"Don't quit your day job" -- Double X.com

Last week, I read a reality-check article about Etsy. Basically, the writer was saying: Girlfriend, you need to put down the pipe and step away from the crystal meth Etsy's peddling.

That drug would be the idea that you can live off your Etsy earnings and create a fabulous, meaningful, feminist life fueled by your art. The writer also notes there are hardly any guys selling on Etsy (hence my emphasis on "girlfriend") because it's not a place where most people make lots of money.

I have a few friends who are experienced sellers on Etsy, like Deryn, Catherine and Lisa. But they also sell in other venues, so I'm thinking Etsy might be a little more effective as a supplement or marketing tool. And I know Laurel is selling some gorgeous stuff on Etsy, but she's also teaching now, as do the others I mentioned.

Let me know what you think of the article -- and the comment section. A lot of readers got pretty heated after they read the story.

Airlifted

A lot of people just want to be rescued from themselves. They want to be airlifted out of their bodies and dropped into someone else's.
-- Tara (actress Toni Collette), "United States of Tara"

Make it your own, as Michelle Ward says. So.

The quote reminded me of this clip art woman and baby being hoisted by a rope. I started with scrapbook paper of a sunset sky, a fleur-de-lis foam stamp, and a section of die-cut art strips... I think they were originally meant to be used as a border.

I tried to monoprint with the fleur-de-lis stamp, but it turned out messier than I would've liked. Meh. So I outlined it with dots. The monoprinting worked a bit better, if not as sharp, with the art strip bit.

The clip art people comb through all the old drawings so you don't have to. So I printed the clip on papyrus. (It's not just for ancient Egyptians anymore.)
I had one hamsa pendant left in the goodies drawer, and it just about covers the woman's face. So I twisted off the loop with pliers and glued down the pendant.
Yes, you see four eyes in this picture. I layered a transfer of my fourth-grade school picture over a scrap picture of my mother, a picture taken while she was pregnant with me. (Would that be six eyes in this picture, since my mom was wearing glasses?)
Under the clip art is a transfer of my brother running up to the door of the house we grew up in. My mom took that picture during the move-in.
The quote from "United States of Tara" is written on elephant dung paper -- really! My mother-in-law brought it back for me from a safari -- coated with matte medium. I wrote on both sides with a paint pen, gluing down the more personal side. Added a little orangey color with ink pads. Then I fitted the paper under the white space of the transfer picture.

I may have found a little personal symbology with this piece, which didn't occur to me as I worked. I've always liked fleur-de-lis, and it just happens to be a symbol of my sorority, which brings up a whole host of other associations.

Michael de Meng uses the hamsa as one of his personal symbols, so I may have to work on that one a bit more. But the house photo... the house still exists, but it doesn't look like that anymore. Even better.

Now! While they're not looking!

I'm on pages 22 and 75. You won't see my artwork in the Artfest ATC swap featured within, but I was one of the participants. Whoo-hoo!
Also, some of my favorite people, like Catherine Witherell and Deryn Mentock, have art and interviews in there. Ordering my copy now.