in collage,  acrylic painting,  faces, journaling and more.   

*Each workshop over at Creative Workshop (mine and others)  are lifetime of access, which means until the teacher retires the class you have unlimited access.  Most keep their classes up for several years as long as it's selling regularly. 

Believe in yourself

We are also including a GREAT special for my newest class,  a fun INTENSIVE course, "Podtastic". Intensive in a good way. It's not hard, but there are plenty of exercises to get you warmed up to the main event which is 2 full sized paintings. I'm also sending in this week a bonus lesson where you can watch me paint a circular pod painting from start to finish..so really you will have tons of journal and color mixing exercises along with 3 full size painting exercises.  Right now there are 25 videos and approx 5-6 hours of content.   

For more information, click HERE.

In addition to the workshops over at Creative Work Shops, I also teach classes at  icreateflix.com

Icreateflix.com  hosts 3 full length classes of mine including my hugely popular "Funky Little City Scapes"

And one of my newest contemporary abstract painting classes, "Grunge Ink"

A sample of one of the exercises "Graffiti Landscape"

*Classes over at Icreateflix.com (mine and others) are for lifetime access, which like Creative Workshops means you have access for as long as the class remains up by the instructor (or host).   My first class over at Icreateflix.com is going on 2 years of access for the students!

Sample piece from my class, Twinks on Yupo.

Last but not least, I also feature classes over at Colourarte , who is the manufacturer of popular art supplies such as the water colors, Twinkling H20's,  Silks Acrylics, and the newest line of Radiant Gels.  These classes use products from Colourarte in addition to other widely used mixed media supplies for the projects.

Did I mention that each of the students that join in on my classes over at Colourarte receive a 30.00 coupon for product at their shop so you can purchase and get familiar with their supplies! 

*Each class is a 12 month subscription*

Here's a sample from a couple of classes over at Colourarte:

Extreme Portraits

Take your portrait skills to the next level by using intense and unusual colors, texture and radiant glazes.

If you are looking for something NEW and totally fun,  try my course-"Texturize This" .  Tons of great exercises built around a 4 week format, video instruction that is over 4 hours for one low price.

Whether you find something appealing that is on sale right now or a course that is offered elsewhere, I want you to know that in all of my classes I strive to help you grow as an artist and stay active in all of my workshops (during the regular work week) to help you along via forums or private messaging.  

You'll always find a large amount of detail and techniques in all of my demonstrations.   While I do have some speed play in my classes, I only do so after I've explained AND shown you why I do what I do so you aren't left guessing on what I'm using or why I'm making a particular choice.

There's enough flexibility to do things YOUR way along with healthy doses of guidance around the projects so you aren't left floating in the wind of inspiration that may or not be there.

High quality videos taped in my home studio so you feel like you are right there with me painting along.

Anyway, I thought I'd share some of my creative instruction currently available to my students online.

Here's a Question!

Is there something you'd like to see me do in 2015?

I have a rough draft on some of my upcoming projects but I'd love to HEAR from you via comments or emails ( jodiohl  at hotmail dot com) on what classes you would love to see.

***Something I'm thinking about*** 

..would you be interested in a small intimate group of students who get more one on one attention in the form of skype/email conferences and group meetings around topics such as running a creative business,  setting up an etsy shop, blog, facebook and other social media marketing;  or painting/collage/journaling techniques and critiques?

Not sure if I could do it this spring but perhaps something in the early summer if I have enough interest.

Message me if this would be YOU and I'll add you to my mailing list for private instruction interest.

jodiohl at hotmail dot com

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I've been REALLY busy loading up my shop with tons of new items including fun bookmarks,  whimsical note cards  and post cards and of course, original art.  There truly is something for everyone!

Take a look:

30 x 30  Waiting for You

Top Ten List: How To Start Your Creative Busines Month Off Right

Hello and Happy Monday--here's a little side note before we get into today's post  I just discovered this tool (I know, I'm behind the times...but trying to catch up seriously!!)

Follow Me On Blog Lovin'  if you aren't already. It's a great tool to keep up to date with all your favorite blogs when new posts are published! *Who isn't trying to organize their time and social media reading these days?  I know I am!

Find my blog HERE.

The Little Things  6 x 12 available message me at jodiohl@hotmail.com

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

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And on to today's topic and post:

 How I start off my month in my Creative Business.  My top ten tasks.....

This wasn't exactly a "Burning Question"  from a reader but I thought this list may help some of you who are just starting out in a creative business to see some of the things I look at and plan on, over a  month to month basis.  I find that I do better professionally when I have a game plan in front of me and take time to hold myself accountable for my actions or 'in-actions'.  I'm not perfect and I still have  a lot of rough edges but over the last few months I've been doing most of these things monthly (and some weekly), and what I've noticed is that my sales have gone up because of my focus.  Hopefully this list or portions of this list will help you, too.

