Once again I’ve been so busy I haven’t had a spare moment to keep current with this blog! I always miss it when I haven’t had a chance to post in a while, but the life of a freelance artist is sporadic. I have dry spells of no work, and busy spells with so much to do I don’t know where to begin! I’m still learning how to bring balance to my life with a schedule like this. Since at the moment I’m entering a dry spell, I have time to share with you what I’ve been doing for the past few months! Hopefully soon I will get to posting the reviews I’ve had partly finished for far too long. :)
I still stick to the fact that God’s timing is perfect, and
even though it’s not always on the schedule I would like, I trust that He knows
and is helping me get done what’s most important for me to do at the
moment. I thank Him that my busy time
fell before Christmas so I could afford my expenses and that my dry spell is
falling now so I can afford the time to enjoy the Christmas season!
So, here’s a brief recount of my busy life…
September
I spent most of
September (too much time really) getting ready for our area’s annual Falling
Leaves Art Studio Tour (always the first weekend in Oct.) and prepping for
winter. It gets cold fast in Wisconsin,
all the sudden it will snow and the snow can stay for months. (The cold started early this year, but at the
moment we’ve had a few balmy 40 degree days!)
October
October came and went.
The Falling Leaves Tour was a success, then a couple weeks later there
was a local Steampunk convention that I brought some of my art to as well. It was great fun, I even got my mother to
dress up in the spirit of it. She’s my
constant supporter by the way, and often attends shows with me. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it,
Steampunk at its core is Victorian Fantasy.
You take the technology, fashion, and ideas of the time as a starting
point, but after that, the sky’s the limit.
I love the creative aspect to it.
View more pictures on Instagram or Facebook:
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Filling in the cracks during October, aside from the
weekends when I did the shows, I spent every waking moment working on a
children’s book. I was contacted for a
rush job, and completed the project the first week in November. It varies of course, but I would usually ask
for at least a 3-month time frame when completing illustrations for a 32-page
kids book. It was quiet a push, and I
was so happy to get it done! You can
order the book, Christmas Eve here:
It should be shipping any day now!
November
November was a blur… I spent a lot of time helping my mom
with her house. She had new flooring put
in downstairs which meant moving everything in those rooms, and we’ve been
trying to organize and re-arrange furniture so the space functions for both of
us. I did a few small jobs, and I’m most
excited to share that I did some more illustrations for Deeanne Gist to go in
her next book Tiffany Girl! I’ll be sharing more about it once the book
is out!
So, that brings us to December! How is the month half gone already? How is it only 10 days until Christmas? Between the working, the helping, the shopping,
and the decorating, just now, today, I finally feel caught up on all the life
stuff! But guess what? Tomorrow I fly to attend a wedding and visit
with family for about a week. Can I ever
catch a break? I know I’m not the only
one that feels this way. Just take it
one step at a time. Take time to
remember the true meaning of Christmas and celebrate! (Advice to myself as much as you!) On Sunday I attended a Christmas service
where they handed out little cards with the meaning of each Christmas
symbol. It was a good reminder of what’s
most important to focus on during this holiday season- Red for Christ's blood covering our sins, White for His purity, Green for our eternal life through Him!
Merry Christmas!
-Monica
-Monica