10 x 20  Celebrate Inn  (acrylic on canvas)

Want to know how I start my 'creative business' month off?  Here are some of the things I look at when I evaluate performance.

1.  Review Your Sales for the Month.  Do you spot any trends?  Did your sales spike after an ad campaign, blog post, Facebook Post or promotion you ran?  Note any successes or areas of opportunities. Are sales inline with yearly projections, if not what changes need to be made?

2.  Review and input expenses.  Are the expenses in line with the activities for the month?  Was enough spent on future projects versus current projects?  Is the budget on track for the year?

3. Ensure enough funds are transferred to my tax savings account based on sales.

4. Review calender for the month and for the year.  Do you need to update any projects/add projects/change deadlines or dates.  Identify projects or tasks to be outsourced (ie assistant tasks or need to hire specialist for any task)

5. Review yearly goals and activities. What needs to be planned for this month and into the next couple of months.  Any changes?

6. Update/plan promotions for the quarter.  What tasks need to be done for the promotions (ie ads made.  Blog and newsletter posts written or outlined)

7.  Review monthly production.   Was enough created this month to be on target for sales projections?  Review results.  Has everything been photographed, varnished, hung, priced, allocated to shops or listed online?

8.  Review weekly activities from month prior. Is there anything still left to be addressed?  Schedule those activities if so.

9.  Identify educational opportunities.  Ensure time is scheduled for practice and research.  (IE processes,  skills, marketing research, sales and or product research).

10.  Review and pay bills for the month, identify major purchases that may need to be addressed for the future and allocate budget accordingly.


Note--doing all of these things is not easy and is time consuming.  I do many of these tasks on a weekly basis so at the end of the month/beginning of the next month it's more of a review and an adjustment sort of administrative task.

  If you take time each week/each day to work on planning, you stay on track and on task a lot more efficiently than if you wait to do it and address things only when there is a crisis or you are on top of the world and running around like a chicken with his or her head cut of! :))

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What are some things YOU do each month to track your productivity, sales, expenses and future planning/projects?  I'd love to hear your thoughts or questions!

Until next time,

Jodi


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Be sure to visit my upcoming in person workshops for 1-2 days of creative play and inspiration!

Get your Art On, Game on and Appetizers ON!

 Happy February 1st!  It's Super Bowl Sunday here in the US and we are looking forward to this evening's game day events and of course our football appetizers, snacks and 'beverages'  with family and friends.

I'm still not sure exactly what I'm going to make although I've bought ingredients for a few potential goodies after hunting Pineterst all week for ideas.   

So far I'm leaning on Quinoa Pizza Bites and Cheesy Buffalo Cauliflower wings. 

I've heard rumors that the party I'm going to has lots of dips and meaty goodness so I'm assigned anything in the world other than Meat or Dip :))

I've never made either one. Is today the day to be an experimenter??  I guess there is only one way to find out!

What are you making??? 

New card styles in the shop!  "Block Party" flat notecard/postcard

 Well on top of Super Bowl Sunday appetizer talk, I wanted to tell you that today is the last day to use my special coupon code for my Etsy shop that created as a 'thank you' for my newsletter and blog readers.

What is that code you say?? :)

Glad you asked!

New card style in the shop:  "Dirty Flirty Birds"

Use coupon code:

15foryou

And receive 15.00 off a purchase of 85.00 or more. I specifically created it so you could take my Podtastic class at an introductory price, but if you've already taken the class or just aren't into creating right now and would rather buy art, then that code will work on on any purchase or a combination of items that are 85.00 or more.

18x18  Believe in Yourself

I've been busy all throughout January working on my Pod-tastic class (both producing it and working with the students online), but I've also been busy loading up my shop with new items. I started the month with about 40 some items and now I'm ending with almost 70!!!

Including originals, new classes,  several prints, new limited edition prints,  magnets, cards and more.

...and I still have pieces  have to list yet including this 12 x 36 super sweet  "Skinny Little Village" (new collection).  **If you are interested in this piece let me know, I can add it to my shop.   I was hoping to get better pictures of it and just haven't had a chance yet otherwise it would be in there!

As I mentioned before, January has been totally "Pod-Tastic!!"

 It's also been a fun month to experiment with some new things,  get ready for upcoming classes and really just get my bearings again.  Kind of.  I still have some work to do to fully feel that way.

And that's a wrap folks, hope you enjoy the Super Bowl if you are watching at home or over with friends-- I know awesome appetizers and  dips will be a part of the mix...be safe with the adult beverages. Have Fun!!  Game On:::

Stay tuned next week as I will be posting more "Burning Questions" from my readers.   I'm loving the feedback I've been getting so far on the posts, on facebook and via private email. If you have a question around the artistic life, art biz, techniques, marketing, sales,  anything on your mind...send me a message titled "Burning Questions" to jodiohl at  hotmail dot com  and I may use your question in a future post.

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Don't forget, today is the last day to use coupon code:  15foryou in my etsy shop.  (15.00 off 85.00 or more).